Master Chief Unlockable in Fable 2

[Siraris]

In a development that makes me clutch my skull and scream "WHYYYYY?!?!?!?!", Dailygame.net has revealed (http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/008436.php) that the Mjolnr armor, as well as the energy sword, is unlockable in Fable 2.

In order to unlock Hal's Outfit in Fable 2, you'll need to buy the Fable 2 Limited Edition. You can get it here from Amazon. Once you've got that version in hand, pop it into your Xbox 360 and download the exclusive content once you connect to Xbox Live. Then, once you level-up for the first time, you'll encounter a treasure chest containing Hal's Outfit, which is a great upgrade from the peasant clothes you've worn up to that point.

Check the link above for about a dozen screenshots of the outfit in action.

Just seems unnecessary if you ask me.

Moved off the front page for oldness.

[bapenguin]

This was announced some time ago (http://www.co-optimus.com/article/393/Fable_2_to_Feature_Master_Chief__Chicken_Kicking_a nd_Orgies.html). Frankly, I think it looks awesome. It basically looks like a Fencing outfit.

[Sandman]

August 7th (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/07/master-chief-crash-lands-into-fable-2/) called, they want their news back.

Sorry, had to do it.

[Mike Kelehan]

Sure, it's not necessary. It's fun though.

[TheFlyingOrc]

Not as stupid as Darth Vader in SC4.

[Gorvi]

I love cross game stuff like this. I may not care for either franchise, really, but this kind of stuff is usually pretty cool.

[Loki_09]

I approve this message.

I think its great, my only gripe is its only in the limited edition. Why not make it an unlockable for an achievement? DLC incentives are really starting to burn me.

[Siraris]

This was announced some time ago (http://www.co-optimus.com/article/393/Fable_2_to_Feature_Master_Chief__Chicken_Kicking_a nd_Orgies.html). Frankly, I think it looks awesome. It basically looks like a Fencing outfit.

Sorry, never saw it, so news to me.

It looks ok, but I dunno, I never liked the cross promotion things. At least they made it fit into the world and not be TOO blatant, as opposed to Vader and Yoda in SC4, which is just stupid.

[Karak]

Another addition to something. No problem with it.
But as others said way old news

[Disgustipated]

Old news you whiny bitch!

[aVaKus]

I dunno, maybe it's just me but he looks more like a ninja turtle than the MC.

[Siraris]

Old news you whiny bitch!

Old news is better than no news, sugar plum

[Bone]

Since they made the effort to match the costume to the theme of Fable, this doesn't bother me one bit. It actually looks like it belongs and yet has all the little details that instantly say Halo (like the little hand and knee guards).

[Telefrog]

A) Really old news.

B) Don't buy it if you don't like it.

C) Yeah. It's lame, but whatever.

[National Kato]

Just seems unnecessary if you ask me.


It doesn't really look like Master Chief. It's an antique-looking leather armor outfit that is colored to resemble MC. I think it looks great, compared to what they could've done.

[Iron Past]

This was what pushed me into buying the CE. Plus the extra dungeon, of course. I'd much rather have extra in-game content in a CE than all the stupid stuff it usually comes with.

[Deunnero]

Bonus items are great, regardless of their usefulness (or not). It adds to the games' charm and appeal and are always welcome.

[Nerdious]

It seems pretty cool. Too bad it's the only thing I want from the LE. I've been playing pub games and those flash games. So it comes down to.

Chicken Suit=Free
Chief Suit=$20.00

[Sandman]

It seems pretty cool. Too bad it's the only thing I want from the LE. I've been playing pub games and those flash games. So it comes down to.

Chicken Suit=Free
Chief Suit=$20.00

You don't want the extra dungeon in the LE?

[National Kato]

You don't want the extra dungeon in the LE?

Not to mention the sword that comes with the Chief character!

[Abyssion]

It seems pretty cool. Too bad it's the only thing I want from the LE. I've been playing pub games and those flash games. So it comes down to.

