I’ve been having a lovely time playing your Fable II videogame on the Xbox Three Hundred and Sixty entertainment machine over Festivus, but sadly all the while I couldn’t help but think “gosh! If only this was also available on the IBM Compatible electronic typing machine.” Because then I’d be able to write many thoughtful words about it on this delightful weblog, and any of our lovely readers who feel RPGs are a bit too grim’n'guts’n'gunplay these days could relax into something entirely light-hearted and so delightfully determined to reward rather than penalise its players.
Please heed our calls, good sirs. You were gentlemanly enough to give us a PC edition of Fable The First a short time after its Xbox The First release, so we fully anticipate this bright-eyed ruffian arriving on our doorstep any day now. If it was available on dear Madame PC, you’d also be able to use her many buttons to fix the horrific spell selection system. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Of course, you would have to change the job mini-games to something a little less game-paddy and monotonous, and would have to put up with more hot-tempered people rudely proclaiming that they don’t think it’s an RPG, the morality’s too binary, they’re offended by bodily functions and that there’s no replay value. They might be a little bit right, but don’t pay too much heed to such miseriguts – I think you should do it anyway.
kisses,
Alec
ps – I really liked it when Zoe Wanamaker said “kiss my arse.”
Related Stories:
@Alec: (On editing foibles) Thats fine by me, as it might help draw more traffic to the forums, I can only see that as a good thing.
I’m continually surprised by those who like Fable II. I consider the first Fable to be one of my favorite games of all time, but found its sequel to be forgettable in almost every way. Strange.
I wanna read the threads where console players wish PC games would come out on their platform. Oh wait.. there are none. Sigh.
Frankly, almost all RPGs(and games of other genres, as well) these days, spend their time mindlessly rewarding the player for everything they do and avoiding stepping in front of the player’s path to generic epicness, so a RPG which happened to penalise the player once in a while would be nice.
@ DigitalSignalX:
You’d be surprised. World in Conflict, Crysis, The Witcher, and several other PC exclusives are highly desirable to the consolites I know. You’d be surprised how many say they wish they had a good rig and want to play something like Company of Heroes. The biggest obstacle is this mythical “$4000 rig” that’s been accepted as fact by the average gamer, thanks to uninformed dipshits in the gaming press like Adam Sessler.
By the way qrter, Shamus Young is wrong. Prince of Persia is not the first game to do what he claims — indeed, it’s one in a long tradition of restoring close to where things went wrong (even what little of Psychonauts I played — before cursing the stupid mousestick and reversing directional controls — did this). And, in basketball, you shoot baskets more than once. If you reward succeeding at something once, and then forget about it, you’re not going to get any learning either. Design needs to run deeper than that.
Also: the original Aliens vs Predator would have lost a lot of its tension with unlimited saves. This does not make it a bad, or badly designed, game. I was glad to have more than one save after the patch, but having them be a limited commodity worked wonders for that game.
(Note: Shamus Young makes good points much of the time, but some of the time he’s pretty much a more articulate version of the AIM. What he says hits the right buttons and is easy to agree with, but that doesn’t always make him right IMO.)
Checkpoint saves are lame. You are forced to continue playing till the next checkpoint, even If you dont need to. Also is just a tecnical limitation imposed to gameplay. It break inmersion and is also a excuse for simplistic “state machine” games, where a level is either clear, or full populated after a restore (his status is saved as a boolean).
Now that most consoles have hard disk, I hope this “feature” goes the way of the dodo.
I’d be sad to see check points go. In a linear game i don’t want to be book making. And i don’t want to be repeating things. Obviously if i fail at a task that kind of repeat is fine. But dying after a long travel and having to repeat the travel? Repeating a now boring task? Eh. But nor do i want to be thinking about saving. Saving has kept me able to play games i found terrifying at night though. Bloody jumpy out at you bits.
nothing to do with Fable but I love this graph of John’s:
http://pool.cream.org/pics/graph.jpg
Singstar *is* objectively better than MGS4 :)
Joking aside, I know which game I’ve played regularly for more years despite it being fundamentally unchanged from the PS2 copy I picked up 4 years ago.
