Review
Fable II Pub Games [Xbox Live Arcade] (Xbox 360)
$10 for a Head Start Towards Fable II
by Coop
Name: Fable II Pub Games
Genre: Gambling
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Fable II Pub Games has gone live today allowing anyone who preordered the game (if promotional code works) or wants to purchase it on Xbox Live to begin collecting gold, items, and concept art. The gimmick of being able to begin accumulating wealth before beginning Fable II is interesting, and as long as the Pub Games are fun I could have seen this as being a huge addition to the game. This, sadly, was not the case.
The three games included are Fortune's Tower, Keystone, and Spinnerbox. Spinnerbox is a play off of a slot machine, instead placed in a small triangular box with different spinning coins. The only real say you have in the game is how much you want to bet and when to spin, so it’s really a game of complete chance. Keystone works like a strange mix of roulette and craps, where you place different chips on numbers, colors and symbols to guess what number three dice will roll up.
The only game that is actually fun is Fortune’s Tower, which can’t really be compared to any other game. The deck consists of cards numbered 1-7 and “Hero Cards,” and you fill a row with incrementally more cards, hoping that the horizontal row’s numbers will not touch a similar number below. If this happens, a “Misfortune” occurs, ending the game unless the row has a “Hero” card, which negates any “Misfortunes,” or the player still has their top card which can negate one “Misfortune.” After every row, the option to take the money and leave is offered, with the amount being the cards’ numbers added together, plus different multipliers. It is sort of like the game show Press Your Luck, where you can either win or last long enough to see yourself lose. Make it seven rows and be rewarded with a huge bonus, sometimes up to several hundred gold.
They seem like they will work their way into Fable II really well by not only rewarding you for great success at the table, but great losses. If you choose, for some reason, to combine the losses of your Pub Games player with your Fable II persona there will, supposedly, be consequences. This is strange, but for players looking to enhance their experience in the game by creating a down-and-out gambling addict I can’t say that any other game gives as good of tools.
The Fable II Pub Games are sort of a strange case, as they are just barely games and in no way worth the $10 no matter how excited for Fable II you are. There are achievements to earn and different unlockable levels for each game, but it’s still very light on content. As a pre-order bonus, however, they are fantastic, and set a new standard for content included with a simple $5 deposit. At zero cost it does sweeten the pre-order deal, but on their own I can’t recommend it for anyone.
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Comments
Didn't this just get cracked?
this kind of thing looks good as something packaged with the game or a mini-game inside of fable, but not a separate purchase, or at least that's what i think, and pretty much what you said.
I pre-ordered Fable II, but my EB still doesn't have the preorder codes. :/
Coop is just sour cause he sucks at them and he lost all his gil or gold or whatever.
LOL
The simple fact that this was free with a pre-order is awesome. I agree that this should set a new standard for future bonuses with pre-orders and the like. In the end, however, I don't see myself playing this much at all. I've never enjoyed the card game side quests in FF and other mini games within a game like this. The idea that you can transfer your money towards your future character is great, but you have to figure a lot of people didn't pre-order this and even less are paying $10 for it, so I'll most likely be waiting for Fable II to arrive another way.
I can also attest to Coop being the least lucky person ever, and thus the bad review :P
My first impressions with Spinnerbox was..."Wow, what a great game...I sit here and push A until I actually win something." Keystone I actually liked, my sort of casino game. But I have yet to try Fortunes Tower on the demo.
All in all, I agree that it probably doesn't constitute the 800 points by itself, but if you got it for free, you can't argue what you get for nothing.