Fable 2: The Next Big Advance In Open-World Gaming?

Fable 2 not only promises a fantastic RPG, but also a new experience in gaming as we know it.

dkpatriarch writes: "It was a huge leap when gaming went from two dimensions to three dimensions, but now the next big jump may be here: the fourth dimension. That dimension is time.

Yes, we've seen Oblivion-style weather and day-time/night-time changes, even in racing games like Project Gotham Racing 4. Yes we've seen time manipulation with action slow-motion in games like Max Payne, and time-reverse with games like Prince of Persia and Timeshift. And yes, games like Civilization have given rise to towns or cities that change in stages over time. However, Fable 2 promises to bring an open-world free-roaming game where no GTA, Oblivion, or Assassin's Creed has gone before using the fourth dimension."

[Hunter86]

Fantastic read. So pumped about this game. I just hope it lives up to all the promises this time round.

[dktxx2]

Who knows? Molyneux tried to keep his mouth shut so it may actually over deliver.

[radio0o]

dont really see how this "world" can be so big when they only have 7GB of disc space to work with. theyll need to cut back in many other places

[Hububla]

i dont know if this is almost too much you know.. i mean like what if you do something and it has really sh!t consequences in the future.. i mean there is nothing you can really to to take it back.. and i mean... buying ur family food so they wont die... thats going a little over board dont you think? your gunna be watching every little thing you do and you will have to keep coming back to do the same things like.. feedin ur family.. fun..... its a really good idea and i think it should be used in other games too but... i IMO they went a little over board with it..

[Shadow Man]

Have you seen Oblivion and GTAIV?

[LastDance]

Sounds really good....but....like in many games the consequences of actions need to be real and ROBUST...too often i find that players being able to manipulate a game is really superficial.

still if its as good as they say...would be a really immersive game.

[Skyreno]

read it, say this game is going to be good.... i doubt it lol well lets see if is going to be flop like others ^^ just wait this game is going to be rated 7.0

[fufotrufo]

ahahahahahaha you are funny!!! hahaha

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.... NOT!

:P

[gaminoz]

Molyneux has been careful in interviews about not 'promising' things he can't show. The co-op aspect alone will make this great, but the idea that the world changes over time and not in some scripted way, is amazing.

I agree with the article.

[Firstkn1ghT]

The second comment by a sony fanboy bashing a 360 article. Oh how this site has fallen to the trash.

[dktxx2]

Firstknight, dude, ps3 articles get trolled by 360 trolls, and 360 articles get trolled by ps3 trolls. It's not like only Droids do it.

[solidsnakus]

its pretty sad theres actually ps3 trolls in here saying this is gonna flop. fable 1 was highly received and had alot of awesome ideas and gameplay mechanics. yet these same trolls turn around and praise killzone 2, a game where the first game suckd bawls @ under 70s from many big reviewers. i still remember people calling killzone the "halo killer" LMFAO!!!

[Immortal Kaim]

This game, by all accounts will be a fantastic experience. The whole mechanics of dynamic change is hopefully realised to its full potential this time.

[gaminoz]

I can't wait to see towns evolve from little settlements and going back places and seeing them look so different. Still not sure about the dog thing, but the family dynamic is exciting.

[Superfragilistic]

According to the latest issue of Gamerzine, Fable 2's world continues whilst you are not playing it. For example if you own shops and property they will continue to generate income, rent and change in value for when you return.

Molyneux even admits that they had to change the property pricing economy so that as the economy becomes more prosperous whilst you're away, property prices similarly inflate (and vice versa).

This would only further deepen the dimension this article is talking about. ;)

[XboxOZ360]

There's two followers of games like this,

Those that love them, those that hate them.

Most that love them are usually older or more "mature" gamers while those that hate them are younger gamers who simply desire instant gratification, fighting and mayhem in all games.

So when games like this come along, that offer much more than simply fighting, shooting and mayhem, they bag them and call them rubbish.

For those that spend the time with the game, or games like this, they are usually very well rewarded in the experience, and find that many hours are absorbed into the game before they know it.

[LastDance]

I undstand where your coming from.....And i am not a rabid child who aboslutely needs to kill stuff.. however, like yahtzee says in his review of Oblivion, Immersion isnt just quantity. I tryed playing oblivion and found it to be very average. A lot of mind numbing side quests and drab scenery.

Just too add something.
P.s If you need proof, atm im playing agatha christies: murder on the orient express :P

[TheColbertinator]

4D does not exist because time does not exist.It is merely a system of measurement and therefore it does not have natural elemental attributes.It cannot be harnessed or controlled like light or sound and it does not exist altogether.The PS3 and the 360 cannot do 4D programming regardless of power.It is simply called the decay effect and it does not equal 4D.As for Fable 2,stop hyping it too much.It will be a great game but not one that defies science and physics.

[gaminoz]

Well if you want to get all technical, 3D gaming doesn't really exist either as it is all on a flat screen...it is the illusion of 3 dimensions during gameplay.

