Posts tagged Fable II
The advancement of the art of storytelling in video games
Oct 7th
Shadow of the Colossus' simple, spare storyline has been repeatedly acclaimed as a high-water mark in video game storytelling.
Even before Mario trekked through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue the Princess and Pac-Man was pursued by a quartet of ghosts, video games have been a storytelling medium. As games matured from simple sprites to a multi-billion dollar industry, so the scope of video games increased —in terms of graphical fidelity, size and scope of game worlds, and the potential for storytelling.
The problem, though, is that only two of those three aspects have seen real growth to this point. While our favored medium is still maturing, it’s encountered some growing pains in finding the right way to tell a story — and the right kind of stories to tell.
Warning: Spoilers for Grand Theft Auto IV, Bioshock, Metal Gear Solid, Fallout 3, Fable II, and Shadow of the Colossus follow.
Daily Recap: May 14, 2009
May 14th
Today Nick posted his review of Fable II’s second downloadable expansion, See the Future. He wasn’t exactly impressed.
The criticisms largely echo mine in reviewing the first add-on, Knothole Island, and it’s an overall shame to again see Lionhead botch its DLC. Costumes and potions will only get your game so far, you know.
You got all excited for nothing, pup
It’s also unfortunate that my predictions of See the Future being more worthwhile turned out wrong–that’s what I get for speculation, I suppose.
News for Thursday: Sony loses cash, a lack of funding shutters another development studio and Telltale Games sells a lot of Strong Bad. It’s all very money-oriented today. Read the rest of this entry »
Review: Fable II: See the Future (Xbox Live)
May 14th
A beautiful vista symbolizing great things on the horizon. But a chance to see the future? Well…not so much.
After our last journey to Albion’s Knothole Island left us feeling cold, dampened our spirits and hung us out to dry, Lionhead brings us another content pack with See the Future. It promises new dungeons, new items, plenty of new achievements and an enticing glimpse into Albion’s (and the franchise’s) future.
But just like any of Murgo’s wares, this new purchase will probably leave you feeling swindled.
The Backlog, Vol. 4 – Adamantium and Steel edition
May 1st
Berserker Barrage
Ah, blessed weekend. You couldn’t have arrived any sooner, particularly as I seem to be coming down with a decidedly non-porcine illness. Unfortunately, the workload doesn’t let up for Doug and me — we’re tackling that most coveted of challenges in fake-rockdom bright and early tomorrow morning. And not to be outdone, Aaron’s looking at a full course of superhero do-goodery this weekend. Let’s just hope X-Men Origins: Wolverine shapes up to be a bit better than its movie counterpart — any game where I can leap onto a helicopter, yank out the pilot and decapitate him with the blades is just dandy.
Review: Fable II: Knothole Island DLC (XBL)
Apr 28th
Color me disappointed.
Knothole Island, the first DLC released for last year’s acclaimed Fable II, isn’t exactly what I was expecting. It’s especially disconcerting considering the impact that Fable II’s introductory form left on me.
Let me put it like this: If the core content of the original release was a satisfying four-star dinner, then Knothole Island is an insufficient sno cone dessert — bright and colorful, but not much more than dressed-up frozen water sold at a premium.
Still, the expansion has something to offer to the obsessive-compulsive Fable fans who’ve been wanting an out for their previous mistakes, as well as a few new duds along the way.
The Backlog, Vol. 3 – Love and Basketball edition
Apr 24th
No, not that movie.
It feels a lot like that. (Photo by Bruce Ely/The Oregonian)
I’m slowly coming back into the fold as a Portland Trail Blazers fan after hearing some really exciting things. The thought of a mostly young team making such a strong effort this season has got me eager to see what the future holds.
Unfortunately, the Houston Rockets don’t seem to share my enthusiasm, as they’re currently making the Blazers’ lives a living hell. But hey, at least I can seek respite in my recently repaired Xbox 360!
