Search Results

You may recall an exploit was discovered not long after the Fable 2 Pub Games was released that allowed unscrupulous players to gain a near endless amount of gold. This raised quite a few eyebrows, since this ill-gotten cash can later be imported into the full Fable 2 game. Well, now it looks like the bottomless money pot is about to run dry. Lionhead Studios has announced that a patch is definitely coming to fix the exploit. They also noted that players shouldn’t worry too much about accruing debt in the Pub Games, since it will only transfer to the full game’s pub, and players can then either pay it off or perform some community service.

No word yet though on if they actually plan on doing anything about the players who already gained a ridiculous amount of gold using the exploit. I doubt they could actually figure out conclusively who cheated their way to success, but you never know.

Via Fable 2 Development Blog

If you found this story interesting, why not subscribe to our RSS feed to get your daily fix of gaming news?

Take note, developers: if you’re going to give players a chance to accumulate money before a game comes out, you might want to make sure there aren’t any glitches present in that system. That’s the issue facing Lionhead now that an exploit has been discovered in their Fable 2 Pub Games that’s netting some unscrupulous players an endless supply of cash. Checking the leaderboards soon after the game’s release, I was amazed to see how much gold some people had managed to accrue in just a few hours. Now that I know how they most likely did that, it’s less impressive. The video above shows just how the method works, but it’s really as simple as hitting the LB button right after you place a bet in Tower of Fortune. This basically tricks the game into giving you a payout much greater than the one you put in almost every time, so you can just keep raking in gold to your heart’s content.

It is worth noting however that Lionhead may be working on a way to strip some players of their ill-gotten gold later on. Still, if you’ve got no qualms about cheating and denying yourself much of a challenge when the full game comes out, go right ahead.

It’s week three of the Summer of Arcade, and that means the beloved Bionic Commando remake, Rearmed, is now available for 800 Microsoft points ($10). BC fans are no doubt already sold on the game, but as an extra incentive, completing certain things in Rearmed will unlock content and hints for the upcoming Bionic Commando game.

Unfortunately, Rearmed is limited to offline multiplayer; there’s no online component to the game, but that didn’t stop 1UP from giving the game an A. Jeremy Parish wrote, “Game remakes have become their own little cottage industry in recent years; any company in possession of a stable of classic franchises is essentially sitting on free money. Even then, remakes of Rearmed’s caliber are uncommon; it ranks up there with Metroid: Zero Mission and Mega Man: Powered Up as the best of the best, the standard by which to judge all others.” So it’s probably worth a look.

Also now available, albeit not actually a part of the Summer of Arcade, is Fable 2 Pub Games, which allows you to play casino-style mini-games to earn money that you’ll be able to use once Fable 2 is released. The game runs you 800 points ($10) which, to me, is way too much, but if you’ve pre-ordered the game you should have gotten a code to get the game for free. Personally I can’t imagine wanting to play this stuff outside of Fable 2 (where I’d only do it when I absolutely need to), but hey — that’s just me.

The revelation that the new Bionic Commando was originally planned as a PSP title no doubt got you thinking about playing a new BC game. While that game has yet to be given a release date, Bionic Commando: Rearmed (800 MS points or $10) has been — this Wednesday. Those who are weary about the new look and feel of Rearmed’s big brother needn’t worry. The classic 2D style returns along with the rest of the game, albeit with new graphics, weapons, online rankings and a reworked soundtrack.

Those who haven’t already should check out last week’s episode of The 1UP Show, which featured a segment with the game. Or if you’re not a fan of movin’ pictures like that, Jeremy Parish wrote up a very digestible E3 preview. Suffice it to say he was pleased with what he saw, going so far as to say, “This could very well go down as the finest retro remake ever.” If that’s not a ringing endorsement to at least check out the trial version on Wednesday, I don’t know what is.

And those of you who have pre-ordered Fable 2 will be able to download Pub Games on Wednesday and start earning in-game money ahead of time. If you haven’t pre-ordered the game, Pub Games will run you the same price as Rearmed – 800 points — which is rather excessive. Apparently Microsoft really wants you to get your pre-order in, but I’m not entirely sure getting to play some casino mini-games are really that great an incentive.

