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Rent this one

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 65 / 65
Date: August 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For those of you (like myself) who played the old school Bard's Tale: Thief of Fate and it's sequels, this game is completely unlike the originals. Gone are the seemingly unending dungeon crawls, the parties of six cusomizeable, leveleable, equipable adventurers. The intricate mazes filled with darkness, traps and hordes of (sometimes enormous groups) monsters.

This, although much modernized game, is completely different. It is viewed in 3rd person, real time, extremely limited in size (compaired to its predecessors), and has but one character (which must be...you guessed it...a bard) which does gain xp and level but is not nearly as interresting or customizeable as the old parties of six plus one summoned creature.

The summoned creatures, I have to admit, are a lot of fun. The only bad thing about them is that many of these cool and interresting creatures are only found (and therefore, only useable) in the very last dungeon (which is actually a tower).

You can eventually summon up to three allies, choosing from sixteen creatures. These include an archer, a knight, and a rat. Many of these creatures are upgradeable. The rat, for example, can be upgraded into the "vorpal rat," which, although weak, is capable of inflicting huge ammounts of damage. Different combinations of summoned creatures enable you to have, for example, a blocking summoned creature supported by a healer and a high damager. Others do area effect attacks.

The gameplay is somewhat challenging. You will probably find yourself dying a few times and having to reboot your saved game. Some of the fights were challenging enough that I died five to ten times, but I was eventually able to overcome them all and win the game.

Because the combat is real time, you are forced to button-mash and pay VERY close attention to what's going on at all times. This is far removed from the old game system where you could sit and munch doritos while your hearty adventuring party pounded the snot out of hordes of monsters. Even a very weak monster can kill the bard if you're not paying attention.

Another down side is that the game has very limited replayability. After you win the game you cannot "go back" and play your character. The game is over. That's it. All those levels, all that treasure and upgrading for nothing. The closest thing you can get to infinite gameplay is if you simply do not enter the last tower. This leaves you with wandering monsters, scant (and unimagineative) treasure and only leveling your bard.

Wandering monsters automatically grow stronger as you gain levels. This too is a drawback, I think (it's like penalizing you for growing stronger). The fights actually become more difficult rather than getting easy as you become more powerful.

I played this game for a week and traded it in for another game. This is why I suggest you save your money and rent it for a week.

Good effort but falls short.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: November 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I can tell you I was pretty excited about this one. I even had it reserved a month in advance. I mean, what with the premise of a Baldurs Gate/Champions of Norrath style rpghack n' slasher being turned on it's head to make fun of all the rpg conventions and cliches we've all grown to love, and then to hate, well... how could I resist. Especially with the promise of fantastic voice acting. Cary Elwis, The Man in Black himself (!) (from Princess Bride) as the voice of a sarcastic English bard? How could you not love that?
They also got that guy from the Legacy of Kain series to do the narration. (Not Kane or Raziel, but the guy who's always prodding you on or giving info in cut scenes)
Anyway it sounded fantastic to me.
Unfortunately I'm finding myself disappointed with it. Don't get me wrong the game is flat out hysterical and worth playing through just to see the cut scenes and listen to the Bard and the Narrator get into a few tiffs. Just hilarious.
Unfortunately the gameplay isn't quite as good.
There's not much variety in weapons. Whenever you find something new you can be sure it's an upgrade over what you have. No mix and matching with armor pieces or deciding which sword you'd like to use.
The combat, which was supposed to avoid repitition, sadly is just that. Also, unlike Norrath/Baldurs, you can't just wade through your enemies if you like. You have to block and time your blocks as well... Which actually sounds like a good idea until you're getting swarmed by 10 different enemies.
Also ranged combat is just horrendous. The enemies rush you so fast that there's really no time to use your bow to any effect. Your summoned companions are supposed to help take some of the heat off of you, but as soon as you fire one arrow into an enemy they completely ignore all others and charge you. Oh and don't try to fire point blank because you can't hit anything up face to face. Which wouldn't be so bad if you had a single button you could press to switch back and forth between ranged and melee like Norrath/Baldurs. You don't though. You have to bring up a menu and then select which weapon you want to switch to. Not only that but the act of switching takes too much time. In fact the only way to effectively use ranged attacks is to start firing before the enemies are even on the screen, which ends up being an excercise in tedium since you can't always tell if you're hitting those little red dots on your radar.
So all in all I would recommend renting it first. Highly recommend it in fact. The humor in this game is seriously not to be missed. You just need to find out how much tolerance you've got for the boring and sometimes frustrating gameplay. After all everyones barometer is calibrated differently.

