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We heard about this at GDC in February, but in case you didn’t Fable II has a suite of Xbox Live Arcade games that connect back to Fable II. The trio of Fable II: Pub Games includes Keystone, Spinnerbox, and Fortune’s Tower. The list is more simply explained as a craps/roulette combination, slot machines, and “a press your luck style of game” respectively. Fable II: Pub Games comes out in August, before the unknown Fable II ship date, and it’s free providing you pre-order Fable II. Otherwise, it costs 800 Microsoft Points ($10) to earn virtual gold for a game you don’t plan to buy. Procrastinators get Fable II: Pub Games on the Fable II disc so there really isn’t any reason to purchase Fable II: Pub Games post-launch.
The concept of having a separate mini-game that links back to the actual game reminds me of Triple Triad or Final Fantasy VII: Snowboarding. The difference is both of those couldn’t be found until you purchased the retail package. Imagine if you could have played Triple Triad online before Final Fantasy VIII came out and amassed a collection of Bahamut cards.
In addition to Fable II: Pub Games there is more downloadable content that connects with Fable II. The collector’s edition includes a second disc with a making of feature disc, Hobbie figure, LIVE trial card, and additional in-game content which requires an Xbox Live account to access. The dog isn’t sold separately, but dog armor might be. The limited edition of Fable II will retail for $79.99 while the vanilla game only release is $20 cheaper at $59.99.
Images courtesy of Microsoft.
