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September 1st, 2008, 10:58 Posted By: Darksaviour69
Fable 2 Pub Games
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: LionHead
Genre: Casino mini games
Players: 1
MSRP: 800 MS point ($10, £6.80, €9.30)
Platform: Xbox 360 (XBLA)
First of, you can get these games for free as they will be bundled with Fable 2 or if you preorder Fable 2. Any money you make can be used in the full game of Fable 2, but also if you get too much debt it will have consequences in the fable world (people will come after you for the the money you owe? ). Also when you win tournaments you can unlock items for the main game, like strength potions, tattoos etc. Sounds like a nice little game to wet you apatite for when the main game comes out, doesn't it? Shame the games are so bad ....
There are 3 games in Pub games, Spinnerbox ,Keystone, Fortune's Tower. You can only play some of the low bet limit games first in each type, the rest are unlocked as you gain experience points, which are gained mostly by how much you bet and not how much you win, which is good because it seems you lose more than you win in some of the games.
Fortune's Tower is by far the best of the 3, Its basic card game, cards are laid out in a pyramid formation with a row added to the bottom for every round. First you place your bet then the first 3 cards are drawn, the first card in turned down, and the next 2 are placed face up underneath (in a pyramid formation). For each round another row is added to the pyramid, and your winnings is based on the total value of all the face cards on that row (15 is break even). Now the catch. If a card from the current row is touching a card of the same value on the row above it, it's "Burned" which is game over. The only way that can be stopped is if an Knight card is drawn in that row (as in the screenshot above), which saves the row from any burned cards. If no Knight cards are drawn, then the card from the top of the pyramid (who's value you don't know) is used to replace the "burned" card, but this can only be used once.
For each row you have the option to take the current offer of that row, or risk revealing another row. But as there are more cards on each row, there further down the pyramid you go, the higher the reward could be, but then there is more chance to be "burned". If you get to the last row with out using the save card from the top of the pyramid, you win the jackpot, which is the face value of all the cards in the pyramid added together (= alot), so there is a good reason to keep going to the end.
Yeah its seems a bit complex, but once you play it, it makes sense. You can draw parallels with "Deal or No Deal" as is all about getting the best deal you can get.
Keystone is basically a roulette game. You make bets on what number, colour, shape, etc that will be thrown. Once bets are placed 3 dice are thrown, which added up, is the wining number. Each time a number is thrown a stone is removed, if that stone has already been removed then the one under is removed. This keeps going until the "keystones" are removed (2 or 18 / 10 and 11). The rules are interesting, and some of the variants have reverse rules (you bet on what numbers are not thrown) , but ultimately its very slow, drawn out game.
Spinnerbox is medieval version of slots, and like slots requires no skill, other than pushing a button. The only saving grace is you don't have to be in the same room to play (thanks wireless control), just keep hitting "A" (Auto-fire anyone), to keep spinning, which is handy for getting though the tournaments, which, if you have not guess by now, are complete luck if you win.
Most Casino computer games fail because there is no risk with virtual money, who cares if you lose. What makes Fables pub games interesting, losing (and winning) does mean something.... if you are planning to buy Fable 2 when it comes out. But considering only one of the 3 mini games, is really a game that can be called "a game", its not really anywhere near enough to justify 800ms points for it. As a free game is interesting, but asking people to pay for it is a bit much. I was wondering why this game has been left out of the much hype "Summer of Arcade" that Microsoft has been going on about, now I know why.
Pros:
- Unlocked items for Fable 2
- Might earn money for Fable2
- One of the games is interesting
Cons:
- Most likely get debt for Fable 2 (unless you use the glitch)
- Only 3 Games
- OMG So Boring!!
Overall: 
*Note: the above score is in relation to 800ms points price point. If you get it for free, add a few more points to it 
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