Gamescom 2009 is now ebbing into the ever growing past now, but if there is one thing that has stuck in my mind amidst all the many exciting goings on, it is Peter Molyneux’s announcement of Fable III.

Peter Molyneux, head of Lionhead Studios and the mind behind such games as Black & White, has endured so much criticism in his time that he has become very much a love or hate character. I personally, am able to overlook certain absences of certain growing oak trees promised in Fable 1, and see the genius he truly is. Fable II, in my opinion, was a brilliant, addictive game pulled back by simple flaws that I by no means blame Peter for. It is for this reason that the idea of a sequel excites me to the extent that I already can’t wait to start spending 24 hours of each and every January 2011 day on the Xbox, roaming around Albion.

A few months ago the second DLC for Fable II was made available in the Marketplace. This was a slightly disappointing breeze of fresh adventure named ‘See the Future.’ Although after a lacklustre adventure there was precious little future to see, this taster of what’s to come was certainly food for thought and immediately got players guessing what might be in store for a potential sequel.

So it was no surprise when, standing in front of hoards of press inside the Cologne Trade Fair Centre, Peter announced that in Fable III, you are going to become the ruler of Albion. Of course, this is a very exciting notion, and if pulled off correctly it should make one heck of a game. So is Peter, who is also juggling with new Natal project ‘Milo’, up to the challenge?

Well, it certainly seems so as Peter, after showing an interesting short trailer, began telling of everything that is in store. He started by putting the story into a little more detail. Basically, you’re going to play as the child of your Fable II character (who will apparently somehow inherit all the moral characteristics of your old saved game) when Albion is taken over by a tyrant. So it will be up to you to gather allies, take over the throne and restore the corrupted and changing kingdom in whatever way you see fit. All exciting stuff, Peter revealed lot’s of interesting concept art detailing an Albion which has been affected by the introduction of steam power.  Not only that, however, Peter also revealed art depicting a location that is clearly not Albion at all, this game is going to be much bigger than last time, thanks to Albion’s new steam boats.

As well as all this, Peter also mentioned two new features he’ll be throwing into the game, both of which should really add a whole new dimension to Fable. One of these is what Peter referred to as ‘Judgement.’ Here, the player, as King or Queen, is going to be able to decide the fate of a law breaking individual judging on the persons own plight and the sort of ruler they wish to be; merciful or cruel. These fates can include execution, imprisonment, freedom, or even charity as you can spend you heap of royal cash on a variety of things, from castle upkeep to food for the poor.

The second new feature Peter mentioned was what he called ‘Touch.’ One of the biggest downers in Fable was the fact that it was impossible to make any physical contact with any of your fellow citizens. If you wanted to woo someone or make a friend (which was far too easy) you were limited to just putting on silent little performances for them. Now, however, handholding and hugs are an option, allowing you to make full use of the limbs God gave you in a social system that sounds as though it is going to dwarf that of Fable II.

In addition to all this, Peter told of how he and his team also rented a filming studio and actually acted out the story in the hope that it would make for a quality narrative. Speaking of acting, that got me pondering on what sort of voice talent we could be looking forward to. It will certainly be hard to beat the fantastic Stephen Fry as Reaver, though it sounds in the trailer that Zoë Wanamaker’s Theresa might be making a comeback. Also, Jonathan Ross let slip on his Twitter page a few months ago that Peter Molyneux had been in contact. Jonathan also went on to hint that comedian Charlie Brooker might be involved as well. So they could be two for the list.

 Let us all just hope that, unlike Peter’s broken promises regarding sun tan in Fable 1 for which he merited plenty death threats, that all that was said in Gamescom was true, and that we will indeed be seeing physical contact, judgement, an expanded world, and well told story in the very exciting Fable III, which we should be seeing in late 2010. Gamespot is the perfect place to go for information on Gamescom, so go there to see Peter’s full half hour presentation, along with the concept art and trailer mentioned earlier.