It looks like a list of Fable 2’s achievements may have leaked online, revealed a few more tidbits about the game. Actually, it’s one of the more interesting lists of achievements I’ve seen in recent memory. Collecting those Gamerscore Points will have you performing a wide variety of tasks that you might not have considered otherwise. But here’s the one that’s got the internet all abuzz this morning:

The Swinger -5g
Take part in a orgy, responsibly

Now, this brings up two valid questions: 1) Orgies!? and 2) Does this mean you can take part in an orgy irresponsibly and what does that entail? Actually, on second thought…don’t answer that.

Via Xbox 360 Achievements

Seems I spoke too soon. Earlier this morning, details were released on the Collector’s Edition of Fable 2, which listed — among several other items — an “otherwordly bonus.” Well, from the looks of some new screenshots for the game, it seems that “bonus” looks like Medieval re-imagining of Halo’s Master Chief. I have no idea whether this is a character or a suit of armor or what, but it certainly looks sweet. Okay, now I could see why someone would want to spend the extra dough on the Collector’s Edition of the game.

Good news, Fable fans. An official release date for the upcoming Fable 2 has finally been revealed, and that date is (dun dun dun dunnnn) October 21st. Hmm, I doubt I’ll be totally done with Fallout 3 by that point — since it releases two weeks earlier — but that probably won’t stop me from picking this one up as well. In addition to the release date, there are now official details on what to expect in the Collector’s Edition of the game:

• Bonus DVD – Includes new ‘Making-of Feature’ with Peter Molyneux and the team at Lionhead Studios and concept art viewer

• Bonus In-Game Content (Requires LIVE account) – Includes “The Hall of the Dead” Dungeon, “The Wreckager” Legendary Cutlass Weapon and Otherworldly Bonus

• Collectible Hobbe figure with accessories – From the Qee Collection comes this one-of-a-kind Hobbe figure. Nasty, brutish, and short, he roams the countryside, preying on travelers and spiriting away the children of the unwary.

• 48-hour Xbox LIVE Gold Trial Card – With Xbox LIVE Gold, players can show off their individual hero by inviting friends into their unique version of Albion or they can visit their friends’ Albion, and earn additional gold, experience and renown to take back into their own.

• Five printed Fate Cards – These five beautiful cards foretell the Hero’s great destiny to journey across all of Albion, encountering deadly enemies and enigmatic allies. The path leads to a choice that will change the world forever.

Don’t know if all that’s really worth the extra few bucks the Collector’s Edition will cost, but Fable 2 is still on my ever-growing list of games that will keep me broke during the rest of the year.

Via GamerScore Blog

Yes, you read the title right - more Fable is headed our way in the future.

During a recent interview, Peter Molyneux was speaking about Lionhead putting the finishing touches on Fable 2 and let it slip that more Fable would be headed our way in the future. Fable 3, Fable 4 and Fable 5 are planned because of the whole world of Fable being such a huge story arc. However, Molyneux has decided that after the Fable series is finished, he would like to maybe do a sports or perhaps a driving game.

“One day I really should do a sports game, just because it really seems such a genre which is just locked in stone. We know how we do sports games. That is a real challenge to me. Same with things like driving games. What I want is for a game I do next is a really big challenge.”

With the addition of male and female protitutes, gambling, and the prerequisite good vs evil prevelent in Fable 2, I am just wondering how much further the game can be pushed with three more entries into the series. You can already practically be a polygamist, raise a family, become butt-ugly, and have your own personal fan club in the form of a canine companion - so what else could possibly be added to it?  A talking horse? Your own polygamy camp in Texas complete with child brides? The ability to catch and STD from hookers? Eventually becoming so disfigured from your evil ways that you cannot even walk? Gambling addiction that will hinder your progress through the game?

With Peter Molyneux behind it, any thing is possible and that will make for an interesting ride regardless.

