By: Madison Raffone
Growing up with an older brother meant I had to spend a lot of time sitting and waiting for it to be my turn on the tv. My earliest memories of playing video games comes from when I was about nine or ten. I’d go into the living room to find my brother fixed on the television with a dark sheet pinned over the windows in order to prevent a reflection on the TV screen. This always meant he was in gaming mode (something I eventually took on
). One game he always played was Fable II. It was an action role-playing game where, based on your actions, you could choose to either be the hero or devil of the land, Albion. My brother’s character would always start off as an innocent male who turned into a red demon by the end. Throughout the game, my brother would have his character murder anyone that he could. Although, when I played the game years later, my female character would always be the hero; someone the entire town loved and would be able to count on.
Fable II is an amazing game with a wonderful soundtrack that allows you to roam the world, take jobs (such as smithing), create a family, go on quests, and so much more. One thing I was always haunted by was the dog. In the beginning of the game, your character befriends a dog that follows and fights alongside you for the entire game. However, (spoiler alert), at the very end of the story, there’s a villain who tries to shoot your character. But your dog, being the loyal companion that he is, jumps in front of your character, takes the bullet and dies. As a kid, this moment always made me really upset. As silly as it might sound, I watched the dog be a loyal companion to my brother’s character… and to see him die at the end really hurt me. Later on, when I decided to play the game for myself, I dreaded this moment despite the fact I was 16 years old. I always tried my best to save him, even though there’s no way around it.
Though, there came a day when my brother stopped playing Fable II and turned to other games, such as GTA, Madden and Fight Night. Those games never interested me as much since I wasn’t a fan of sports or the modern feel they had. Fable II made me love fantasy games and it always stuck with me. It allowed for me to have good memories of my brother. We’d sit together and I’d watch him play; sometimes he’d even let me decide what to do in the game. To this day, I still play it and reminisce about those moments with him as I listen to the soundtrack. Not only are the songs beautiful by themselves, but they have wonderful memories behind them and that’s enough to bring tears to my eyes.
Comments