Aww here we go! This is the time that all of the guys on the business end of the game industry rejoice and all of the guys on the development side of the game industry get some well deserved time off (or at least they should). It's nearly that festive time again, and like I always say, it's a great time to be a gamer, especially around the holiday season and here's why: every game development studio has been putting out ridiculous amounts of work to release all of their big name games just in time for the holidays. During any holiday season we can expect to see some rushed, half-hearted, piece of garbage games and we can also expect to see some truly outstanding works of art. But remember, this is AWN and we don't waste time on the crap! Well... sometimes.

There really isn't a theme for this month's "Press Start," it's just a good collection of some really great titles. There's a pretty good mix of 3D, 2D, adventures, shooters and there's actually a sports game in there somewhere! I love this industry and I hope you do also but if you don't, I am about to give you some good reasons why you should. It's the first wave of the holiday tsunami in this month's edition of "Press Start."

The Fable series has finally gone "current gen" with the release of Fable II on Xbox 360. Improvements include graphics and the ability to play as a female.

Fable II for the Xbox 360; Publisher: Microsoft; Developer: Lionhead Studios; Release Date: October 21, 2008; ESRB Rating: M for mature; Genre: action / RPG; Players: 1-2; Support: N/A; Online: 2 player co-op

And So Our Story Begins... Again
The Legend of Zelda series has been a genre of its own for many years. Every game out there fits into a category: you got your sports, shooters, racers, action games, RPGs and then you got Zelda. Around the time of the original Xbox system Microsoft and Lionhead Studios released a new kind of action/RPG title called Fable, which did very well and was the only real game to give Zelda a run for its money at the time. A few things held Fable back like the fact that it could be completed in about four hours if you just blew right through the main missions. Also neither the story nor the main character felt very deep and also it was pretty low on content. The content issue was answered when Microsoft later released Fable: The Lost Chapters, which is where they added new weapons, new will powers and new side quests. The Fable series has finally gone "current gen" with the release of Fable II on Xbox 360.

I Thought a Fable Involved Talking Animals
Like in the first Fable, you follow the path of an unnamed character through their adventures in the land of Albion. All of your actions determine how you will be perceived by non-playable characters in the game. Your actions can either be good or evil and will make your character end up looking either noble or like a horrifying demon. Also, what you eat and how strong you are plays a part in what you look like because eating pies will make you fat and using close combat will build up your physique. However, something that was not in the first Fable was the ability to play as a female instead of a male, which is a well-needed addition considering the online interactions. The graphics are a huge improvement from the first one which is to be expected. Almost all of the NPCs have a distinct look to them rather than being the same carbon-copy character over and over again and the worlds are a gigantic improvement over the first Fable!

Gameplay is more enjoyable in this Fable sequel. Also, it's unbelievably easy to become filthy rich in Fable II. © Microsoft/Lionhead.

Gameplay is even more enjoyable than in the first Fable. Players are given more to do and more areas to venture through. Another new aspect of Fable II's gameplay is the inclusion of a dog, which will follow you around helping you find treasure and fight along side you as enemies attack. Your character can still advance in three areas of combat such as strength for wielding a melee weapon, skill for wielding a ranged weapon and will, which are basically magical powers. As you progress through the game and earn experience to level you, your character's strength, skill and will, you will also gain gold for buying items, weapons, armor and even real estate that you can live in or rent out. Speaking of gold, it is so unbelievably easy to get filthy, stinking rich in Fable II! Everyone playing the online is rich; so rich in fact that some of them are actually willing to give you 500,000 in gold if you just ask them. They've got money to spare so sacrificing huge amounts of gold is not a big deal!