While it harkens back to its predecessor with resolute devotion, Fable II has been envisioned with a new sense of clarity. Through redacting the roleplaying genre to its most basic function, Lionhead Studios has crafted a truly blank page experience that awaits players to author as they see fit. Full of humour and charm, unbarred from plodding genre archetypes, the appeal is instant. With a solid combat system, focused freedom, and true simplicity to design, the mirth of the experience is found in painting the world in your colours – even if the consequences aren’t quite as all encompassing as they should be.

Returning to the rollicking land of Albion, full of cobblestone streets, majestic manors, and characters ranging from the lively to the downright shady, this slightly twisted world is perhaps Fable’s greatest asset. Rife with comedy, both dark and crude, the pseudo British demeanour provides a neutral canvas ready to be moulded by your hand. Practice emancipated bigamy, entertain the masses with your farts, down litres of ale and do some blacksmith apprenticing soon after – you might just puke all over the forging fires. It’s a semi open ended world rich with possibility.

Born to the poor city streets of Bowerstone, big decisions come early for your little would-be Hero. From moral in betweens like reacquainting a drunk with his bottle, to clear cut moral polarities such as taking part in extortion, your early choices have a predetermined and ostensibly boundless effect. Entire towns are subject to your whim, and the consequence is mainly seen through a change in stature (a shanty town to prosperous village, or the other way around). But visual alterations are only stirring to a point.

Because crowds of admirers are so important to your sense of heroism, personal consequence is lost in interaction with the townsfolk. In a doll-like fashion, you can take a heroic pose, fart in the faces of children, or offer any number of gifts to swoon local maidens. You can feel loved, you can feel hated, but you never truly feel your affect on a tired and beleaguered housewife whose life you turned upside down. Perhaps it’s a necessary trade-off in making one variety of interaction fully formed, but nevertheless, it disconnects another.

Though it lacks overarching punch, it’s the personal journey of Fable II that’s told with a great deal of individual devotion and heart. Those closest to your voyage are shaped by your actions, namely the lovable dog that devoutly sits by your side. As a fresh faced hero, with a dazzling halo atop his head, your pooch will have a bright and shimmering coat of fur. Or if you sport an ashen complexion, thanks to years of corruption, the furry fellow will be as dark and brooding as his master. There is a strong affection for your canine buddy, and only the most hateful of hearts will remain stone cold.

And man’s best friend isn’t all just reflective looks and companionship; he is your guide in the lands of Albion, which are more open ended than memory of the original Fable would have you think. Sniffing out departures from the main trail, he’ll inform you of places to dig for booty, or treasure chests hidden by the wayside. It serves as a deviation from the glowing “bread crumb trail” that guides your journey a little too overtly.

It’s just one form of handholding in a wholly inclusive experience and, for better or worse, it works. Seeing as a helpful map is almost nonexistent, the glowing trail guides you well – even if it doesn’t help you find something as simple as your home within the larger towns. And if you are that aforementioned Hero with a great many wives and homes, then good luck finding the right one.

Stomping from town to town, quest to quest, combat is just as streamlined as every other aspect. But rather than being too simple, like a few too many other things within Fable II, scuffles with bandit hordes and fairytale creatures are easy to play, difficult to master. Each style tied to a single button, melee, ranged and magic can be used in unison with stunning rhythmic style. The accumulation of experience, specifically woven with your actions, incites you to experiment with each, resulting in some spectacular combinations.

Every other element within Fable II should have been informed with an ease of playability while retaining complexity. The multifaceted combat system achieves this like no other, and your canine friend proves to be deeply interwoven with exploration, not to mention an important figure on your journey of heroism. Decisions are imbued with ostensible consequence, only coming to some form of fruition in the later depths of the main quest. Though it’s still not everything it could and should be, Fable II is crystal clear in identity and it’s a downright rollicking good time.