Not bad if your desperately searching for a semi-decent RPG. As always, don't believe the hype.
Slow as in the way it starts off, aka a snails pace. Shallow in its combat and depth of character customization concerning skill sets and attacks. As for the mucky controls,... (wait for it there is light at the end of this dark tunnel)
Well lets get into some of the gameplay mechanics. Someone tell me why in a sequel to a "best selling" title my character floats around rather then runs or walks. Try to make a right turn to sharply and you'll note that you "float" around in more of a circular motion as opposed to a right angle. How hard is it to allow character movement at 90 degree angles? every other game on the face of the planet seems to be able to handle it. Unbelievable oversight that this control mechanic was not fixed before the games release. Granted after 3-4 hours or so you'll get used to it and should be able to compensate for it in combat most the time although its still frustrating to have to deal with.
When casting spells you have to charge your magic thus making the higher level spells generally unusable even once you've got the skill points to acquire them. I found a slight way around this by using the time control spell in the first slot but that meant having to keep it in my number one slot for almost the entirety of the game. Which wasn't all that bad either since it also allowed you to teleport behind your enemies during melee combat, but it still would have been nice to have the option to switch my level one spell once in awhile and not have to worry about losing the ability to use the rest of the spells. Most all of the spells are cool and fun looking in theory but they don't translate into the game-play very well and they are all the same old tired tricks from games and wizards past.
The ability to buy and sell real estate and business is cool but kind of pointless considering you can buy the best weapons in the game after only a few hours of playtime. Outside of that you'll need just a bit of gold for potions which can be easily acquired from the job quests. I bought the master katana and some flintlock pistol about 3-4 hours into the game and never found weapons better or stronger. leaving much to be desired in that category.
On the back of the box the text describes this game as "open world" which couldn't be further from the truth, your on a single track the whole time being guided by a golden trail. This game is more on rails then most ps2 titles I've played.
The storyline,... was in my opinion non-existent. There was a total of about 4-6 main quests by my count and then it was game over. Am I missing something that was supposed to be carried over from fable one? I doubt it.
As for the graphics, they were certainly nice to look at, but then again nothing special. I didn't even notice a difference between my standard definition television and computer monitor which is usually a difference as equally noticeable as night and day.
As for the sound, the effects were right on, but there is almost no music to be heard in the entirety of the game outside the title and loading screens. Granted it kicks in once in awhile when your fighting a horde of enemies, it immediately shuts off and the conclusion of the battle. Too quiet for my taste, i really wish they could have gotten a decent score written or the game, would have helped it quite a bit in my book.
My largest complaints would be the controls and the lack of depth. A few hours into the game just when you think its getting good, its over. I did as many side quests as i could stomach but quit and did the main quests once i realized the ones i hadn't done yet were all about seducing in game characters or arranging marriages. Sorry but polygon breasts don't excite me, nor does the virtual pursuit of them. The inclusion of such a thing and with such heavy focus on it (even including condemns for your rendezvous) brings this game down a whole other level.
Despite its many flaws however the game was fun for a quick play through as I didn't expect much going into it. It wasn't very challenging and because the difficulty is adjusted for toddlers there are no frustrating battle sequences due to the game-play mechanic oversights, although as I said it leaves much to be desired by the veteran RPGer. Its average as average can be, but still kind of fun if your looking for a bearable 360 RPG.