On Fable 2: I really wish this would come out on PC as I was totally intruiged by the economic aspects.
SWAT 4 has no checkpoints.
neither does pong.
I’m pretty sure the “console games have checkpoints” argument should have gone the way of the dodo already. In pure-bred shooters maybe, but all the games I’ve played recently have allowed you to save where you like…
Well gaijin, I’ve played Fable 2, Far Cry 2, GTA IV and Lego Indy on 360 recently, and only Fable 2 had a “save anywhere” system implemented. Perhaps these are unrepresentative, but I totally disagree with removing the ability to save anywhere. Regardless of whether it’s a gameplay crutch, or whether it adds to the atmosphere, it’s basically a hardcore gamers only option. Those of us who are not hardcore gamers but have a life hate these checkpoint systems, because we don’t like the game to dictate how much time we want to play it. If I want to quit right now because something important has come up (the baby is crying, or I have to pick the wife up) I don’t want to spent 5-10 mins fighting my way back to a safe house / save point. It’s pure arrogance on the part of the designers.
caiman, i quite agree. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t mourning the demise of checkpointing. I just had the impression it was becoming less of an issue. You’re quite right though, I’d forgotten about GTAIV – but that’s probably because over the years I’ve got used to abandoning GTA missions in disgust when i make a minor cock up half way through, and starting them again later when i’m calmer.
Oh for sure. Mandatory get to save point checkpoint stuff is bullshit. But checkpoints aka autosaves are great in addition to regular saves..
In other console news, Claire Redfield keeps winking at me.
I disabled automatic checkpoints in Fallout 3, after accidentally breaking the law in Nuketown and using a door.. bang… autosave overwritten in a undesirable state.
Autoaim is also disabled on most games. Maybe is hard to aim with a pad, but is natural with a mouse.
“Shot and cover” gameplay can’t be disabled (the GoW gameplay), trough because *is* the point of the game.
Fortunally enough, The Horrible menus of Obliviun can be moded to make then more like a PC game. But some games have a “XBox Live-ish” menu interface that can’t be modified.
You can’t fix the gameplay of Overlord to be more playable with a mouse, some movements are ankward.
You can’t mod GTA to have quicksaves, is not optional.
There are lots of games withouth the option to change the FOV.
The FOV is intended to reflect the distance from viewer to the screen. On a TV the distance is long, so some FOV values make sense. On a PC + monitor, a different FOV value make sense. People like T2 hardcode the FOV into games like Bioshock, so you are forced to play with a wrong FOV value, and this can make you sick IRL.
Consoles are different than Personal Computers, is a different culture, is a different use, a different people, a different controls, … A bad port from console to PC is like a text traduction with Babelfish.
Babelfish, from Ukanian to spaniah back to ukanian:
I have been awhile having charming playing of its game of video of fable II in the machine of the hospitality of Xbox tresciento and sixty on Festivus, but sadly all the short while that could not help but think “gosh! If only this were also available in the machine to write electronic compatible with IBM.” Because then he would be able to write many thoughtful words it in this weblog exceeds charming, and anyone of our charming readers who feel RPGs is a small piece also grim’ n’ guts’ n’ gunplay at the moment could relax in something entirely glad and so charmingly solved to compensate something that its players. It please pays attention to our calls, good Sirs. You were quite noble to give us to an edition of the PC of the fable first a brief period of time after his Xbox the first launching, so we anticipate completely to this gross one of shining eyes now that any day arrives in our threshold. If available in lady PC were considered, you also could use his many bellboys to determine the system frightful of the selection of the enchantment. That would be pleasant, no? By all means, you would have to change to the mini-games of the work something a little less monotonous game-rice and, and would have to tolerate one more people of bad genius crudely that proclaims that she does not think that it is a RPG, the binary one of the morality also, functions offend corporal it and no that value of the answer are. She can be that reason has a little, but does not pay too much attention to such miseriguts – fodder that you must do it anyway.
