Fable II has landed. I was a big fan of the first, (and not so long since managed to bag a copy of the Lost Chapters for a few shiny pounds), and enjoyed the fact that I could be who I wanted to be. Now Fable II is here and again I can be who I want to be. Which, to be fair, was usually a goody two shoes as I was always racked with guilt if anything bad happened, but this time it doesn’t quite seem as magical for one reason… the achievements.
Now, I like my achievements. We’ll get that out of the way now. I have an unhealthy obsession with the little plinky noise they make when they pop up. And, yeah, I am unlocking them in Fable II but it’s almost like it’s robbing the game of something. Everyone’s kicked a chicken.
Everyone’s shot a rabbit (and then felt bad because you got evil points for it). It just doesn’t seem as “do what you want” as the previous game or, say, Oblivion because the achievements are quite specific.
If you look at the achievements for Oblivion you have the story arc and the guild progression. Everything else you do is your own game; there’s no achievement for finding the Troll’s suicide note on a bridge. Nothing for filling a room of your house with Nirnroots. That to me makes it more special because you can literally play it how you want.
Fair enough, the same can be said of Fable but the achievements offer guidelines. It’s almost as if Lionhead are there in the room saying “Yeah, you can do that but we really want you to get married”. There’s still a lot you could do that’s off the achievement track; slaughter every person you find, feel dirty if you do something in a town and the words “Love +4″ appear above a small child’s head, (I mean, I know what they were getting at but I felt a bit “eugh” about it – if one of the available expressions turns out to be asking children to stroke your puppy there’ll be trouble), but I still feel as though, for an open world game, I’m being driven towards what I need to do.
I’m not knocking the game. I love it. It’s amused me with random angry bandits calling me a nutter, and tugged at my heart strings as my dog limped sadly along following a savage beating. Seriously, I may not have named my dog yet (I want to name it after my cat but that just seems a bit, well, weird) but if you kick it, I will come down on you hard. In my head, as I hold Thag’s head aloft, I’m thinking “Yeah, this is what happened to the last person who kicked my dog.” I bet the RSPCA would love to able to do that.
Fable’s a game that’s so steeped in choices and consequences, but then has quite a guiding achievement list. It makes you wonder.
Maybe you can’t change your destiny, after all.
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October 29th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I named him Rufus.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Ohh that’s good.
I’m thinking of calling him Snuffles.
‘Tis a nice name for a slavering hell-hound, don’t you think?
I like some of the achievements very much in that they’ll push you to do something stupid/fun to get them. Like ‘The Teaser’ were you have to pull stupid expressions in the middle of a fight before killing everybody. :D
But I think others would’ve been better as secrets that you had to stumble across.
But then I’ve no intention of getting all the achievements anyway. Just the ones I want.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I have not named my dog – it is merely enough to have the dog. Nor have I shot a rabbit or kicked a chicken…
Much as you like your achievements, Jake, but it is not necessary to try and gain all of them. They must be included with the game is all. There are ones I choose not to pursue when it comes to this game. Perhaps that is the ultimate choice to make here – play for points or just to experience the world, the story, that has been crafted?
October 29th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
You haven’t kicked a chicken? You really should – those suckers can bounce when they hit a wall.
October 30th, 2008 at 10:29 am
No, I haven’t. Maybe I will if/when I play an evil character.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Chicken kicking doesn’t come out as evil – despite the crying face of the chicken on the achievement. Rabbit shooting on the other hand…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am
But it is evil though… I used to have chickens so I’m not going to kick digital ones! Well, I would if they’re ones with, I don’t know, cunningly concealed lasers or something. But that’s a whole other game…