Chicken Suit=Free
Chief Suit=$20.00

Actually its only 10 extra now, seeing as how they downsized the LE.

[MalReynolds]

im not getting it anyway

[Iron Past]

Here's some more recent screens (http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/008436.php) of "Hal's Outfit." There's alot of pics, and I'm too lazy to import any right now. The suit is a little different, and the Energy Sword looks awesome. I really like how they made it a low level set so I have a chance to run around in it for a while and switch to better stuff later to customize my look.

Edit: No, wait. I completely forgot that the outfits aren't tied to armor points, sweet! The sword, however, is low level. Also, I'm an idiot. That's the same link as in the OP.

[Telefrog]

Here's some more recent screens (http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/008436.php) of "Hal's Outfit." There's alot of pics, and I'm too lazy to import any right now. The suit is a little different, and the Energy Sword looks awesome. I really like how they made it a low level set so I have a chance to run around in it for a while and switch to better stuff later to customize my look.

Edit: No, wait. I completely forgot that the outfits aren't tied to armor points, sweet! The sword, however, is low level.

Screens are gone.


[UPDATE]: Microsoft has respectfully requested that we remove all the screenshots we took of Master Chief in Fable 2. We have removed all but one, as you can see below. Sorry to spoil the fun, but we hate to face either a lawsuit or Ballmer's Rage.

The armor value not being tied to the actual items is one of the best ideas I've heard in a while for co-op gaming. It really frees you up to make your avatar the way you want.

[Nerdious]

Actually its only 10 extra now, seeing as how they downsized the LE.

I guess I'm still shocked that games go for $70 now. For some armor and an extra dungeon... The jury's still out.

But Fable does look like the sickness. I haven't been this hyped about a game in a while.

[Squidbot]

It looks fab in game.

[National Kato]

That energy sword might look strange, if it doesn't have an antique pommel, guard and grip. Hard to tell in that one remaining image.

[Iron Past]

That energy sword might look strange, if it doesn't have an antique pommel, guard and grip. Hard to tell in that one remaining image.

I don't think it has a guard, but it does have an old timey pommel and grip.

[MalReynolds]

Nice lol i guess it will be downloadable content later

[Wilkz07]

call me when they release Borat's Green bathing suit as a costume to dlc.

[inmostlight]

I too think this is awesome, and one of the reasons I ordered the limited edition.

Besides, Fable is a light hearted game with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Something like this makes sense there, along with the Monty Python references and other weirdness. It's not as out of place as some Fable armor in Halo would be.

[DeathtollWRX]

Hehe the Hal armor is awesome, however you get it WAY TO SOON.

[Telefrog]

Hehe the Hal armor is awesome, however you get it WAY TO SOON.

Yeah, but since armor has no protection rating it doesn't really matter anyway. It's all for looks.

It's too bad about the sword, though. It looks awesome, but does shit for damage.

[National Kato]

They changed the mask of the Hal Outfit from the sketch we saw earlier to the final version. It's less of a fencing mask and more of a Halo mask. I wore it for my initial hour or so, but then quickly upgraded to better clothing with more 'appearance' bonuses.

[DeathtollWRX]

So basically it doesn't matter what armor you have as it's all the same?

That seems backward...

Didn't Diablo 1 have different AC for different look armor?

Looks like we took a few steps back.

[National Kato]

Didn't Diablo 1 have different AC for different look armor?


There's no AC in Fable 2. It's all skill based. That way, you can customize your character however you want instead of everyone looking for the best armor set and looking the same.

[Telefrog]

So basically it doesn't matter what armor you have as it's all the same?

That seems backward...

Didn't Diablo 1 have different AC for different look armor?

Looks like we took a few steps back.

If you ponder it for about a minute, it's actually a great example of out-of-the-box thinking. Putting protection stats on armor always motivates players to max out their armor for their level or class. It forces people to have very similar looking avatars. You can look at the armor worn by a character in almost any game and know exactly where they are in the narrative because you know exactly what you should be wearing for that area or point in the game. Why would you wear a cool-looking, but protectionless, leather vest if you could wear plate mail?