Interesting argument about 4d and time....So are you saying the whole theory of the 4th dimension being time is wrong?

[TheColbertinator]

Yeah.I've got a few references on it but they are too long to list.I am aware of Einstein and Hawking and their theories of time but it truly does not exist.It is just a form of measurement like the metric system.There is physical evidence of light,sound,and gravity and there is also scientific explanation of thought,love,beauty and even God but time is not one of those in the same category.

This is why 4D gaming is just an exaggeration of deep programming.Games like Oblivion,Motorstorm,Far Cry 2 and Fable are impressive feats of programming but not defying scientifical law.

[Common Sense]

It's perceived differently based on the frame of reference.

[Bangladesh]

Where your whole whiny argument falls apart is that videogames are not the real world. I see the laws of science being broken nearly everytime I play a videogame. Developers seem to have more trouble emulating the "laws of science" than not.

Here is what I would define as a "4th dimension" application.
http://www.ripten.com/2008/...

[vlazed]

4D is not just about time but about space as well. All human actions and interactions take place in the fourth dimension. The act of playing a game takes place in 4D. Many natural and unnatural phenomena are scientifically observed through their effects, such as black holes.

I think, personally, that MMORPGs are 4D games, but what I think most developers mean by 4D is environmental changes over time. For example, planting a tree and having dynamic weather patterns that factor into that trees growth over time within the game. What I see as a hindrance to true 4D gaming is constant energy to move the game through space. A console/pc would have to run the game non stop to produce the desired affect of change in the virtual world whether you are in it or not.

[Laexerias]

to see something like that happens in N4G,
here are really some users with brain..
that fills me with.. happiness =')
Oh no, im not gonna cry. Crap, i did start crying.

[snakebite36]

anyone think this will come out for pc?

[cherrypie]

Oh, I see what you did there.

One thing is for certain, there is one place it will not be coming; that is your PS3.

[devilhunterx]

As triumph would say : FOR ME TO POOP ON!

[Firstkn1ghT]

Can anybody name a game that had a living virtual world like the first Fable??? Cuz I can't think of any. You would walk around in towns and it would be packed with people doing random things. For example, Aound 8am you would see kids leaving their houses and running to school. Around 10am they would be out for recess playing around. Go inside the class and you can hear the teacher teaching the kids about dragons and random stuff. Seriously their are NO games that have that much detail. And Fable 2 is supposed to be 12 times bigger than the first.

[dktxx2]

The problem is in the first Fable there schedules never changed. The same things happened over and over. Hopefully Fable 2 can change that. And I'm actually confident that Lionhead got it done.

[Alpha_Gamer]

Yes, your right. Fable had one of the most enjoyable, interesting, and creative worlds I have ever seen. And that`s for last gen. Let`s not forget all of the game content that has NOT BEEN SHOWN. I really think this will snatch GOTY. Most people on this site would say LPB, but I know sooooooooooooooooooo much about that game already, it`s hard to be more excited for that.

[Tacki]

Animal Crossing did it to an extent. lol

Though I'm not really trying to compare that game with Fable. I can say though that Fable 2 looks to really be 'upping the ante' from the previous game. And this is coming from someone who really isn't a big fan of the first. Perhaps expactions were just too high for that title as I just didn't feel it delivered to the extent that was talked about. However, Fable 2, seems to be much more the game I was expecting with the first. Something that could be deeply immersive. At least on paper this game has many things going for it. We won't know exactly how well it's all excuted until we get our hands on the game, but I'm going in more optimistic. While I won't be buying this title right away (too many others coming around the same time), my brother has this one preordered so I shall surely give his copy a spin.

I'm very happy to hear also that this one is said to be longer. The first was shorter than I would have liked, especially for an RPG. It's nice to see the developers seem to really be expanding and improving upon the game in many ways.

[MetalNCarnet]

360 is going to have true 4D gaming before PS3? LOL, and that's all that Sony used to talk about for the PS3.

You got to admit that this is great irony. LOL

[Common Sense]

utilized procedural textures. When you drive on a track and you go back to that track, they will be tiremarks. Besides the PS3 can render allegorithmic's procedural textures faster than the 360 and an 8800 video card (not sure which one though).

[jwatt]

Honestly we've been seeing this 4d gaming already like what Common said with Motorstorm with dirt tracks and if you play the new madden you'll see that over time the players uniforms will start to get dirty. I guess you can say Fable 2 will be taking it to the next step but now you can say Sony wasn't crazy after all.

[MetalNCarnet]

yes, I will say now that Sony was not crazy.

[XboxOZ360]

The article and comment 4th Dimension has nothing to do with procedural textures and deformation, which is also readily available on the 360 through games like Forza 2, PGR3/4, Bad Comapny - heck, even Sega Rally had that with the tracks and snow . . . etc etc etc.

The article is referring to offering the player a 4th dimension in which to play. Not only interactive, but one that has unknown non-scripted reactions to various actions the player makes. All based on the actions he or she makes, and thus brings about consequences that one takes further into the game. A game like that for the PS3 would be Heavy Rain, which has similar 4th dimensional occurrences within the the gameplay.

