The experience system is wonderful also. Depending on how you take down a mob, or depending on what kind of damage you dealt to it, will determine what type of experience ‘orb’ will drop. You can then use those orbs specifically to level up that tree to your liking, thus dividing the experience by how you play. You are also given general experience, which is kind of a back up, in case you run out of experience in one tree.
After your first experience with battle, you are lead to the jolly town of Bowerstone. Depending on your choices as a child, this town can be in one of two states. Depending on what kind of character you are trying to form, more emotions will come available. As a lawfully and pure character, you can laugh, play a lute, uwhistle at a girl, and even joke around with children. As a corrupt and ‘evil’ character, you can growl, laugh manically, mock people or play dead, therefore confusing and madding the ones that care about your well being. Either way, you can use goodness or fear to get people to do what you want them to, and each is very effective if done right. Your dog also acts as a mirror to your actions.
The economy is simple. If you keep the road clean of bandits and allow everything good to befall the town, then it will flourish. However, this can be bad for you. If an economy is flourishing, then prices are going to go up, and if that’s the case, then how will you ever afford them? One option is to part take in the game’s job system. There are three jobs you can take up — making swords for a blacksmith, cutting wood, or slinging beer for the townsfolk. Each one enables quick earnings, but unfortunately, each job also comes with a tedious mini game. The mini games are not hard, but also not very fun or rewarding, and your eyes will be ready to jump from your head to stop the boredom. You can also take up a job as an assassin or work for the town’s guard, but the rewards from these come in the form of reputation rather than revenue.
Another option is to gamble at the bars, but the game masters do come after any debts you will incur by doing so.
A third option is to keep the bandits on the road and let them terrorize the town. With a town under consent thief raids, prices will plummet, thus making it easier for you to purchase things. But, how long will your wife or husband live somewhere knowing they will be raided by bandits soon?
The final choice is to kill the bandits, keep the town safe, and make everyone love you. Of course, there is a darker side to this method, as the game gives you the option of, for instance, killing the home owner of a house you want.
The people of Albion are what really make this game though. Fable II had taken somewhat of a Brothers Grim look to it when we last left it, and Lionhead did a very nice job of fitting the right people into the game. There are dirty barflies that stumble about when the early morning has come. There are cheap businessmen, and liars around as far as you can see. There are dirty, unwanted orphans always in an abundance. There are snobby royals, and people who just think they are plain better then the rest. There are old women always gossiping, and there are men and women always talking about how handsome you are.
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