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Every decision and deed has a consequence. And in "Fable II," you can see the impact of your actions written on your face.

Good? You’ll glow. Evil? You’ll grow horns. A glutton? You’ll get pudgy. A bad fighter? You’ll be scarred.

The M-rated fantasy role-playing game was created by Lionhead Studios for Microsoft and is exclusive to the Xbox 360. At its core, the game is very similar to the original "Fable." You’ll roam the countryside fulfilling quests, building your strength and even raising a family as you prepare to face your nemesis. And through it all, your actions come back to haunt — or help — you.

You start by choosing whether to play as a boy or a girl. In either case, you’ll begin as a young street urchin whose only companions are a sister and a dog. The introductory level serves as a tutorial for combat, actions, interactions and the morality system. It also provides an enemy and a reason to fight.

The real action starts a decade after the intro. A wise woman named Theresa sets your overarching goal: to gather three heroes who must unite for an assault on the evil Lucien, who’s building a magic-infused tower to menace the land.

Although Theresa will periodically show up to prod you toward your ultimate goal, you can spend most of your time on other activities.

You can take on numerous quests, such as eradicating Hobbes, battling bandits or wooing wenches. You can take jobs, such as chopping wood, tending bar or — if you’re so inclined — assassinating someone. You can search for treasure with the help of your trusty canine companion. Or you can shop, spending gold on everything from food to furniture to firearms. And if you don’t like your standard hero look, you can even spend gold to customize your character’s appearance, changing your clothing and hair or adding tattoos, makeup or beard. I’d just recommend doing so before you get married — or, just like in real life, your spouse might object.

Amid all this activity, you’ll spend a lot of time interacting with others. Interactions with nonplayer characters — which provide much of the game’s humor — are handled through "expressions," which are basically simple actions to win friends or create enemies. You can amuse the peasantry with a good burst of flatulence or entice a potential spouse with a gift. Expressions are activated by pressing the right bumper to bring up a radial menu with an ever-expanding number of options. My only gripe is that it’s way too easy to accidentally activate a magic attack when talking with a friendly character.

During all of these activities and interactions, the game keeps a running tally of your behavior. If you tend to be honorable, villagers will be kind and merchants generous. Your appearance will grow more noble. If your deeds are despicable, villagers will scream and flee and guards will hunt you down. Eventually, you’ll grow horns from your temples.

You actions can also affect your surroundings. For example, if you help Bowerstone’s sheriff at the beginning of the game, the town will be a pretty cheery place when you return 10 years later. If you don’t, criminals will have the run of the town’s older section.

In addition to murder and theft, less-than-honorable adventurers are free to indulge in other unsavory activities. They can hang out in bars, gambling and drinking until the screen turns blurry and they puke their guts out. They also can hook up with a random villager or prostitute — and, if they don’t have any condoms, end up with a sexually transmitted disease. Such encounters don’t actually involve any "action," just a notification that something happened. In addition, the drinking and sex are very easy to avoid — in fact, you have to go looking for them.

Being a fantasy game, there’s also plenty of combat with bandits, the undead and various monsters. You have three forms of attack — melee, ranged and magic. Each is handled by a single button, making the controls very simple and efficient. As you eliminate foes, you level up your skills and unlock new attacks.

The artificial intelligence is a bit uneven. Some foes seem to coordinate their attacks pretty well. However, most simply rush you. Still others seem to mill around waiting to be slaughtered.

One of the great bonuses in "Fable 2" is the ability to play with a friend, either in single-screen co-op or online. The second player creates a henchman with most of the abilities and characteristics of a regular character. The only big drawback is that a henchman can’t interact with merchants or buy real estate.

The graphics are very good, with well-rendered characters, excellent animations and plenty of detail and rich color in the settings.

Overall, the game may seem familiar to fans of the original "Fable," but they’ll find a game that’s much deeper and richer.

Platform: Xbox 360On the Web: fable2.co

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