Fable II: Knothole Island

January 13, 2009 6:07PM PST

Fable IIFor people who have slayed every balverine and silenced every bard, there is finally a reason to return to Fable II's whimsical land of Albion. Lionhead released a new island via the wonders of downloadable content today, giving heroes a chance to get a new haircut and set off for battle...

Fable II

For people who have slayed every balverine and silenced every bard, there is finally a reason to return to Fable II's whimsical land of Albion. Lionhead released a new island via the wonders of downloadable content today, giving heroes a chance to get a new haircut and set off for battle. Given that this isn't a full-blown expansion, I am eschewing the scoring system of our standard reviews and simply laying out my thoughts in this convenient blog. For people who are just curious if they should spend their 800 hard-earned Microsoft points but fear even the slightest hint of a spoiler, I'll give you a quick verdict: It's fun. Check it out. For people who would like a more convincing argument, read on.

The expansion pack introduces a character who not only invented the submarine, but is also in dire need of help from a hero. After offering a few gifts to brighten your disposition, he ferries you to the fabled Knothole Island, a strange place that mainland citizens fled to long ago because they heard they would have the power to control the weather there. When the founding settlers finally died off, the new generation could not handle that power and become lost in a perpetual deluge of bristling snow. It's your job to fix the weather and give these people control over these potentially harsh conditions.

The story takes a backseat to all of the wacky adventures that you can get yourself in, but there is still a tale behind this crazy place. There are books strewn across the island that will slowly reveal the trials that these original citizens went through. Knothole Island is fairly large, with a bunch of other hidden treats as well. It provides plenty of places to search for chests, dig for buried treasure, and dive for sunken goodies under the water.

There is also a town on Knothole Island that, though small, is pretty interesting. One of the shops lets you trade seemingly useless junk for rare items that can be found only in this expansion. You'll finally have a reason to use those puny carrots you've been hording. There is also a shop to buy new augmentations for your weapons and another that lets you purchase unique furniture, clothing, and even potions. The potions are particularly cool. I won't spoil exactly what sort of powers these give you, but they are unlike anything from the main quest. Plus, you'll finally be able to complete some of the unfinished outfits from your original journey.

Knothole Island isn't all about finding books and getting new clothes, though. There are three quests to play through as well. Each of these quests has you running through a dungeon, so there aren't any clever twists in your journey, but at least the dungeons are really well constructed. You'll find an abundance of switches this time, those colored orbs that require you to attack them in a certain way before they'll activate. This is the trickiest part of your trek because you'll have to quickly attack these swerving targets before they disappear. There aren't any wholly new enemies on Knothole Island, but the recycled monsters at least look slightly different from what you're accustomed to.

The new content can be as brief as an hour or two if you run through the dungeons, but if you take your time and scour every inch of the land, it can take much longer than that. The most important thing is that, though there isn't a ton of new places to explore and quests to partake in, what is here is quite good. The dungeons are longer than most in the game, presenting plenty of clever traps and deadly ambushes, and there are tons of new items to collect. And you can finally don a proper piece of armor suitable for a hero instead of the random assortment of rags you're given in the main quest. Knothole Island is a darn good excuse to return to Fable II.

By Tom Mc Shea, Editor

Tom Mc Shea loves platformers and weighty moral decisions almost as much as he likes vaseline on toast. Some call him a T-Rex with bigger arms, some call him a gorilla with smaller arms -- you can just call him the jerk who hates all the things you love and loves all the things you hate.

Follow Follow @TomMcShea