'Fable 2' Not 100% British, Despite All The Farting

I sat through a half hour demo of the promising Xbox 360 role-playing game "Fable 2" yesterday at Microsoft's gaming event in San Francisco.

And I got the impression that the game, which is made in England by Peter Molyneux and his design team at Microsoft-owned Lionhead Studios, is very British.

As in... the opening cut scene ends with close-up footage of a bird dropping feces on you character's head.

As in... Molyneux himself cheerfully proclaiming that not only is flatulence back for the sequel but that "if we want to sell a million units in Britain, we just introduce farts."

Very, very British.

So, after the demo, I asked Molyneux if there was anything American in the game.

He paused, considered it, checked with a member of his team and then answered.

Yes, he told me. One character will be voiced by an American -- a significant character, no less, though more details can't be revealed yet. The guy will have an American accent.

I thanked Molyneux for this.

His public relations coordinator, Cathy Campos, reminded me that a) the game takes place in an era that would have preceded America's founding and that b) in her and Molyneux's country they have to sit through all sorts of television shows from the U.S. that don't even have one British speaker.

Good point.

Though I have to point out that she didn't say "television." She said "telly."

Very British, indeed.