Thanks: VG247, Actiontrip

Here are the other screens I promised you earlier for Fable II as well as the trailer that was shown at E3.

Included in the gameplay footage, you get to see a short bit where your character will meet your canine companion. You see the dog walk up and lick your hand - ok everyone together now - awwwwwww. I am always worried about keeping my animal alive when they include them in games. You cannot not believe the times I reloaded playing Fallout II just because Dogmeat died. I am such a girl.

According to the Microsoft press conference, in which Peter Molyneaux showed the audience how to bring a friend on XBL over to meet his wife in the game, it was revealed that the game is set 500 years after the original took place. Peter also went on to reiterate the innovative real-time gameplay, the massive amount of freedom and choice to explore a vast collection of dungeons, and the catacombs and taverns in the world of Albion.

Therefore, in short, here is what to expect from Fable II when it hits shelves for the Xbox 360 in October:

• Choices, consequences. The innovative gameplay pioneered in the original “Fable” provided gamers with a never-before-seen level of immersion in a truly interactive world. “Fable II” expands upon the scope and depth of the Xbox classic by adding incredible new features and creating a wider, more complex kingdom of limitless choices and consequences. Players will have the option to play as a man or woman, get married, have children, and live a life of their own design — all leading to different destinies.

• A land far, far away. Gamers will revisit the newly expanded world of Albion more than 500 years after the events of the original “Fable,” where they are free to explore the landscape and openly roam the countryside. For the right price, every house, hut, dungeon and castle is for sale. Players can witness how the world grows and changes in response to their decisions in incredible and unique ways as they rediscover Albion as if for the first time.

• Fight with ease. “Fable II” pioneers a new combat system designed to allow players to truly master hand weapons such as swords and maces, ranged combat weapons such as crossbows and guns, and an entirely new magic system. These three disciplines, while very accessible, are also amazingly deep, and allow players to mix combat styles and become everything from master swordsman to skilled ranger to evil magic wielder, each using a different single button on the Xbox 360 Controller.

• A hero’s best friend. This groundbreaking addition to the game is integral to the theme of unconditional love in “Fable II.” A player’s canine companion will act as friend, compass and protector. Players must merely feed their pooch and he will love unconditionally, creating a bond that sets up emotion-filled journeys throughout this magical world.

• Experience the world together. For the first time in the “Fable” series, gamers can experience the expansive and immersive world of “Fable II” with friends, either on the same couch or over Xbox LIVE together in co-operative mode.2 “Fable II” embodies the new Xbox experience and will extend the Xbox LIVE service further with the introduction of orbs. Orbs allow for seamless LIVE co-op play and interaction with other “Fable II” players.

• Xbox LIVE Arcade “Fable II” Pub Games earn major gold. Lionhead Studios is providing an unparalleled experience to gamers through Xbox LIVE Arcade. Gamers can start earning in-game currency for the “Fable II” world in August 2008, before the game’s release to retail, by downloading and playing an Xbox LIVE Arcade title, which contains three casino-style minigames titled “Fortune’s Tower,” “Keystone” and “Spinnerbox.” Gamers can win items such as dog tricks, potions and chocolates; unlock 15 pieces of concept art; and use the gold earned to purchase weapons, armor and more in “Fable II.” This is a first-of-its-kind experience for gamers that can only be found on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

For more screens, hit the jump.

Read the full article

Microsoft kicked off E3 with a press conference not unlike a firecracker that has been dipped in water: it starts off exciting, but then the fuse runs out and all you get a a little “pop” if you’re lucky. Similarly, they brought out the big guns for an opener, leaving everything but the last few minutes pretty unsurprising. Read on for a play-by-play of Microsoft’s big E3 announcements. Read the full article

I suppose this sort of news was just too good to keep under wraps until E3, but whatever Peter Molyneux’s reasons are for wanting to give the gaming public an extra bit of Fable 2, it’s his baby so he can do whatever the hell he wants - and I for one am not complaining.

