Mic-gone-wrong

 Today's release of Wolfenstein isn't all good news for the developers. GamesIndustry.biz reports that as the game releases today, the team that worked on the multiplayer mode has seen layoffs. U.K. developer Endrant Studios spearheaded the multiplayer efforts, and jobs were cut today just as the title was hitting stores.

"We have recently completed a development cycle and have regrettably been forced to make adjustments to staff and headcounts," said a spokesperson. "Those affected are valued members of our team who have worked incredibly hard on our latest title. We hope that they land on their feet quickly." We have no word on how many of the 17-member team were cut, but here's hoping that however many are finding themselves jobless today, they find new positions soon.

 To start off Microsoft's GamesCom press conference, Peter Molyneux took to the stage to reveal none other than Fable 3. Before Molyneux talked about how Lionhead Studios could surprise gamers with the game's story and provide something "new, fresh, and different," he made a curious comment about something wrong with Fable-like RPGs. "I think there's something fundamentally wrong with RPGs like Fable... It's a mechanic that's been there since the eighties. I'm going to take that foundation stone and throw it away." Of course, Molyneux is keeping his lips sealed about just what that "foundation stone" is for the time being.

You might be wondering just how this ties into the recent hints we've been getting about the project Lionhead is working on. Mimicking the historical figures and leaders that Lionhead has been posting pictures of, your goal in Fable 3 will be to become the ruler of the world of Albion. Molyneux said, "You are going to become the ruler of the whole of Albion. You've played in this land in Fable 1, in Fable 2 you became a hero; this time, why not rule Albion? Why not be a king or a queen?" He added, "I want players to feel and experience what it's like to be a ruler."

You'll take up the role of either the son or daughter of the Hero from Fable 2. The first half of the game will center around gaining support and starting a revolution against the current king. "Ultimately you overthrow that terrible tyrant who rules Albion, but to do that you have to make some promises," said Molyneux. But it's up to you to keep those promises about help the poor, lower taxes, and so on. An example of the decisions you'll have to make is your ability to do away with poverty by spending all of the money in your treasure room -- or you can just save it for yourself, but either way, there will be consequences. And as ruler, you'll be able to have a family that naturally take up the roles of king or queen and prince or princess.

 In what is surely no coincidence, today Sony was ready to hand to 1UP a final boxed retail PS3 Slim console. We got the box in the office, figuratively tore it apart, and got our greasy mitts all over the new, definitely smaller unit. It's not nearly the space hog that the original behemoth PlayStation 3 is, yet it isn't all that lighter, either -- there's still an obvious heft to this model, which, as Sony might say, keeps it firmly planted in your living room! Har har.

As far as booting up the Slim, little has changed, so we'll get that out of the way first. The firmware in the system is still 2.76, so you'll still have to download the fancy new 3.0 firmware once you get it. The lone cosmetic software difference: the startup logo is the new "PS3" one, rather than reading "Sony Computer Entertainment." And as with the rest of the current PS3 line, there's no ability to play PlayStation 2 games -- PS1 games, though, have always been software emulated, so you can download and play Final Fantasy VII with ease.