Fable II

Fable II is an action role-playing game developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It is the second installment in the Fable series. It was released in 2008 exclusively for the Xbox 360.
== Plot ==
A young child known as Sparrow is growing up in poverty with their sister, Rose in the Old Bowerstone district of Bowerstone in the land of Albion. They both dream of living in Castle Fairfax, home to Lord Lucien. When they hear a commotion down in the market, they head to it to learn that a merchant called Mystical Murgo is selling Old Kingdom "artifacts", such as mirror that makes one look beautiful if it used in complete darkness. Throughout his many wares, there is a music box that makes one's dream come true. While originally unconvinced, a blind woman named Theresa convinces Rose and Sparrow to find five pieces of gold to buy the music box.
After completing a few tasks, such as collecting warrant papers and saving a dog that is being abused by a bully, Rose and Sparrow return the merchant to purchase the box. Once used, the box disappears in a bright light, apparently not working. They returned to their hovel to find the dog awaiting them, who they allow to stay with them.
They are awakened in the middle of the night by one of Lord Lucien's guards, as Lord Lucien is requesting the pair. When they arrive in Lord Lucien's study, he tells the pair to step into a circle which begins glowing blue. As it begins to glow red, Lucien learns that one of them will cause the demise of his plans. As Sparrow flies out the window from a devastating shot and lands many floors down, Theresa and the dog arrive to care for Sparrow at the gypsy camp in Bower Lake.
Upon waking, Sparrow learns that he is in the lineage of heroes who possessed all three of the special abilities, Strength, Skill and Will. Ten years later, Lucien has moved in the Tattered Spire, an Old Kingdom artifact that pulls the Will from the land and gives it to the user of the Spire. Sparrow is told by Theresa to go to Oakfield in search of the first hero, the Hero of Strength. Learning it is a monk at the Temple of Light, Sparrow is tasked with guarding the monk, Sister Hannah, from the dangers inside the Wellspring Cave. Exiting the cave as Lucien's forces attack the Temple of Light in search of the first hero, Sister Hannah's father is killed by the assassin.
Choosing to join the hero, Sister Hannah tells Sparrow to call her "Hammer" and is transported to the Guild Cave by Theresa. After learning that the second hero, the Hero of Will, is Garth, a man who was first in legion with Lucien and introduced to Sparrow when they went inside Castle Fairfax. When the hero arrives at his tower in Brightwood, it is under attack and the Commmandant, a powerful Will user in liege with Lucien takes Garth to the Tattered Spire to serve as a slave in the building of it. Afterwards, Hammer and Sparrow venture into Westcliff, where the hero competes in the Crucible to go undercover in the Tattered Spire as one of his guards.
After many years of serving under the Commandant, Garth escape from his cell and frees the hero of his Will collar, which stops all use of Will abilities. In their attempt to escape, they are battled by the Commandant, who Sparrow bests in combat. Leaving on the new recruit boat, Sparrow is reunited with Theresa and their dog and Garth joins as the Hero of Will. Sparrow heads to Bloodstone in search of the final hero, the Hero of Skill.
Arriving in Bloodstone, Sparrow heads to Bloodstone Manor to meet Reaver, the Hero of Skill. After a battle with a Spire Shard, the heroes arrive atop a mountain in the Bower Lake region to perform a ritual to gain a weapon capable of destroying Lucien. Lord Lucien interrupts the ritual, taking all three heroes and shooting both the hero's dog and the hero for a second time.
In a dream-like area, Sparrow is reunited with Rose and enjoys playing with Rose in a paradise area. As it becomes night, music begins to play, which Sparrow searches to learn the cause of. Finding the music box that had started the events of the game, Theresa telepathically tells the hero that it is the weapon they had been searching for.
Arriving in at the Tattered Spire, the hero ventures into the core to find Lucien using the powers of the Spire to fulfill his wish. Using the music box, the hero defeats Lucien. Theresa then appears granting the hero a wish of gaining great wealth, the revival of the hero's family including their dog or to revive all the people that were killed in the making of the Tattered Spire. Claiming the Spire to be hers, Theresa transports the hero out of the Spire.
In the "See the Future" downloadable content, Sparrow learns that Mystical Murgo, the merchant from their childhood, has returned to Bowerstone to sell more "artifacts". After saving a village in a magical snow globe and defeating the Necromancer, the hero buys a model of the Tattered Spire from the merchant. Returned to the Spire, Sparrow is greeted by Theresa, who explains that using the power of the Spire has allowed her to see many futures. Telling the hero of their future, she reveals that hero will become ruler of the land and their unborn child will decide the fate of both Albion and Aurora. 
== Gameplay ==
Fable II revolves an open sandbox experience that allows players to visit many regions in the land of Albion, taking on many quests for gold, renown and equipment. Players can have their hero marry a non-playable character and have a child. By staying with family and getting them gifts, their bonds grow larger, like a real family. If the player ventures off on many quests without staying with the family, the spouse may divorce the hero and take the children with them.
Players can level up their hero and spend experience orbs to buy new abilities, which affects the character's appearance. Morality choices throughout the game also affect the hero's appearance. Choosing evil and corrupt choice makes the hero sprout horns and gain a dark complexion while choosing good and pure choice makes the hero get a halo over their head and gain a more beautiful complexion. Players can also join another player for co-operative gameplay; the second player takes the role of the hero's henchman.
== Downloadable Content ==
There have been two downloadable add-ons, both giving access to new quests, items and other add-on specific extras. The entire game has also been separated and released in an episodic fashion for the Xbox Live Marketplace.
* Knothole Island - The titular island of the add-on adds new quests where Sparrow must help the Knothole Glade tribe with their weather conditions. There is a special store on Knothole Island, called the Box of Secrets, which accepts items that cannot be found on Knothole Island, rather than actual currency.
* See the Future - See the Future is the downloadable add-on that was made in preparation for Fable III. It was used to give players access to the story of Fable III before the actual launch of the title. Murgo the Trader, the merchant from Sparrow's childhood, returns with a new assortment of treasures that open up new worlds and new quests.
== Reception ==
Critics generally gave the game positive reviews citing its adherence to the original's recipe, while praising the changes that redefined the game system. As of November 6, 2008, Fable II displays an overall score of 89% on review aggregate website Metacritic, and 88.7% on GameRankings.
Gamepositive gave the game 2.5 stars out of 5, citing "show-stopping bugs" in the game and that "the prevalence of online access is not an excuse to release broken content and fix it later." They commented on the "ingenuity and artistry" in Fable II, but stated that "the carelessness of Fable II's execution is an insult to what it could have been." Although a patch has been released fixing the connection problem, they have not updated their review.
Category:Games released on the Xbox
Category:Games released in 2008
Category:Games that are rated M