Separating the armor and clothing from the protection stat allows you to customize your character without regard to that restriction. It really enables people to make the avatar theirs.

[Iron Past]

It's too bad about the sword, though. It looks awesome, but does shit for damage.

Well, it has three augment slots on it, and I don't know how soon I'll run into another weapon that has that many. Still, it looks very cool.

[itchyeyes]

If you ponder it for about a minute, it's actually a great example of out-of-the-box thinking. Putting protection stats on armor always motivates players to max out their armor for their level or class. It forces people to have very similar looking avatars. You can look at the armor worn by a character in almost any game and know exactly where they are in the narrative because you know exactly what you should be wearing for that area or point in the game. Why would you wear a cool-looking, but protectionless, leather vest if you could wear plate mail?

Separating the armor and clothing from the protection stat allows you to customize your character without regard to that restriction. It really enables people to make the avatar theirs.
Yeah, I think it was a reaction to the way people played the first game. Basically there were about a dozen outfits in that game but everyone just always wore the plate armor because damage protection was the only stat linked to clothes and the plate armor had the highest. I think a better way to do armor would have been to link other stats to different clothes though. For instance a trading stat when you're wearing certain civilian clothes and a will stat for when you're wearing robes, etc... That way it encourages people's characters to look different but still reflects the way you're playing the game.

[Johan]

I'm not a fan of this type of marketing of a game, and that's what it is in the end...marketing. They're trying to broaden the potential retail market and interest in the game by cross-pollinating it with reworked or borrowed assets from other IP.

I don't like it. I don't buy Lucky Charms because Cheerios come packed in the box. I don't drink Corona because they mix Bud in there.

Phooey.

[Bone]

I'm not a fan of this type of marketing of a game, and that's what it is in the end...marketing. They're trying to broaden the potential retail market and interest in the game by cross-pollinating it with reworked or borrowed assets from other IP.

I don't like it. I don't buy Lucky Charms because Cheerios come packed in the box. I don't drink Corona because they mix Bud in there.

Phooey.
Ah, lighten up, man. This is arguably one of the most recognizable game characters in years. People like to dress up for Halloween ;)

Anyway it's not like you have to use it.

[Variable Gear]

Yawn. I must be sleepwalking...

[Johan]

Ah, lighten up, man.

I am NOT fat. That's not nice!

:D

[Iron Past]

I didn't realize you got the title "Master Chief" available to you as well. People have been calling me that for the last hour or two, now.

[J Arcane]

Yeah, I think it was a reaction to the way people played the first game. Basically there were about a dozen outfits in that game but everyone just always wore the plate armor because damage protection was the only stat linked to clothes and the plate armor had the highest. I think a better way to do armor would have been to link other stats to different clothes though. For instance a trading stat when you're wearing certain civilian clothes and a will stat for when you're wearing robes, etc... That way it encourages people's characters to look different but still reflects the way you're playing the game.
I never wore plate armor in Fable 1. I wore some creepy goth dress.

[crazyD]

I don't drink Corona because they mix Bud in there.

Man, the comparison should be between two good things that people actually like.

[DeathtollWRX]

So far no one has mentioned that if you have the limited edition that you can visit the town crier and you can be know an Master Chief and yes they verbally call you Master Chief...
Yes it's cheesy but really adds to the fun factor.

[inmostlight]

So far no one has mentioned that if you have the limited edition that you can visit the town crier and you can be know an Master Chief and yes they verbally call you Master Chief...
Yes it's cheesy but really adds to the fun factor.

And then if you go to the bard and pay him to sing a song he'll do a verse about Master Chief.

[DeathtollWRX]

It's the little things in Fable 2 that make it from being a good game to a very good game.

[Variable Gear]

I love Fable 2, but I hate bullshit threads.

[National Kato]

I love Fable 2, but I hate bullshit threads.

What's bullshit about this thread?

[Variable Gear]

What's bullshit about this thread?
You never have to access the Halo-related content. It's completely optional. In that case, I don't think bitching about it is a wise move.