Fable 2:
Do not want.
@Tei
I know a guy who talks like that.
If you can get past the mangling of English, he’s a pretty fun guy.
I guess what I’m trying to say is if you try, you’ll find a way to enjoy any crappy port. I had no problems with psychonauts, simply because of how amazingly awesome the writing and gameplay were.
I don’t usually have problems with ports or DRM, but I guess I’m the exception. I have a good computer and a 360 controller, so Psychonauts, Resident Evil 4, and now even GTA 4 have had zero issues running or controlling (I actually had much more issue with Beyond Good and Evil which had irritated me with no controller support). I’d much rather have a port that some internet men call crappy just because it isn’t PC-centric than no port at all.
I would love to have a XBox 360. But I will be banned the 3th day, because I would use homebrew software on it, maybe install Linux, maybe install more ram, and fix the wrong thermal design.
A console is like that Tree on the paradise. You can have the tree, but not byte the apples. I will do, and get banned from the paradise till 9/9/9999.
Theres also the mindset of console players that modding = cheating, evil. Thats kills me, but is not fatal. What is fatal is the mindset of the games. The mindset of the console games *really* disguste me .. with a passsion… !!. It get on my nerver every game that have “checkpoint” saves, pressing R , L , U in the right order, or that type of crap
So yeah, pretty much that entire post was typical blinkered bullshit. Well done.
Personally, Fable 2 lost me when just trying to communicate with one person lead to half the bloody town following me around like a lost puppy, I couldn’t even spend quality time with the baby because there was a gaggle of would-be suitors invading my home. Sure, I could just take them all to the Altar of Shadows and feed them into a meat grinder but that’s not the real solution. The real solution is to not have purely AoE communication.
Oh and guys, just write about GAMES, full stop. Enough with this ‘I wish it were on PC silliness. You’re excellent writers and if a game captures your imagination, I want to read about it in as much depth as possible, not see some go ignored because they may never get a PC port and you’re afraid of upsetting the hardcore nerds who get sand in their vagina whenever anything threatens their little PC worlds.
Merry New Year.
but this is a pc-centric blog. that’s what makes it good.
as an aside, it confuses me why “sand in the vagina” is the only formulation for “complaining too much” – beyond the implicit sexism (those who complain are women, women bad, etc etc) it would seem far easier to relate to the idea that sand in the urethra would hurt just as much and lead to many complaints.
I can’t read again StarshipTroppers, becaues of the political far right message. I was a teenarge the first time. Now I can’t read it.
The console to me is a proposition for “Starship Troppers” ^ 32. Is a totalitarian world (the consoles) where the most elemental freedom (like the freedom to change the FOV) is disabled. And for that, I can’t taste any more, nothing more, of consoles. I have enough for a life.
I understand that people can read Starship Troppers, and be happy with it, but I don’t.
To me, a console is some sick anti-utopia where a corporation has the control, and limit your freedom, …this big brother is always watching your wrong/rightdoing, and have a hand capable to send you to permanent isolation (banning).
That people like that is proff enough that we are doomed, I tell you, doomed!
It’s funny how so many comments here are bellyaching about a checkpoint system that doesn’t let you save anywhere. Fable 2 does indeed autosave when you complete a quest, job, or (iirc) change location, but you can also save it off at any time.
You only get one save slot per character, which I think does help give weight to your actions, but aside from the (unskippable) in-engine cutscenes you’re never forced to keep playing until you get to the next checkpoint.
It’s not a perfect game, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Fable 2 and have been playing it nonstop for the last six days. It’s very different from the original, all types of combat work differently, and the intent to show the consequences of your actions over years of game-time is more fully realized. It appears so far to be a drastically longer game, but that could be because it’s more open and less linear. There’s a lot of optional quests, jobs, towns, shops with various sales / shortages to pull you away from the main quest, not to mention bustling back and forth to keep all your various wives happy should you go the chronic polygamist route.