OXM has the goods regarding the new info, and if you are a subscriber then you are already privy to this information. For the rest of you, who do not get OXM, here is a sampling of what the mag has insides its “pocketes”. Some of the info listed below is new, and some is just expanded upon - for the full monty you will have to get it from your copy of OXM - or just wait for someone to post the whole thing online.

• Good and Evil expanded. There are four traits to consider now, with purity/corruption and kindness/cruelty determining your overall character. One example cited is a beautiful girl who is about to be stricken by a curse of terrible scars - do you save her by taking on this curse yourself?
• Decisions change appearance. Those stained by corruption will find their teeth turning crooked and yellow, to give one example.
• No HUD. In an effort to streamline the experience as much as possible, Fable 2 won’t have a HUD.
• No cutscenes. Non-interactive cinematics take up less than five minutes of game time.
• No more bumpkins. The voice acting has been kicked up a couple of notches, as Fable 2 moves away from the country bumpkin speak of its predecessor. Stephen Fry is one of the confirmed voice actors.
• Magic spells revealed. Inferno, Time Control, Magic Blades, Raise Dead and Force Push are some of the spells you’ll be able to use.

If you would like to find out what the full list of magic spells are, how Molyneux was influenced by Bioshock and Call of Duty 4 and some cool details regarding co-op you will have to check out OXM for yourself. The article also goes on to detail how a second player can create a henchman character on the fly when you need help defeating some of the tougher monsters. They are the first members of the press to get their hands on the game, and considering it is an Xbox 360 exclusive, does that really surprise you?

In case, like me you are not a subscriber, Gaming Today will be causing riots and mayhem at E3 next week (I keep telling you that for a reason) so expect to know more about Fable 2 when Jon, Ron, and Shawn get out of the LA County Detention Center.

Via: OMX

We’ve heard about this before, but now we’ve got new details on how you can earn gold for Fable 2 before the game even comes out. Basically, there will be three “Pub Games” released sometime in August that will allow you to build up your gold stash before the full game is released later on. They’re all games of chance and really wouldn’t be very impressive if they weren’t linked to Fable 2 this way:

• Keystone: A combination of Craps and Roulette
• Spinnerbox: An updated take on slot machines
• Fortune’s Tower: A “press your luck” style of game

There will also be a game called “Shell,” which is really a tutorial for all three mini-games. Playing enough of these should allow you to buy weapons, houses, dog tricks, and more right from the start. You’ll be able to download the games in one package for 800 MS points, or get them free when you pre-order the game.

Via Xbox.com

According to CVG, Lionhead’s has recorded over 370,000 words of dialogue for Fable 2 and the audio was recording at the London-based firm, Side where over 45 actors (aged from 8 to 80) were cast to play almost 200 speaking characters.

From the newsletter:

“Four of Side’s voice directors ensured that all performances harmonized perfectly with Fable II’s idiosyncratic world and captured the complexities of its inhabitants. The voice recording ran concurrently in two studios for over three months, amounting to nearly 370,000 words recorded - that’s 38 hours of dialogue.”

Peter Molyneux said:

“The sheer amount of dialogue in Fable 2 meant this was a massive project. Side rose to this challenge in a professional and efficient way. They have done a great job for us”.

Side was also used by Lionhead before for the original Fable, and Black and White.

Thanks: CVG

Yesterday, we posted the new Fable 2 Diary Episode 6 and while I thought it was fun and interesting as usual, I honestly never gave a second thought to the paper that Peter Molyneux was scribbling on in the video. Thanks to the sleuths over at NeoGAF who have deciphered Moylneux’s writing, the October release window that has been rumored for Fable 2 might actually be much less a rumor than previously thought. Don’t take any of this as gospel, but a possibility only.

When asked about a release window for Fable 2 in the past, Molyneux has been pretty cryptic and his comments border on riddles:

“[the game will be released]–in the fall, just as the leaves are turning due to a dip in the weather”

It has to be October because by November, at least where I am, the leaves are almost completely gone plus Gears 2 is coming out in November and they would not want to compete with that.

