Fable II Preview

Combat seems simple and intuitive

So far so good, but there hasn't been much in the way of moral choices. These opening few minutes are designed to ease you in to the game, so Lionhead clearly didn't want to overwhelm you with choices, but our next quest allowed us to make such a decision. We were asked to enter a stock room and clear out some rampaging beetles. Buoyed by our recent good deed rescuing Rose and the dog, we accepted and headed in, not knowing that our moral compass was soon to be tested.

Once inside a voice from the window called us over. A guy stood there had a grudge against the owner of the store room and as such wanted us to ignore our mission to clear the beetles, instead asking us to smash up the stock. We had a quick look around, and this seemed to be an awfully easy task. It was going against what we'd already agreed to, but what the hell - all we wanted was money. Out came our sword and the store room was destroyed. We claimed our gold piece, but it wasn't without consequence: a face with devil's horns appeared and our moral rating decreased. Had we turned to the dark side?

A little later we'd found all the warrants and were on our way back to the guard. It was a job well done and we were about to get one step closer to our five gold pieces, however our journey back wasn't as uneventful as we'd though it would be. Arfur the thief appears and wants those arrest warrants - ignore him and there'll be trouble, or so he says. He claims he'll make it worth our while if we give them to him and not the guard. We ponder his suggestion, but our recent wrongdoing in the stock room lingers in our memory and we don't want to go down the wrong path so soon in the game. We ignore his rather heavy handed suggestion and run towards the guard who's just around the corner. He takes his warrants and we claim another gold piece. Job done and our moral standing increases as a result.

We're almost done. We need one more gold piece and it just so happens that another mini-quest is waiting for us near by. A man is standing in the street shouting to his girlfriend stood on the terrace outside her window. Her mother is against the two being together so has forbidden them from seeing each other. Sensing an opportunity we talk to the man and he's got a letter that he wants delivering to the woman. Surely there's a gold piece in it for us.

Peter Molyneux told us that Fable 2 will be his best game to date and so far we're inclined to agree.

With the letter in hand we enter the house only to come face to face with the mother. We tell her that we've got a letter to deliver, leaving out the part that it's from her daughter's boyfriend. She says she's going to get us something for delivering the letter, but we were asked to give it directly to the daughter. While the mother is looking for some form of payment we sneak upstairs and hand the letter to the daughter. This is yet another good deed so our moral standing increases again and we're given our much needed fifth gold piece. Time to buy that box.

After returning to Murgo and spending our hard-earned cash we walked to a quiet part of town and used the box. Expecting grand things we were slightly disappointed when it span, caused a mini explosion and nothing else. Not quite the magical wonderment we had in mind, so we headed home (a shabby cart) for some sleep. Our canine friend was waiting for us and we settled down for the night. The next morning we're awoken by Nick, a man who works for Lord Lucien. He's been sent to collect the two of us and take us to Lucien's castle. Did the magic box make our dreams come true? We head off with Nick to find out.

Hopefully the game will be full of creatures like this

Our time with Fable 2 was brief, but even a short hands-on during the opening section is enough to see the kind of gameplay we'll be experiencing in the full game. Despite being a glorified tutorial the opening quest to find five gold pieces could be completed in numerous ways, by doing good or bad deeds. The desire to have a better life came through loud and clear and the bond with your dog seemed strong after only a few minutes of screen time. What we've not seen is how your decisions during quests affect things on a broader scale. We know you can be good or bad, but it'll take some time to see how choices shape the game in the long term.

When playing Fable 2 there's a distinct sense of familiarity. Fans of the first game will feel right at home here, while newcomers will appreciate Lionhead's design choices aimed at making a game that is never frustrating to play - the glowing breadcrumb trail being a key component. Peter Molyneux told us that Fable 2 will be his best game to date and so far we're inclined to agree. The quest ahead of us will undoubtedly be littered with danger, but we can't wait.

Fable 2 is due for release exclusively on Xbox 360 on October 24.