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Fable II: Pubgate
Fable II fans were already stoked at the idea of gambling their way to gold o’plenty months before Fable II proper hits store shelves with the recently released XBLA Pub Games.
But free gold?
Suffice to say, most of you have heard of the exploit in the Pub Game Fortune’s Tower, which allows you to bet the highest amount while only ever removing the amount of the lowest bet from your pot.
We’ll admit: after playing totally legit for a few days and being about 1,200 gold up (I got pretty decent at Spinnerbox), I tried the cheat to see what all the hubbub was about. Indeed it worked, and in just an hour, I had more than tripled my winnings, though I felt dirtier than that time I used an Achievement walkthrough with Cars. Yeah, it’s bad.
But I smell a rat. Think about it: how did Microsoft let such a huge blunder get past testing, QA and certification? The idea of such a sizeable exploit that’s so easy to find and execute (you basically hold LB after you deal) in such a high-profile, first-party game got me thinking: If Fable II is all about choices and morality and shaping your character’s — nay, the entire world of Albion’s — destiny through the choices you make, what if the exploit is a zany Molyneux ploy put in place to test gamers without their even realizing it?
It’s easy to choose “good” or “bad,” but what about when you’re on the sneak and you think no one’s looking? Now that’s a test!
Imagine if Lionhead Studios purposely released the Pub Games with said exploit without mentioning it or trying to curb cheaters? After all, if you want to cheat, that’s your choice, right? Now let’s take it a step further. What if players who cheated in the Pub Games wake up with a winnings-hangover, stumble back to the Pub when the retail game comes out to cash in on their loot, only to find that they're automatically assigned an evil alignment when they link up their in-game characters with their Pub characters, without the ability to change it? And what if it went on your “permanent virtual record” like an in-game felony? Maybe you’d get your cheek branded with a dollar sign so everyone would know and it could affect your reputation, your ability to get work or make strides with the ladies, everything… it would be genius! You play, you pay, right? Effin’ A!
Alas, even though Molyneux has his kooky side, we’d be beyond shocked if he and his English cadre had the balls to try something like that in as high-profile a game as Fable II, though it would be one of the more provocative, thought-provoking, and unique game mechanics we’d ever seen. It would also be hella funny.
So, what do you all think about cheating in the Pub Games? Is it wrong? Does it matter? Should there be automatic consequences? Would you be pissed if there were? And finally, did you try it? Be honest and sound off, peasants!
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Beardedfoo
October 16, 2008 at 11:17am
I love the idea, but I don't buy it because: 1) how is it a cheat, when it's really just part of the game? 2) Why are there patches for it, if it really were part of the game? 3) What's to stop a "good" player from hitting the button by mistake? That wouldn't be fair to brand them a cheater based on a random button push, when the true intent wasn't to cheat at all. I could see if there were a code like an Up-Down-Left-Right-A-B-Select-Start sort of thing, but there isn't, it's just one button. I'm sure the guys at Fable will try and act like it was something they put in, only to cover a blunder.
Freekman2626
September 13, 2008 at 2:49pm
Yes, I cheated. But if the glitch (or purposely a "cheat code") is there, I don't think any consequences should/would occur. I feel real dirty about it, but no one has to know. This is what achievement whoring is about. And I kinda like it. As long as my Fable II character isn't default bad, I'm happy.
phantomofthearcade
September 13, 2008 at 9:55am
Two words: Ocean's Thirteen. I use Clooney to justify most of the bad things I do...
titio1300
September 10, 2008 at 6:22pm
Normally I would think of it as taking advantage of the game and not do it. But since the cheat is sooo easy to pull and the Pub Games are soooo bad I don't feel at all dirty taking advantage of it. I just plan on getting all the items for my character and then gambling away the cash though.
graywolf321
September 09, 2008 at 9:33pm
To answer some of the articles questions; [1] I don't think of it as 'cheating' as it is a functioning part of the game which I bought and which Lionhead signed off on. I didn't download a program to run the game for me; i.e., the WOW cheat. Nor did I break into the code to get something for free like pirating the game. [2] Wrong? Let's see; we're talking about a game where you have 3 MAKE-BELIEVE casino games where you can earn MAKE-BELIEVE money to buy MAKE-BELIEVE things in a MAKE-BELIEVE world! Perhaps we should raise our sights and reserve right and wrong for real-world problems as there seems no shortage of them. [3] See [2] about if it matters. [4] & [5] See my earlier comment below. [6] Yes I have used it and will do so until the game comes out. As a casual gamer it will allow me to open quests which I would probably never get otherwise, like buying the castle which opens up a special quest and secret passages in it. If I find it lessens the quality of gameplay (making it too easy) I can simply start a new character. I don't think anyone else is qualified to decide what will make my game more enjoyable. I don't think I would enjoy sitting in front of the computer hitting the A button while I watch an animation of a guy making a sword, especially when he only gets 5 gold after several hit, but maybe someone else will.