A great introduction to RPGs

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 26
Date: January 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I enjoy video games, but have played very few role playing titles. I don't like the wide-eyed youngsters saving the world storylines of most of those games. The Bard's Tale, however, had a great plot that was actually funny and interesting.
The learning curve isn't too steep, and the control scheme is fairly easy to understand. By the end of the game, you can summon up to 16 magical creatures to help you; this allows you to tailor the game to fit how you play.
The environments are interesting and varied. You will play on a snowy mountain, deep in a mine, on open fields and even on water.
Enemies are varied, as well. Each level had its own kind of enemy, so I was never bored with killing the same thing over and over.
I would definitely recommend The Bard's Tale for those wishing to try out an RPG, or just looking for something new.

An absurd amount of fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 18
Date: May 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I am totally loving this game. I'm not your typical video-game player--I'm a 28 year old woman, a wife, and a mother, with a professional career. I don't have a lot of time to play video games, which explains why I'm just now getting around to playing this--and I received it as a Christmas gift. But this game is such fun! It occurred to me, as my little Bard character was walking around, about to shoot some crows, followed by his little dog and the crone he'd summoned ("covered in sores and tattoos" no less!) how delightfully skewed this game is. Random characters pop up and sing songs. There are grutuitous close-ups of ample cleavage. Your adventure is narrated by an elegantly disdainful commentator. Ah, I just love this game.

It is not, mind you, for everyone--there aren't any loud explosions and realistic machine-gun fire or anything like that. But I must say, it really and truly grabbed me. Love it!

Bard's Tale... Great Game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

My son and I fight over who's going to get to play the game first... it's a lot of fun. But keep in mind, this game isn't an easy win... your character gets killed a LOT at first... but it gets easier as you go along, and once you figure out your strategy it's a breeze. You play magical tunes to call forth creatures to help you thru tough spots, and once you get about 1/2 way thru, the creatures you call can really make a difference on the outcome of the game. Play the right tunes to call forth the right players, and winning is a BREEZE!!! And search EVERYWHERE... you can find some great weapon upgrades and lucky tokens to make winning even easier. Now that I'm 1/2 way thru, my character hardly ever dies.

Nice change of pace in Gaming

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am a big fan or the horror survival genre but not every game is like that. The best way I can describe this game is that it is like ZELDA but it has the humor, sexual content, and schematic tricks that only an adult should hear, see, and do. there are many weapons, and types of armor that a person can get but be forwarned you must travel to different villages to obtain different things and you will need pleanty of money. Another things that makes this game great is that according to Xbox you can choose you own ending depending on what you say and do during different scenes. Have fun with this game!

The Bard's Tale

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: June 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The first thing you should know is that if you're an old-school gamer who grew up playing The Bard's Tale games in the 80s, you may be surprised by this game. It bears no real resemblance to the original trilogy of BT games (aside from one passing reference early on, when the Bard mentions that he once saved a town trapped in "eternal winter," which is precisely what he did in the first game.) Designer Brian Fargo basically decided to completely reinvent the franchise with this game. Humor has always played at least a subtle part in The Bard's Tale games, and there were several Monty Python references in Bard's Tale III, but this time around, the humor really takes center stage.
The Bard is a sarcastic, self-serving and downright rude character whose primary concern is getting rich and getting women. In the original games, you were always on a noble quest to defeat evil. This time, the Bard doesn't seem to care who he sides with, as long as there's a nice reward in it for him.
In a lot of ways, this feels a bit like how an RPG might look if Tim Schaefer ("Day of The Tentacle," "Psychonauts," "Monkey Island") took a stab at creating one. All of the typical RPG conventions are here-- smashing barrels, leveling up, looting corpses, opening chests, etc-- but they're constantly mocked. Often, this mockery comes from the disembodied voice of the narrator, who regularly comments on the Bard's activities. (for example, early in the game, you offer to help a barmaid. You wander into her room, and, of course, there's a treasure chest on the floor. When you open it, the narrator comments, "You're stealing from her?! Oh well, actually, I'm amazed it took you THIS long to get your hands on her chest." Some other great bits of humor come in the form of songs. Yes, characters will occasionally break into song/dance numbers, complete with bouncing-ball lyrics so you can sing along.

In terms of actual gameplay, things are kept relatively simple compared to most RPGs. This was done deliberately so the player could focus on moving the story along without getting bogged down in busy work. For example, if you find a weaker weapon than the one you're currently using, it is automatically converted into coins-- no need to make a detour to the shop and trade it in. I suppose some people may think this cuts down on the roleplaying aspect, but I like it.

