Although much of Peter Molyneux's latest adventure game remains under wraps, the famous developer shed some light on the Xbox 360 sequel. Gamers will play as either a man or a woman. They can get married and even have kids. When asked how getting pregnant impacts female players, Molyneux wouldn't elaborate, but mentioned that they will need to go on a hiatus.

The biggest innovation appears to be the ability to have a dog. Molyneux, feeling emotionally detached from previous adventure games, elected to explore the concept of unconditional love. Rather than settle on forming a bond between the player and a sidekick or even their significant other (who apparently becomes quite a nuisance), he created a very intelligent canine companion, one that modifies its behavior depending on the actions of its master.

Molyneux drew on his previous games for inspiration, particularly his Black & White series. He used it to program the dog's artificial intelligence, making it much smarter than all video game pets. The dog plays fetch with the character and can be trained. If the player dislikes the dog's behavior, he or she can give it commands with different tones. If the dog makes a simple mistake, a calm demeanor may be used. If it continues to act up, a more angry tone causes it to immediately pay attention. Players may also scare the dog, and if they're especially mean, fart on it, which causes the animal to play dead.

While adventuring, the dog always stays ahead of the player, guiding the way as well as watching for threats. Once enemies appear, the dog goes into attack mode, and how gamers choose to confront adversaries determines the dog's actions. For example, say two enemies appear, one with a gun (Fable 2 includes firearms) and one with a mace. If the player withdraws a gun, that tells the dog that he or she intends to take out the enemy with a similar weapon, thus causing it to go after the one holding the mace. Conversely, pulling out a sword instructs the dog to go after the enemy with the gun.

When the dog gets hurt, it limps along. NPCs that see it wounded will chastise the player. The animal is healed using magic. It may also die, but Molyneux won't discuss how, why or when.

On the positive side, the dog always loves the player for who he or she is. It won't turn on its master. Furthermore, everyone's dog will look different, thanks to different breeds the possibility of downloadable content.

We'll have more on Fable 2 in the future.