Microsoft doesn't really seem to know what else it can do with Fable 2 in order to make sure every last drop of potential has been milked from the game. Not so long ago, it re-released the title in an episodic format and, now, it plans to make a move with the Fable 2 Pub Games. It probably doesn't really matter to the company that nobody really seems to want the game, it plans to go through with the idea anyway. Fable 2 Pub Games will get a 50-percent discount for next week, and a dropped price from 800 Microsoft Points or $10 to 400 points or $5.

All three casino games from Fable 2 will be available in Pub Games, including Keystone, Fortune's Tower and the Spinnerbox. The one trick of the Pub is that the money you win, but also that which you lose, will be part of your Fable 2 funds. With that in mind, the whole idea is pretty bad.

The only way you can lose money in the RPG is to buy something, so you trade in an impossible loss for the thrill of the risk and a gain that you don't really need. After all, if you're a fan of casino-styled games, there are plenty of dedicated titles for this that have a wider selection of games available. You'd have to be a very, very dedicated fan of Fable 2 to purchase Pub Games out of pure loyalty.

Also, money shortage isn't really a problem present in Microsoft's RPG. Making money in the game proves to be easy enough, so that you can become not the hero of the story, but the owner of it along with every person, item or spec of dust in it. The company's attention to details in assuring the game's financial efficiency is somehow understandable. You don't become the corporate giant that is Microsoft without sucking the life out of everything you touch.