[Telefrog]

You never have to access the Halo-related content. It's completely optional. In that case, I don't think bitching about it is a wise move.

Well, just to play Devil's Advocate, I could argue that the work hours and budget spent on making the Fable II Halo armor could've been better spent on squashing some of the (numerous) glitches and bugs people are complaining about. Or a better co-op online implementation. Or even a another sidequest. Anything that would benefit all customers rather than the small percent that spring for LE packages.

Personally, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with these kinds of cross-promotional events and items in games. I do believe that if it comes at the cost of other development milestones, then perhaps the effort could be spent elsewhere.

[Variable Gear]

Well, just to play Devil's Advocate, I could argue that the work hours and budget spent on making the Fable II Halo armor could've been better spent on squashing some of the (numerous) glitches and bugs people are complaining about. Or a better co-op online implementation. Or even a another sidequest. Anything that would benefit all customers rather than the small percent that spring for LE packages.

Personally, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with these kinds of cross-promotional events and items in games. I do believe that if it comes at the cost of other development milestones, then perhaps the effort could be spent elsewhere.
I agree that the co-op could have been better, but I don't think that your argument makes a lot of sense. Was the artist building the Mjolnir armor supposed to instead be working on improving co-op, or fixing bugs? Yeah, I don't think so. I anything, I'd say that Lionhead had the time needed to address the outstanding issues with Fable II, but I'm not sure they felt as strongly about them as the general gaming public does.

[Telefrog]

I agree that the co-op could have been better, but I don't think that your argument makes a lot of sense. Was the artist building the Mjolnir armor supposed to instead be working on improving co-op, or fixing bugs? Yeah, I don't think so. I anything, I'd say that Lionhead had the time needed to address the outstanding issues with Fable II, but I'm not sure they felt as strongly about them as the general gaming public does.

Obviously, the Halo armor artist wouldn't get shuffled off to work on the childhood co-op glitch or any other programming work, but someone did work on code to get that in the game. Effort that could've been spent reviewing the co-op code. That artist could've worked on one or two more shirts or pants in the game. How about generic plate armor that anyone could use?

What I'm saying is, effort was spent to get that Halo armor in the game. Effort that will only benefit whatever customers buy the LE. Meanwhile, everyone could've had more stuff or less bugs instead.

[J Arcane]

Unless the game engine is written in a ridiculously idiotic manner, adding a new set of armor and a new weapon should be nothing ore than adding an extra entry to the game's database. Probably took the guy about 5 minutes, at most, and that's assuming it was an extra act, as opposed to having just been tossed in the list with all the other requisite data entry needed.

the only real effort involved would be on the art and animation side, and those depts. wouldn't have anything to do with the programming side of things in a normal studio.

[Telefrog]

Unless the game engine is written in a ridiculously idiotic manner, adding a new set of armor and a new weapon should be nothing ore than adding an extra entry to the game's database. Probably took the guy about 5 minutes, at most, and that's assuming it was an extra act, as opposed to having just been tossed in the list with all the other requisite data entry needed.

the only real effort involved would be on the art and animation side, and those depts. wouldn't have anything to do with the programming side of things in a normal studio.

Okay, either way, couldn't those art and animation departments have been better used on other stuff? We have tons of posts here and on Lionhead's forum from people that would've really liked to have been able to buy and wear the plate armor the town guards have just for the style. Rather than blowing X amount of man-hours on Halo armor, we could've all gotten that instead.

Edit: And I realize that on the programming side, enabling the MC armor was likely only a few minutes in a data table. Imagine! They could've used that same 5 minutes to add the guard armor to the shop tables.

[J Arcane]

Okay, either way, couldn't those art and animation departments have been better used on other stuff? We have tons of posts here and on Lionhead's forum from people that would've really liked to have been able to buy and wear the plate armor the town guards have just for the style. Rather than blowing X amount of man-hours on Halo armor, we could've all gotten that instead.