I can really only recommend it as a rental because of course, mileage varies, but I think that’s the case with a lot of games. From everything I’ve heard co-op is broken, and I’ve ran into a couple marriage-related glitches (pro-tip: don’t take a wife in Oakvale and have her live in a dimensional pocket if you’re doing an evil playthrough or it f**ks up an optional but important quest), as well as sound-glitches when too damned many villagers are cooing at me. I’d also have to say the combat, while good, is noticably easier than in the original Fable, mainly because there’s less on the line. You only make a maximum of +300% experience from a fight, so there’s a less drastic progression difference. Also if you manage to make boatloads of gold and find a well-stocked potion merchant you can buy potions that net you 64,000 experience, the equivalent of about ten major late-game fights. At least it means you don’t have to grind monsters for XP, and there’s tons of different ways to make gold.
and you’re afraid of upsetting the hardcore nerds who get sand in their vagina whenever anything threatens their little PC worlds.
Wow, with that poetic eloquence, how can RPS ignore his request?
On the whole PC vs consoles thing, having both I’d say the PC would be the most impossible to live without, even if we’re restricting this purely to the merits of gaming on whatever platform. You can get a crappy PC or a nice scratchbuilt machine for the same price as a console, and access about ten thousand times as many games as any given console.
Consoles have some merits though. The software industry’s tacit insistence that there is no piracy on the consoles mean there’s still a wealth of rental options, as well as (most times) decent trade-in value. As for the hardware itself, you never have to mess around with drivers (or DRM root-kits), and they are mostly a lot more reliable.
I can’t say anything about the 360’s infamous failures myself, mine’s worked for four years and has never needed repairs, but I get the sense I’m in the minority on that one. Still, good luck trying to get a replacement for a failed 400$ videocard if your warranty is expired, hm? Since Microsoft seems to care more about maintaining a high user population rather than making a profit on the hardware, they seem to treat their console customers much better.
Patches are a black eye for consoles though. Many games are still released with glitches and issues, and very few are ever fixed. There’s usually patches if there’s show-stopping multiplayer bugs, but that’s it. The only saving grace is you can be more certain of getting a refund or store credit, or at least trade-in value, for any game that doesn’t work or is just crap. IIRC you have the same rights with a PC game, but you’ll need luck and persistence.
So mainly the advantages of owning a console is you aren’t treated like a peasant rabble by an *sshole industry. Yes, Microsoft or Sony or whoever has the ultimate power, but they wouldn’t dare lose a customer who only makes them a profit if they stay a customer for years and buy dozens of games.
@RichP: (Regarding that other chaps comment) Yeah, proof positive that women play computer games and not console games. (I’m not serious with that comment there before anyone says anything)
Slightly more serious though, “sand in your vagina”? What a daft phrase, I fail to see how anyone who uses it could ever be taken seriously.
@Tei, on Starship Troopers: Well, at least Heinlein appreciates the poor bloody infantry. He also appreciates Past Nastification, though that’s another book altogether. And I have no freaking clue where I was going with this train of thought.
Fable 2 was my favourite gaming surprise of 2008. It’s not the be all and end all, and a lot of what it does can be seen as contrived bollocks. Take the on it’s own terms, give if the benefit of the doubt (be patient with that dog) and it’s fucking belting.
The stuff that’s nicked from other games, it does damn well. The new stuff it adds, it does damn well too. It’s got flaws, but so does every game ever. It’s got things you’ll never have seen in a RPG before. It’s got things you’ll never have seen in any game ever.
I can understand how people don’t get it or like it, right up until the bit where you can rename your character “Nobhead”. After that – anyone who doesn’t like it is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
According to Peter Molyneux, it’ll be “crazy not to”. So I’m supposing that there will be a version but not anytime soon. Microsoft will prefer to let the sales on the 360 run for a little while longer. They get more revenue from the console version.
Get bigger penis today with top natural herbal male enhancement products that enlarge penis size, increase penis blood flow, produces hard rock erections and kill premature ejaculation at http://www.Naturalherbalz.com