I've finally took out Fable 2 to complete it.. as it turns out, I was but just 5 minutes of gameplay away from the conclusion of the main Fable 2 storyline.. having previously put down (and not getting the motivation to pick it up again) at the dream land sequence, due to being made by the game to "have fun" for another day in the dream land again, before the final "boss" (as it turns out, the final "boss" is rather anti-climatic... so I'm not sure if you can even call it a "boss").

Having played encountered many other games in between when I first started playing Fable 2 and now, I couldn't help but feel that, as a whole, Fable 2 isn't a very impressive game.

Here are just some jots about what I didn't quite like about the game.. which isn't to say that the game isn't without its merits but these are probably covered by the official game reviews already.

• Frame rate issues: Frame rate dips visibily during combat sequences and the combat sequence itself feels very laggy and unresponsive when compared to say, Bayonetta. There are even slight delays and lag when going into the game menus, etc.
• Ugly characters/clothings: Clothings look a great deal nicer and flashier in the original Fable. In Fable II, particularly if you put points into developing the physique of your character (to build a well-rounded character as probably is intended...), you invariably end up looking like a muscular hulk. Combined with the side effects of developing your dexterity and magic, your Hero can really look like quite the monstrous entity instead of, well, a Hero. This is the case even if you were to develop your character as a paragon (there is a visual halo around the top of your character), in which case one is reminded of the various angelic monsters/grosteques in Bayonetta.... ...actually scratch that, most of the monsters of Heaven in Bayonetta look better :)
  
  Its quite amusing really reading the many players online cursing out loud at having drunk the irreversible Sex Change potion offered in the epilogue sections of the game turning their male characters into female ones.. as the effective difference from the change was the presence of breasts and a higher vocal pitch for the Hero to match the absolutely grosteque body.. (i.e. female Heroes in Fable II are utterly undesirable, or at the very least, unattractive beings...)
  
  I guess the bottom line is that looks does matter to players.. its hard for a player to play a game where they absolutely hate or detest the character that they're controlling.. and while Fable is a game about choices and consequences, there appears to be no way to make an attractive character, unless, you play the game without developing your physique/dexterity/magic powers (although it certainly is possible to make a menacing/evil looking one)..
  
  I actually find the clothes in Fable I to be much nicer looking, and the childhood phase to be the moment where your character looks the best.
• The whole romance, starting a family thing in Fable II is kind of contrived.No actually it is extremely contrived.. there was not a moment where I felt a connection to my in-game spouse or kid.. but perhaps this is because of how unattractive characters in Fable II look in genral and how generic most of them sound. Compare this to say.. if the characters with whom we were pursuing a relationship in Fable II looked as good as the characters of Final Fantasy (FF13, FF10, FF8, FF7 or even Ashe in FF12) with a personality to back it up, things would probably be really different and the in-game relationship might be more meaningful. (Although.. the way you engage in a relationship at the moment is still too shallow.. at the moment, it might involve making a clown out of yourself or farting non-stop in front of the person you're trying to court, gifts and a wedding ring.. There isn't any real meaningful courtship, conversations, etc...) The dog works though :)
• Combat sort of works but overall isn't very satisfying (I think Fable I's combat system worked better overall, hm..) and is compounded by the framerate issues which makes it feels unresponsive and laggy. Ya.. I mentioned this already but I guess this is ultimately the deal-breaker for me which is why I mentioned it again. Considering how ugly the Hero looks and how shallow and meaningless things such as reputation, family and romance are in the game, an engaging combat system might be the only thing to keep players playing Fable after completing the story. Alas, combat in Fable II really pales in comparison to say, the ones found in Batman Arkham Asylum or Bayonetta.. Even the combat in Saboteur (which utilises 3rd-person melee and ranged shooting too)which is genreally regarded as unpolished is much more satisfying, although I must confess it isn't really comparable :P Perhaps Jade Empire then.. Jade Empire's combat system, as shallow as it really is given its context, is ultimately still much more satisfying than Fable II's combat!

Hm I actually intended to just jot down a few points about the game here instead of.. "reviewing" the game or discussing these points to such depth. Looks like I got carried away.. :|

Anyway, here's hoping Fable III will be MUCH better though by the looks of it thus far, I can't help but doubt it..