If you want to see what else they divulged from Peter’s scribbling click the link below.

Thanks for the Sleuthing: NeoGAF

The developers over at Lionhead Studios talk quite a bit about bringing the Fable 2 hero from concept art to completion and discuss the work involved in the process. They also discuss the evolution of the hero, changes to light whether it be day or night or walking into a dark house where as it was sunny outside and time dynamics. Other than the lighting and the looks of the game characters, they talk about what they would do if they were a woman for a day. One mentions chocolate shoes which had me wondering where I could pick up a pair of those. Thanks to the lovely internet, I found them.

Thanks to a link provided by VG247, we now have a list of developers confirmed for E3 2008 along with what titles they will be showing off at the event. While the list is still updated regularly, as of this post, this is what you can expect should you be attending.

Akella
Postal III (PC, X360)

Bethesda Softworks
Fallout 3 (PC, PS3, X360)

Capcom
Bionic Commando (PC, PS3, X360)
Bionic Commando Rearmed (PC, PS3, X360)
Capcom Project #1 [untitled] (other)
Capcom Project #2 [untitled] (other)
Dark Void (PC, PS3, X360)
MotoGP 08 (other)
Neopets Puzzle Adventure (PC, Wii)
Plunder (PC, PS3, X360)
Resident Evil 5 (PS3, X360)
Spyborgs (Wii)
Street Fighter IV (PC, PS3, X360)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (PS3, X360)

For the full list, hit the jump.

Read the full article

This is the third videogame this month that gives gamers the chance to win appearing in an upcoming game. So if you lost out on Fable 2 and Street Fighter IV, you can try your luck with Eternity’s Child, the WIiWare and PC title (Steam only) which was scheduled to come out this month. We are unsure when it will be released, but “soon” is the general consensus.

If you are unfamiliar with Eternity’s Child, we posted a YouTube video of it back in March.

Eternity’s Child is a fantasy fairytale adventure platformer game developed using the XNA game design platform and uses hand-drawn 2D characters and art to bring to life the characters and world created by Luc Bernard.

If you would like to see yourself immortalized in videogame form via WiiWare and the PC, hit the link for details on how.

Via: Silver Sphere Studios

In this new trailer for Fable 2, a mysterious figure summons mythical creatures.

To be honest with you, I really don’t know what to make of it, because it was so blasted dark most of the time. I could not see a thing, seriously.

At any rate, Fable 2 is looking to be a very highly ambitious project and I hope it not only pays off for Lionhead, but gamers as well. The game is expected to hit shelves in October.

Lionhead Studios has released three new screenshots for its upcoming game Fable 2. It’s crunch time at the office. Lionhead and Molyneaux have been making big promises about Fable 2, so much so that it will be hard for the game to live up to the hype.

The background art and character design are beautiful as you can see by the screenshots. However, even with the incredible AI demonstrated by the dog companion, the one button combat system will make or break the game.

Check out the latest screenshots like the one above and more on FileFront.

AIGameDev talks about the heroic task of creating AI side kicks. Whether it’s the the Arbiter in Halo 3 or Fable 2’s dog, a good side kick is in high demand these days, yet still elusive.

Non Player Characters with the life expectancy of the Star Trek “Red Shirt” aren’t very difficult to program for. They don’t stick around long enough to become annoying. However when you have an NPC who sticks with the character for most of the game, it becomes more difficult to make them useful without being a nuisance. This is especially true in RPGs that can play for 40 plus hours. It’s the ultimate design challenge and can make a great deal of difference in the player’s enjoyment of the game.

You have some annoying, mildly useful person circling you like a small moon, kinda holding his own in a fight – maybe enough to allow you to step back and toss down a sports drink, but whose true calling seems to be making repetitive and vaguely helpful comments that, at times, cause you to pause for a moment and ask “what the heck did he say that for?”

Wow have I been there and done that. Read about “The Art of AI Sidekicks: Making Sure Robin Doesn’t Suck” on AIGameDev.com.