Gamescon has provided us with another amazing piece of information to go along with the PlayStation 3 Slim and that is the announcement of Fable III along with a debut trailer. The game picks up some time after the events of Fable II, it actually reads your Fable II save if you have one and sets you up as that characters son or daughter. The big thing with this edition is you are no longer aspiring to be the hero of Albion but now you are aspiring to be the ruler of Albion. This splits the game in two as you begin by trying to build support for your claim to the throne, basically you go on the campaign trail. Once again the choices you make will effect the way the game plays and this can range from breaking your campaign promises to keeping them. Apparently implementing your promises will not be as easy you think, they may require certain progress to occur prior or a certain amount of gold but that may be required for more pressing things. It will try to present you with the power and the responsibilities assoicated with ruling a nation and display how hard this can be to weild. Also getting the current Ruler out of power will be part of the game but how you do this is not mentioned. Once you do get in power you may be fair and just, in the games new Judgement mechanic, which allows you, as the ruler, to pass judgement on the people of Albion who come before you. Say someone has had something stolen, you may investigate the claim or take a bribe from someone else before you make your decision. There are endless opportunities to be a tyrant or a prophet, the savior of your people or the enslaver, the choices are endless. As ruler you will control all aspects of Albion from food allocation to taxes and you can really build up or ignore certain areas. Also as ruler you can host royal events, even with people from other nations. Yes that's right Albion isn't alone now, it's now part of a continent filled with other nations. I wonder if this means you can go to war with other nations? Not much was mentioned about how fighting will actually occur but Molyneux did say you will be a hero king or queen like Captain Kirk so maybe you'll undertake missions to reaffirm your position as the right choice to rule Albion. I'm also interested in how your relations with the other nations will affect the game, like can you trade with them or become allies and enemies?

Apart from the Judgement mechanic, which seems a little wank and a pointless side quest mechanic at the moment, there is the more interesting Touch mechanic. This replaces the button assigned reactions from Fable II like thumbs up with more natural and realistic interactions with the people around you. See a girl/man you like and you can go and introduce yourself and shake their hand and as the relationship builds the expressive touches develop into hugs and kisses. This will be important as you are required to have a King/Queen by your side who also influences your decisions and seems to be building on the dog mechanic from Fable II, a constant partner to experience your quest with you. The other use for Touch is dynamic touch which allows you to pick up a baby and sooth them if they are crying instead of just pressing A and they are soothed. IGN are speculating it will incorporate Project Natal which would make sense as they are both Peter Molyneuz projects. From the looks of it Molyneux is serving up another highly ambitious and potentially highly revolutionary game which looks to build upon the success of Fable II, whether it meets the hype and expectations Molyneux will create remains to be seen I mean it has only just been announced. Personally I'm already psyched for the game, taking control of a whole country from the perspective of an RPG is so exctining and now I can't wait for late 2010 when the game is said to be released. For now enjoy the trailer which doesn't show a lot although it looks great but tells you the basic idea of you becoming the ruler.