Edit: And I realize that on the programming side, enabling the MC armor was likely only a few minutes in a data table. Imagine! They could've used that same 5 minutes to add the guard armor to the shop tables.
Now you're just shifting goalposts. It's starting to look like you just want an excuse to bitch about the game.

[Telefrog]

Now you're just shifting goalposts. It's starting to look like you just want an excuse to bitch about the game.

What shifted goalpost? :confused:

Effort and budget was spent on making the Halo MC armor in Fable II. Effort and budget that could've been used on other things. Isn't that what I argued at the beginning of this stance?

I do believe that if it comes at the cost of other development milestones, then perhaps the effort could be spent elsewhere.

Did that goalpost shift? Have I changed my narrative?

[J Arcane]

What shifted goalpost?

It was pointed out that little effort was lost on the programming that could've been spent on bugs, so instead you start rambling some nonsense about guard armor that was never even mentioned up until now.

It just sounds to me like you either you just want an excuse to bitch about the game, or you just have something against this specific item in general.

[Telefrog]

It was pointed out that little effort was lost on the programming that could've been spent on bugs, so instead you start rambling some nonsense about guard armor that was never even mentioned up until now.

It just sounds to me like you either you just want an excuse to bitch about the game, or you just have something against this specific item in general.

Okay, one more time.

ANY effort at all that was spent making the LE Halo Armor could've, and should've, been spent doing anything else for the base game.

Programming, dialogue recording (to have people yell out "Master Chief"), texture creation, models made, animation, you name it, could've been used on any number of other items in the game. I don't care if it was to make one more variety of plant. An empty house. Another unique NPC. More playtesting. Reviewing code. Whatever. That effort could've been spent on something that every owner of Fable II would enjoy rather than using it on an item that only a minority of LE buyers could ever use.

This goes for any of these kinds of in-game marketing stunt items.

[DeathtollWRX]

I love the Spartan Armor. Yes, it's a little goofy and way out of place. It's an obvious nod to Halo fans but the time it took i'm wondering what else they could have added? Maybe more weapons? A different set of armor. to tell you the truth I am a Halo fanboy so I really enjoyed running around and Hal. I'm hoping that they will have some freebie outfits later on so I can dress up as an ODST or even Arbiter armor.

[Iron Past]

ANY effort at all that was spent making the LE Halo Armor could've, and should've, been spent doing anything else for the base game.

You could also say that all of Hal's assests were completely extra, and the ten dollars more that I paid for the LE went to pay the the extra labor that it required. Just sayin'. :)

[Murtaug]

You could also say that all of Hal's assests were completely extra, and the ten dollars more that I paid for the LE went to pay the the extra labor that it required. Just sayin'. :)

This is what I was waiting to read. People paid for what they got, others did not. Could the game have used a couple more passes through QA? Hell yeah. But really, so could ninety-nine percent of games coming out these days. Bugs and odd things creep up when games hit the street, going from a limited number of people to hundreds of thousands of people tends to do that.

The weird co-op, yeah.. I wish it was different. I would love to have my hero in my buddies game, but from a narrative stand point I can see where that would cause problems. I'm fine being a henchman, if I want to show off my hero, I'll invite my friends to my game rather than join theirs, either way I gain towards my own character.

I do wish there were more clothing options, I am not entirely impressed with what is in there now. Unless you match sets, most stuff looks pretty weird, and the dyes do not have quite the effect I had expected.

Hopefully they continue to support the game for awhile, put out some DLC quests for new weapons and clothing, new areas. But I have hardly scratched the surface of what is in the game now. I did not buy Fable II to play dress up, that is an amusing aside to the game; I bought it because I really enjoyed the first game for what it was and wanted to see what Lionhead did with Albion and the hodge-podge of lore they put together. I love the setting, I think this little world is interesting and I like to explore all the corners.

At this point I do wish they had not done the Hal armor thing, even though I find it a fun and neat cross promotion for fans of both games. I wish they had not done it so people would stop bitching about it.

It is a game! Go play it and have fun!