Fable II Failures

Shamus at Twenty Sided has published three separate articles (here, here, and here) detailing why he thinks Fable II failed in the theme and plot departments. From the latest entry, spoilers included:

When you wake up, you’re wearing an obedience collar that will torture you (and drain abilities and XP) if you disobey. The Commandant – Lucian’s second-in-command – then (breaks) you. In an interactive scene, he beats on you with a sword and you must humiliate yourself by thanking him. Then at the end you must beg for mercy. Failure to do so will drain XP away from you.

You work as a guard in the tower, overseeing the half-naked, starving slaves that are building the place. The guards are all strong, hulking, well-fed, and wearing obedience collars.

Lucian, you drooling buffoon: You have collars on happy, well-paid(?), well-fed guards, and no collars on your abused, starving slaves? Which group is more likely to revolt? Actually, what do you need the guards for? Put collars on the slaves and you don’t need guards. Then add the crucible champs to the pool of slaves and spread the food around evenly. Well-fed slaves will work faster than starving ones. And everyone will work harder with collars on. I thought you were in a hurry to build this tower?

Of course, things are this way because the writer wanted to make sure the player understood that Lucian was, like, really super extra double evil. Apparently the designer was worried that you were too stupid to have figured that out by the way he shot a twelve year old girl who visited him because she thought she was going to get to live in a castle.