The article is again using Fable II as it's example, but the 4th Dimension applies to all games available on all platforms. So PLEASE stop trying to make it a platform war, when it actually has nothing to do with it in the first place.

[Cajun Chicken]

4D gaming no.
First example of playable avatar based open world accurate causality in games?
Quite possibly, yes.

[MetalNCarnet]

"If you do earn a lot of money then you can begin to buy out shops in a village and manage the place, helping it to become a wealthy growing town, or letting it crumble into an impoverished wreck. Another example given by Molyneux is of a trade camp that the player can either help or destroy: if you trade in the camp it would increase their profit, and result in the growth of a small town, but if you steal from the camp or destroy the camp it may disappear completely."

... WOW! I'm going to take my trade camp to the TOP and then call the small town Norad Land! I'm sold completely.

^all I can say.

[MetalNCarnet]

why the disagree/s. I'm not being sarcastic... I'm really excited.

[Alpha_Gamer]

I seriously can`t take my mind off of this game. I feel like I can touch October 21st. This game is lying it all on the table. The previews are really impressive.

[Alpha_Gamer]

I remember in fable 1. I would get the max amount of followers (8) and they would all be bandits. I would take them on quests, and RAIIIID towns. I hope in fable 2, helping out trading camps and whatnot, would give you more willing villagers to fight for you.

[Alpha_Gamer]

This game should improve on guard dynamics, I think if you kill all the guards, you should have the town to yourself for a while. I think you should be able to slide the guard a bit of gold to fight with you for a while.

[gaminoz]

Maybe if you kill all the guards you'd have a defenseless town that is over-run by bandits and when you next visit it will be abandoned? It would be incredible if the game's AI did that sort of advanced thinking....

[Alpha_Gamer]

It seems more possible in this game. In fable 1 every town was a major town, so if it got taken over, the game would crumble. But from the sounds of it, small towns/villages will develop over time, each with it`s own lifestyle. I am guessing there are designated spots in the world where a new towns/villages will develop.

[Ozzyb]

but these guys write good articles. This is actually the one game that I would really want a 360 for. I loved the first one, and this one should be at least as good.

[Alpha_Gamer]

I wonder if this game will go beyond decorating your houses. what if you own a town. Can you hire guards? Provide entertainment?

I just thought of something. you should be able to donate to a homeless guy for some good points.

I bet you can find random shacks with some guy that will pay you to chop down trees or something.

Maybe you can be hired as a guard!

[MetalNCarnet]

I think you can get hired as a guard as one of the jobs. Plus, the rest of that stuff, It's highly possible that those things are in the game.

[MvmntInGrn]

They have been cautious in showing the game, and many of its big features remain un-shown. We will see, gamers are in for a surprise, or a disappointment.

[sirbigam]

Hopefully they get greedy like the creaters of Final Fantasy and bring it over to the PS3. Lol I never finished the first Fable cause my laptop was heating up, and I couldn't play on my crappy computer!

[Godem]

I bet you can beat Fable 2 in 2 hours, just like you could beat the first game in 2 hours.

Similar to how Bungie claimed how Halo 2 and 3, where longer, but in the end are almost the same length.

Anyway regardless, im looking forward to the game.

[gaminoz]

The main quest isn't everything....that is unless all the side quests are boring. I enjoyed many of Oblivion's side quests even more. Open-world games aren't meant to be beat in X number of hours. They are meant to let you explore.

Though I admit some games aren't as fun to explore as others...

[gaminoz]

Here's a quote from Peter Molyneux about the length of the game:

"If you just play through the core story and don't mind finishing the game as a poor lonely and unpopular hero (having ignored a large number of side quests) then I'd estimate 15-20 hours. Depending on how you play the time will, of course, vary but if you're a completist I'd multiply that basic time by five."

[cherrypie]

OMG!@!1! Super Mario Brothers suxors because you can beat it in 5 minutes!

http://blog.wired.com/games...

Or, like everyone is trying to tell you -- and you are so unclever to pretend otherwise -- the game isnt meant to be played "straight through" like a on-rails game (think R&C) but instead, meant for you to experience and explore (think GTA).

The amount of time it takes to "play through" an RPG is a moot issue -- Fable 2 is meant to be experienced, not raced-through.

[Godem]

Way to give me a headache Steven Colbert :P heheh

[Godem]

oblivions side quests were good, main problem with them, is that there was no real 'great' reward at the end of them :(

[Bangladesh]

I'm just curious, if you die of old age when you grow so old? I didn't grow old and die in Fable 1. Either way, imo that should be part of the game, if it's not, I will be slightly let down.

[Droid]

I can't wait for a time machine so I can go back to before I ever knew this sad Sony fanboy infested piece of sh1t website ever existed.

[cherrypie]

"The Next Big Advance in Open World Gaming?"

Yes.

And, a giant-leap forward for RPG gaming. From all sources thus far, previews and journalists agree, this game looks like an epic victory for RPG gamers.