So it’s been a while since we last set foot in Albion and although not much has changed, we now have a much fatter bank balance. Knothole Island is the much anticipated first piece of downloadable content from Lionhead Studios for their smash hit, Fable 2.

The good news with the downloadable content is that it doesn’t matter where you are in the game, so long as you can get to Bowerstone Market, then you can jump straight in. You’ll find your portal to Knothole Island, Gordon, by the river and the adventure is a short submarine trip away (read, load screen).

The Knothole Island DLC sends you off on a three quest story arc to a new area, known as Knothole Island, which is roughly the same size as Westcliffe in terms of shops and things to do. You are enlisted by the townsfolk to restore some sort of normality back to the village's weather. It’ll require you to move from the village to the local shrines to basically flip a switch, to reverse the adverse weather conditions that are affecting the village and its trade.

Along the way you’ll meet the same old Hobbes, Trolls and Banshees but you’ll also encounter a new enemy as well, the shadow creatures. The shadow creatures are in no way, shape or form any more difficult than anything you've encounter in the game and are in fact, on the whole, they are just black, translucent versions of other enemies you’ve already encountered, which hardly gives you a new challenge, more of an extension of an old one.

 

 

The quests themselves are quite annoying as they simply involve, a short trip, a bit of combat, a few annoying orbs targeting scenes to open up gate, rinse and repeat, and then pull a lever. I suppose the only saving grace is that you get to see Albion under a whole array of different weather effects and it allows us to get back in to the world we fell in love with back in October ... if only for a short while.

The new quest line introduces plenty of new weapons (our favourite being Hal’s Rifle) and clothing to the game, whilst adding some interesting potions as well that can remove scars, make you taller, smaller, and so on. Nice touches here from Lionhead, as is the Resurrection Chamber that allows you to bring a certain someone back from the afterlife. A life for a life though, so expect to make a sacrifice.

All in all, the Knothole Island pack is an enjoyable romp, however, it is short ... short as hell, and just when you really start to get in to it, the quest line wraps up and you are left wanting more. Not exactly an ideal emotion to be left with after you’ve just shelled out 800 points, but it a short enjoyable experience nevertheless. It’s likely to be a worthy purchase if you loved the original but the 800 points for a lot of people may become the stumbling block for a short, sharp Fable injection.