Fable III - here's how you make it a hit

I never knew I was such a nasty piece of work but Peter Molyneux's Fable 2 made me show my true colours. By the end of each playthrough, I was pure evil - blessed with red eyes, horns, a tail and a swarm of flies!

Despite normally hating this kind of game - and needing plenty of coercion to actually take the plunge and buy it - I found the whole thing totally engrossing.

It looked gorgeous, sounded fantastic and had a really great storyline with plenty of side missions and some memorable characters.

And now that there's news of a third game, I must admit that I'm rather excited! The trailer below looks intriguing and Eurogamer outlines some of the new features here... but with the game still some way off, here are a few of my suggested improvements.

1. I loved the array of achievements in Fable II. From kicking chickens to arranging a sordid orgy, there was plenty to keep you entertained. I even enjoyed traipsing through the world of Albion to find all those blooming gargoyles! But please, in the next game, don't bother with challenges that require you to either buy a rubbish Live Arcade game (Pub Games) or approach random strangers asking if they have a ragdoll they could swap with you.
2. Co-op play was welcome but pretty pointless... both players were restricted to the same screen so it limited what you could do. Firstly, Fable III could really do with a split screen feature and secondly, you should be able to import your own characters and not use generic avatars. That way, whatever money you collect or missions you complete will be factored in when you're playing a single player game, and help you to power up your character.
3. Much though I hated my annoying dog, and enjoyed killing him off at the end, it was hugely frustrating that his demise meant I couldn't complete certain missions or gain some of the achievements! Make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again please!
   
4. Perhaps the fighting elements of the game could be improved a little to remove some of the inevitable button-bashing? A bit more strategy perhaps, or more varied skills?
   
5. I think that more of the items you purchase/acquire should be needed during the game. All too often I bought something only for it to stay unused in my inventory. Why would I need to buy all of those clothes, dyes or books if only one or two actually have any bearing on the gameplay?
6. And finally, while it's a nice touch to become wealthier even when your machine is switched off, it can wreck your gaming experience. By the time the DLC was released, for example, I'd become a millionaire and could afford absolutely everything, hugely reducing the challenge and incentive to earn more cash.