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Snarky and downright Crappy

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 16
Date: November 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has some "personality" in the way you interact with characters and the bard's snide remarks but the battle system is where it goes awry. MOST gamers will feel the same way. It plays like "Champions of Norrath" and "Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance" without the good battle system. Your block feature is absolutely terrible. You block but get hit by other foes only to find yourself on your back and your foes can CONTINUOSLY hit you while youre down!!! When you strike it goes into a three hit combo automatically!!! With this flaw it leaves you open to attack and most of the time you find yourself on your back getting pummeled. Its very sad that the designers spent so much time on voice acting and not enough on the meat of the game "battle". Another terrible aspect is that when you run over items like swords etc it automatically gives you the better weapon and turns your old weapon into money!!! There is NO picking and choosing your weaponry or armor.

Wait till its in the discount bin

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 13
Date: December 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Hello and welcome to my review. This game isn't that bad but the interaction and alot of the controls of this game are alittle too hard for most players. (I had no problem but many of my friends were using words to describe it that isn't worth mentioning.) The storyline is alittle dry with no real mission laid out and only through dry humor can you advance in some points. It would have been nicer to have a list of choices-maybe in the next version. It was too easy to beat and did it in less than 2hrs. So if your bored and renting a game-this is for you. If your a hard-core RPG'r......then you want something more to sink your teeth into. Just my opinion. :-) Happy Holidays

Stay Away

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 18
Date: November 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is funny...right up until the first time you get in a fight. You get hit by the monsters in the middle of your swing, and it's over. You can block, but it only lasts for a split second, and you have to time it just right. Otherwise, you will get ripped to shreds. If you get attacked by more than one enemy at a time, you might as well just reload, because you'll get attacked from 2-3 or more different directions at a time, and before you know it, you're dead.

The snark doesn't make up for the constant dying and reloading. Stay away from this one.

To be a Bard or not to be - That is the Question!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: January 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game designers must have had a Bard - I mean a ball creating this game. The Bard's Tale was a fun adventure that I did not want to end. Poor guy has only met women that use him that's why he is the way he is - SNARKY. The voices and singing were hilarious. Guys would probably enjoy this game more than girls. A wonderful change from your standard RPG games. Here you have a character that is on a quest only for coin & cleavage (or is it the other way around?). This is no girlie man's game. I have a few Snarky remarks of my own. The special effects were great and the creatures were unique (never heard of some of those names before) but you couldn't see the detail of the creatures very well, and what's with the dark dungeons? I didn't pay over $40 to run around in the dark. Also why the air borne view fellows? With all the capabilities of the PS2, games should not be designed with this overhead view. So glad I put up with this annoying distraction because the ending was amazing and I can't get those songs out of my head. But I am not replaying a second time because of the camera angle, and with the cost of games nowadays, you really want to purchase a game with replay value. My suggestion to all you future Bards, wait until the game comes down in price, [...]

Just for Everquest fans...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 19
Date: October 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because the reviews were so great. But I am a fan of 1st person shooters, not the Diablo genre (gameface)-
and I didnt like looking down on my character. I also did not like the tedious spell stuff. Also, It was not funny. If you want funny- check out "evil dead-regeneration" now thats funny.
This game I anticipated, got and sold right off.

Very fun and entertaining game, but....

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I had a blast playing this game, but there were several points where I got stuck in the clipping and had to reset the game and as luck would have it, I was far from the save books.

Other than these issues, it was a very fun game.

I wasn't able to finish it though because of the clipping snags.

A decent game that could have been so much more

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Personally, I found The Bard's Tale to be a refreshing change of pace for games of this genre (mind you I cheated my brains out). The big thing about this game is the humor, which can be attributed to the excellent voice acting. The game pokes fun at every mainstay of console and computer RPGs. From looting chests, the concept of one person being chosen to save the world, and even the items you get from slaying enemies is open for attack. The game even makes fun of the "kill the rats in the tavern's cellar" quest in Dark Alliance. The funniest part of the game is the final battle where you have to choose between helping one side or the other. Actually, there is a third choice which is absolutely hilarious and worth playing through the game to see (you'll know it when you see it). The other thing about this game is the music. Most of the songs a extremely catchy, my favorite is the beer song (it is near impossible to get the chorus out of your head.

However, humor cannot carry an entire game. In that regard, the game engine is horrible. Although similar to the original Dark Alliance, the game should have taken a hint from Champions of Norrath. Blocking the game while at first innovative becomes tedious and annoying. The experience system seems unbalanced and arbitrary. Also, there is not variety in the type of weapons you can use. One a feature becomes available for a weapon it is standard for that type of weapon for the rest of the game. All in all the game could have probably benefited from a lot more fine tuning.

Still, one should at least rent this game to check out the humor. After all, there aren't that many games of this type that have references to The Highlander, The Priness Bride, and You Got Served in them.

A Tale of Two Bards

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

On one level: I was really disappointed when the game finally rolled down to its conclusion - because I was having so much fun playing it and enjoying the characters and story line. I loved the whole melting of music and action too - and I only wanted more! The comedy was really great if your humor slithers along Python-like. One of the characters even says, "It's only a flesh wound." And best of all you get a puppy that you can actually teach a trick to! Like I said I was really disappointed when the game came to a close. I really wanted more adventure in this virtual theatre of the absurd.

On the other level: my only criticism lies in the fact that some of the characters seemed a overly cartoonish like they were from the Island of Misfit Toys - especially the merc. It makes clever stabs at both Baldur's Gate and Champions of Norrath, but in those games I really felt like I was on an epic adventure. The battles really feel lacking as well, and the enviroments are more tailored to narrative than exploration. And the weapons were cool up to a point (I loved the ax that sounded like an electric guitar) - but I also love multiple weapon choices (building them is the best). Also the creatures were cool up to a point as well, but come on if I'm going to San Fran I want to see the Golden Gate - throw in some orcs, goblins, unicorns, dragons, fairy folk, and wizards (Druids alone don't cut it) it's fantasy! If they would have put more detail into graphics and enviroment they would have had a really awesome game here.

Not just your typical RPG Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I borrowed Bard's Tale from a friend, and after I heard the drunk guys singing in the bar at the beginning of the game I returned the game to him and bought it the next day. From that point on I knew this game wasn't going to be your typical hack and slash RPG game. Even though there's plenty of sword slinging there's also a great dialogue. The graphics are pretty much typical but the voice acting on this is great. Besides all of that another thing I liked about this game is that it isn't that frustrating. It doesn't take a genius to beat this game so if you're looking for a major challenge than you're not going to find it here. This game is definately worth getting just for the story and dialogue, highly recommended.

A Great Gaming Experience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: July 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'll admit that i was a little sceptical when The Bard's Tale first realeased. I heard countless complaints about the camera/gameplay and with the host of great and near great RPGs released around the same time that was reason enough to ignore it in favor of other RPGs, especially since hack and slashers typically aren't my favorite when it comes to RPGs. (RPGs can get a little repetative without a great storyline - something HNS RPGs usually lack)

However after picking up a copy recently i'm willing to say that despite minor problems such as camera angel and gameplay that really isn't anything stikeingly inovative (think Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance meets Neverwinter Nights) i've loved my entire experiece thus far. What's the primary reason? The Story.

I've played more then my share of RPGs over the year any i've never experienced anything quite like The Bard's Tale. I've always been a sucker for parodys (I.E. Spaceballs) and the over the top humor which relentlessly targets just about every RPG cliche had me at time rolling with laughter. (We need more games like this)

As with the gameplay, just deal with it. Sure it's not perfect by any means but don't let it keep you from enjoying this rare gem.

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