There’s also a limited multiplayer component, allowing you to drop in to other people’s games either locally or over Xbox Live. While this sounds an ace idea, you will only appear as a henchman in their version, and other than picking up the two achievements associated with working together, it’s not a feature you’re likely to come back to that often. A far more interesting multiplayer component is the ability to see people on your friends list in the game as glowing orbs. You can send them gifts and spy on their statistics, as well as get a general idea of what they’re up to. A larger scale variant of this is switched off by default where you see orbs for everyone playing at the same time. Impressively, this seems to result in very little slow down and is a very nice touch although admittedly not a deal breaker either way.

So are there any downsides? Absolutely, but they’re minor when set against the triumphs elsewhere. Some will criticise the difficulty level when it comes to the combat. In this instance you can artificially make the game more challenging by not levelling up, or deliberately getting an underpowered weapon, but for me the fighting is so fluid that the scores of enemies you can chop down is fitting for a hero of your supposed renown. The lack of death as a deterrent may also sound annoying in principal, but given the reaction to dying in other videogames is to reload and try again, it doesn’t feel like you’re losing much.

You can also argue that it’s short for an RPG and with significantly dumbed-down elements for those who prefer to agonize over their choice of sword, but then the type of person these complaints apply to will probably not be in the market for an RPG lite anyway. It’s an improvement on the original, but it lacks memorable moments to match the first – confronting a hero I’d wronged atop a cliff against a dramatic stormy backdrop had terrific drama in the first, and there’s nothing to rival the unforgettable prison escape here – even though the game tries its hardest with elements that are eerily familiar to veterans of the original (playing through the Arena again was one bit they needn’t have resurrected).

But these criticisms pale into insignificance when the achievement of the game is considered. Fable II is an excellent game, and proof that casual players and those born with a NES pad in their hands can live in harmony. Peter Molyneux takes a lot of unfair stick in the gaming community thanks to promises not lived up to, but hopefully Fable II will silence the critics for a while. If you’re a 360 owner, you owe it to yourself to visit Albion – and whether you’re loved or hated by the villagers, you can be sure that you’ll rarely play a game as charmingly moreish as this.