The Backlog, Vol. 2 – “Oh hey, is that the sun?” edition
Apr 18th
Rain’s no stranger to Portland — it’s something you just have to come to terms with if you’re gonna live here — but I’m completely done with this relentless cloudy-rainy shtick Mother Nature’s been pulling on us. Thankfully, the sun’s eager to demonstrate that it hasn’t forgotten about us, and with any luck we’ll finally get some decent weather this weekend. If that’s the case, Aaron’s gonna have to fight me tooth and nail to get any game-playing done.
Our 2008 Gaming Moments: Part One
Jan 6th
The year that was 2008 is over: Its happenings are currently being carved into archaic stone tablets by underpaid librarians to be placed on the great Metal Shelving of the Endtime. So, anything good happen? Read our in-no-specific-order list of what we thought were some of Gamedom’s most memorable moments over the last year.
Rez HD: The first playthrough
The Rez experience
Somehow, I managed to skip the PlayStation 2 release of Rez. Color me embarrassed. But I had no excuse to ignore the game once the high-def remake came out on LIVE last January. I may have been out of the loop for seven years, but Rez HD managed to hook me right from the start. Having heard about the interactivity of the music, I figured I already knew what was coming. Instead, linking together low-poly wireframe models into aural-enhancing chains was so intuitive and still genius by today’s standards that the gameplay easily burned a hole of “Awesome” through my cranium. Thus, Rez HD takes a spot in our 2008 list, even though it would be more at home on a “Moments” compilation from 2002.
GTA IV: Drunk driving
Officer Niko on patrol
The fourth Grand Theft Auto did a lot of things right (relationships, i.e. having them), and it did a few things wrong (relationships, i.e. maintaining them). But the game truly shined in one of its more controversial moments: driving piss drunk through Liberty City. The first time you grab some rounds with your favorite friend, flame or family member and stumble to your car, stepping from the curb and tumbling over, you begin to see exactly what GTA IV is about: reality caramel-coated with hilarity. Sure, that could sum up every GTA to date, but number four chose to tone down the jetpacks and weight gain to provide players with “reserved” chaos. For instance: While driving drunk, a police car notices and speeds off in pursuit of you and your horrified passenger. Suddenly, a pedestrian flips over the hood of your car in a fantastic display of pseudo-physics. You then knock over a fire hydrant and hit the adjacent wall, causing your body to launch from the windshield while your car, still running, is lifted into the air by the extreme amount of water pressure from the tipped hydrant. Truly, Rockstar didn’t take away the over-the-top experiences of San Andreas, it redefined them through a lens of feasibility.
Fable II: A dog and his ball
I wonder what breed that is?
Fable has always been the little-franchise-that-could. Stepping back from the shadow of negative internet press over Molyneux’s boasts and the constant bellowing about undelivered gameplay promises, Fable and Fable II have ended up being extremely fun and unique titles at their respective cores. With the second game, Lionhead delivered 2008′s DogTech 2.0 (working title of my own invention); The sheer joy of playing with ol’ rendered rover was miles above shooting your billionth bullet in FPS Sequel 13. Stepping out from the gates of your adopted Gypsy home into the rays of sunshine reflecting off of Bowerstone Lake was impressive enough. But watching your dog realistically play fetch and adore you in the way pets do put the game over the top. The plot moments and combat tweaks in Fable II kept it exciting. However, the dog caused the title to rise to the developer’s promises of true choice and emotion in a videogame, making Fable II truly memorable.
Metal Gear Solid 4: The ship-top Street Fighter battle with Solid Snake and Liquid Ocelot
Nick picked the microwave tunnel part of Metal Gear Solid 4. He has a thing with Hot Pockets. Now I agree that it was memorable, but having been a fair-weather MGS fan after number two (it wasn’t because of Raiden), I tend to look past those cinematic and “deep” elements of the series and focus on what made me the most amused and satisfied in the end. For me, the final battle between Solid and Liquid could be called epic, and it totally deserves that worn-out word. The old school fighter presentation was great. Seeing both hero and villain slow down and struggle to fight back was a nice touch as well; it illustrated the vulnerability of Solid Snake’s rapid aging syndrome better than having him cough every five seconds and saying “damn!