Well, you can still go wherever you feel like to and accept sidequests and so on.

It is not A --> B --> C if you don't want it to be.
You can say that about every OpenWorld game ever created anyway.

Have you played the Fable games?

To me Fable was always about the role playing experience inside a fantastical world. So long as I can buy a house of my choosing, renovate it as I see fit, and can marry any NPC I choose I’ll be happy

That actually doesnt sound so bad.

Different studios with different talents. Not unlike Monolith has a different studio that works on Mario Kart.

Basically Fable has smaller "maps/sandboxes" which you can explore in order to collect chests, keys, gargoyles and so forth, each sandbox has set defined paths out of the area.
It does guide you along a progression path to push the story narrative.

Fable 2 did open things up significantly over Fable 1.

It's not open world by any means, but it's not a linear corridor either.

I'm really curious on what they will be able to make with it. Should be a fine game.

I'm not sure I share everyones' optimism. The track record (especially with Microsoft) of new teams with absolutely no connection to the actual team that developed the original games does not exactly inspire optimism. Microsoft basically put a team together to create fantasy game, and they're calling it Fable because of brand recognition. Part of the appeal of the series was because of Lionhead Studios' unique perspective and game design philosophy. 

No Peter Molyneux or any of the people from Bullfrog and the breakaway team (Lionhead Studios) which is who made Fable. It would be like Sony buying the Final Fantasy franchise and putting their own internal team together to make the next entry.

I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Fable was actually the game that got me to buy an original Xbox. While it never really hit my expectations (I blame peter) it was still a great game. The fable games kinda got worse with each iteration, but not enough that I would say any of them are bad. Still, a new studio and a fresh start is the best thing that could happen to this series. Color me cautiously optimistic about this one!

Is this what we're expecting from the new one though?  

I never touched 3, but the previous fables allowed retraversal of any explored area. Everywhere you went was tunneled as you were always in path with lots of forks and hidden places. I really hope they do make this one open world. Even if they don’t I mainly care that they put the same level of attention in the careful placement of items and storied environments. In fable 2 there were some great locations to stumble onto and that was my favorite part of the game. Well that and the leveling up process was excellent! I’m glad to see the game coming back.

I think Microsoft has a good track record of reviving games. Killer Instinct pleased it’s fans. A game like Fable likely attracted quality devs that enjoyed the series. Only thing I’m worried about is the release date.