I fully approve of the developing trend of letting you play bits of the game before they come out, with the bits you play actually effecting the full game. The Spore Creature Creator, for instance, which lets get your creatures ready for the full release, and now the Fable II Pub Games. The Fable II Pub Games, which will be available on Xbox Live Arcade next month, will allow players to participate in three lively fantasy gambling games, with the money you earn transferring over to the main game upon release. Earn big bucks playing "Keystone,", "Spinnerbox," and "Fortune's Tower," and your character will be able to start off the game right, ready to purchases weapons, dog tricks...the sky's the limit.
Best of all, while the Fable II Pub Games will be available for purchase at 800 MS points, preordering the game from participating retailers gets you the mini-games for free, my personal favorite price.
Build Your Fable II Gold with Pub Games [Xbox.com - Thanks Peter!]