Spybreak
September 09, 2008 at 6:02pm
Yea I don't think you understand. I've used the cheat, it's more fun winning more money and so what I was going to be evil anyways. You get to see concept artwork so its not like evil!?
geno_1329
September 08, 2008 at 2:54pm
its really hard to win in this game using the glitch really help well i guess this your first choice, do you want it clean or do you wanna be bad,its your choice hahahhaaha
graywolf321
September 06, 2008 at 2:45pm
Although this forum is tame compared to some others I've read, I am still surprised at how fanatical some players can be. I wonder if they realize they are using the same rhetoric that certain religious groups use to force their morality on others. I agree with this article, as I find it very hard to believe such a simple 'glitch' got through the testing process; especially now that a few weeks have gone by without a patch. If it was intentional, the I'll be curious to see what Peter Molyneux does with it. If the consequences is humorous; i.e., the gamemaster only has $100000 of you money and then he sends you on a quest to beat up a local ganglord to get the rest of your money, then fine; I'll buy the game. If on the other hand, Peter really does try to 'punish' you for using HIS glitch, then I'll have a big smile on my face as I leave the computer store with my shinny new copy of Fallout 3.
BGG001
September 04, 2008 at 2:08pm
Well, I've never tried it. I heard about it but quit reading or else I would have been tempted to do it. (Thanks for making me tempted OXM...). As for the consequences, to do that to the entire game for that gamertag wouldn't be a good idea because that would ruin half of the game for the person, unless he played it on another gamertag. Although if you merge your cheating character over to your hero and then you were permanently evil, that would be funny, not to mention a very good idea.
Fiend Dragon
September 03, 2008 at 7:47pm
Remember the new complexity of the character system. Molyneux has stated that not only will their be a good/evil scale, but a social scale as well. Although importing 12 million gold (whether gained through this exploit or legitimately) will not make you 'evil', it will make you into something potentially worse: the Fable equivalent of an accountant 0:
PaperLantern
September 03, 2008 at 7:12pm
Genius! I think it would be awesome and I REALLY hope it's true, just so I can see all the hilarious threads pop up on the release date of Fable 2.
turboej25
September 03, 2008 at 5:14pm
A patch could be very revealing. if they patch it before the game launches, it was a mistake. if they patch it the same day as launch it was on purpose for sure. if they never patch it I find out when the game comes out if there are consequences, or if there are not. However without a patch it will become a Fable II exploit, not just a Pub Games exploit. So they have to do something.
Casey OXM
September 03, 2008 at 11:36am
Mitchy D, tsk tsk, you should really PLAY a game before you attempt to lay any smack down. All the Pub Games are simple button-initiated mini-games, but they're each differently centered around your wagering and risk management skills, knowing when to stay in and when to cash out. But then you haven't played it, at least on your retail account, that I can tell (see link below). Go play some and you'll see what I'm saying. http://live.xbox.com/en-US/profile/profile.aspx?pp=0&GamerTag=MitchyD88
Drainc
September 03, 2008 at 9:08am
I'll admin, I did it. And I think it'll be damn funny if they do add consequences for it. I was thinking along these lines the other day that it was strange it hadn't been patched yet. As for getting good at spinner box, there is more than just pressing A. Not all the games pay out well. You have to play the ones that pay odds better if you are going to get anywhere.
Mitch OXM
September 03, 2008 at 8:22am
I do think you're on to something though, and that Paul and Corey's mentioned discussion carry some weight. It makes sense, but do you think they'd have the balls to do it? They'd be kicking players who didn't want any evil square in the junk, but that'd be their own fault. I think with something as big as this, they would have to tell people, lest their offices burn. I think you're right about cheating having an effect, but am not 100% behind it because it would be really, really stupid of them to not tell players when it's affecting them...
drees31
September 03, 2008 at 7:09am
I was wondering if there was going to be somthing that would bite you as well if you used the cheat. Fable is the type of game I would play through a couple of times anyway so I was not planning to merge my Character the first time around. After I play a game through the first time I usually do not mind using exploits. Its interesting they have not patched the game yet. I would think it would be an easy fix.
Mitch OXM
September 02, 2008 at 11:49pm
"I got pretty decent at Spinnerbox" Really? REALLY, SIR? :D That is the Press-A game!
dollardillon
September 02, 2008 at 7:44pm
I'm a dirty cheater.... and I hope it catches up to me. That would be the greatest cross platform deat ever and a shining beacon for morality in this medium, Here, Hold this for me!
brockybrock
September 02, 2008 at 5:14pm
i would not enjoy the glitch in pub games being a ploy but becoming a bad character for the 12.5 million gold i have accumulated would't bother me that much
bahama mama
September 02, 2008 at 4:25pm
I knew from the moment I saw these games there was a catch. So I didnt get the Pub Games because I want to try and attempt to make my character as good as possible. (only on my first play through tho!)
Allanon6666
September 02, 2008 at 12:59pm
I gotta say, if it really turns out to be some kind of strange ploy to test our morals, I think Molyneux is going to be pretty disappointed with all of us, lol. I haven't tried the exploit personally, but that's cause I just heard about it, though I'm goin to try it once I'm done posting here >:). Even if there was some kind of in game consequence, I really don't care. I was evil the first game, and I'll probably end up evil in the second (what can I say, killing whole towns is fun, lol).
Paul OXM
September 02, 2008 at 12:31pm
Corey & I had this *exact* thought last week. I exploited my way to a good 17k in gold, and if no one in Albion accuses me of being a dirty cheating scumbag, I'm gonna be SO disappointed!
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