Fable II is a 2008 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. The game is the second installment in the Fable game series, and the sequel to 2004's Fable. The story takes place within the fictional land of Albion, 500 years after the first game. Players assume the role of a young hero who is destined to stop a former ruler turned madman from destroying the world. The game features several prominent actors portraying major characters in the game, including Zoë Wanamaker, Ron Glass and Stephen Fry. The game's setting takes inspiration from the historical late colonial era, in terms of architecture, social quality and basic firearms such as flintlock pistols. The game made several improvements over its predecessor, updating existing gameplay and offering larger locations to explore. Alongside the main story, players can engage in several side quests and repeatable jobs to earn money and rewards, build up a property empire, and customise their character with various clothing items, hairstyles, tattoos and makeup. Players also can make decisions on how they act, affecting their characters' morality and appearance as a result. New features to the game included the opportunity to choose between playing as a male or female character, a fast-travel system, and a canine companion who can detect treasures and alert the player to nearby enemies. Fable II was released in October 2008 and achieved critical acclaim, many citing its adherence to the original while praising the changes that redefined the game system. The game later received two downloadable content packs which introduced new locations, items and quests which were released in a compilation with the main game, titled Fable II: Game of the Year, in September 2009. The game proved a commercial success, becoming the best selling title on Xbox 360 following its release. A sequel, Fable III, was released in 2010. Gameplay The world in Fable II is fully dynamic, interactive and mostly free roaming with no set quest path to take. Since the game takes place over a hero's lifetime, many things can change; Molyneux gave an example of a trade camp that the player could either help or destroy. Trading in such camps would increase their profit, resulting in a small town growing around them. Additionally, every accessible property (those that can be entered by the player) in the world can be