If you ignore the previous game and look at Fable 2 on it’s own you will see an wholly successful action adventure game that can stand on it’s own merits. This builds on and expands on the conventions of Fable crafted by Lionhead games.
That is a phrase that really applied to Fable 2; handcrafted. You can tell that this game was a labor of love by Sir Peter Molyneux. You know it is going to be good when it is a game designed by a knight of both England and France. The first game is not a prerequisite but if you liked the first game than you are going to eat this game up. It is going to be yummy.