Fighting in mostly a matter of hitting the X button to swing whatever weapon you're wielding. However, you can also summon creatures to fight alongside you (the bard has a magic lute to do this), and you can use your directional pad to give basic commands to your summoned allies, such as "Attack," "Defend," etc. It's simplistic, but it works well and the fights are often entertaining enough without being overly difficult.

The graphics are good. They're not going to win any awards, but the top-down view of the world is attractive, and the subtle effects, such as water ripples and trees blowing in the wind, make it all the more appealing. Occasionally, the trees pose a problem since they obstruct your view of the action during a fight, and I do wish a transparency effect was used in such occasions.

Overall, if you don't demand serious depth in an RPG, I definitely recommend this game. It has a good story, memorable characters, a simple interface, plenty of humor, and satisfying hack & slash combat.

It sure sucks to be the chosen one.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

It sure sucks to be the chosen one.

The Bard's Tale for Xbox and PS2 is a new title in a very old gaming franchise. Before talking about the game directly, let me tell you a brief bit about the history of its genre.

Once upon a time (80's, 90's), you could've roughly split up computer and console role-playing games (RPGs) into two groups: Japanese RPGS and American RPGS. Japanese RPGs tended to focus strongly on a plot. The game mechanics were just a mechanism to move the story forth. Character advancement was not nearly as important as story advancement. Ask anyone who has ever played any Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior game and you will find this is true. Enjoyment of the tale the game presented was the main goal of Japanese RPGs.

American RPGs on the other hand tended to be very open adventures with a very heavy emphasis on exploration, character development, and game statistics in general. The `story' of these games worked more like a general game playing guideline than a strong dramatic plot. The stories presented would give you a rough idea of what needed to be done next, but would rarely push you into doing anything in particular until you really felt like unlocking some new area or getting some special item. Players would often run around the game world trying to build up their character statistics as high as possible. The emphasis of these games was enjoying the gameplay, not the story. Two series that were the hallmark of this type of game were Wizardry, and The Bard's Tale.

This trend has even continued into the new century. Just compare Morrowind to Final Fantasy X: an open book versus a staged Soap Opera. Both titles are good games, just very different.

The original Bard's Tale was a classic example of one these open, statistic driven American games. You created a party of characters using Dungeons and Dragons like statistics. Then you would run around a pseudo 3D dungeon, kill monsters, and collect treasure. After that, you would return to the inn to gain levels, heal your party members, and then repeat the whole process over again.

This new Bard's Tale eschews that type of design completely, opting for instead a Diablo type action RPG style of control and play. The menu based combat of old is replaced with good ol' hack and slash button mashing fun. You control a singular character from an overhead view, while partaking in multiple story and non-story related quests.

Another difference with this Bard's Tale is that it is a humorous game. Unlike the previous titles which had somewhat serious stories to follow, this game is a laugh all the way through. It parodies other games in the genre, picks on common elements such as killing rats, opening random treasure chests, chosen ones, and has a very witty script to back it up with. I found the Bard's dialog to be a constant source of amusement. The character you control and the games narrator often banter with each other, usually to humorous effect. This humorous script writing even shows up when you engage other characters in dialog. You are often give at least two response choices, a nice response, and a `snarky' response. You quickly find out being nice doesn't help you get what you want.

And, in another departure from traditional RPGs, the character you control isn't your typical hero. No wide eye farm boys, elven princesses, or honor seeking knights here. He's a roguish bard who takes advantage of people whenever he can. He is very fond of beer and the ladies, and doesn't have any loftier goals than finding a warm bed to crash in at night, preferably accompanied with a barmaid. This is an attitude that never changes in the game, fortunately.

The basic story is that your character of the Bard gets drafted into being `The Chosen One', and ends up trying to rescue to a trapped princess. You quickly find many other `Chosen Ones' who have met a sad fate, and also discover that all is not as it seems...

The controls are fairly simple. You use the primary buttons to attack, block, jump, and activate things with. The left and right trigger buttons activate your summoning spells. Summoning can get a little tricky in the heat of battle so you generally want to do that in advance. Over all I found that the controls worked pretty well.

I was happy with the graphics. Nothing overly special, but nothing shoddy either.

Other than the script writing and humor, the other place this game shines is the sound effects and music department. The sounds always seem to be on cue, and I loved all the amusing sing-a-long songs they had in the game.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and highly recommend.

One would never think that such drunken lout would make such a great chosen one.

I want my money back!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: April 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This has got to be the saddest RPG I have purchased in recent memory. Is this game honestly supposed to compete with Elder Scrolls 3 and 4, Dungeon Siege, Diablo 2, etc etc etc. Look elsewhere for your RPG's, guys. This game is sad.

The drawbacks are almost too numerous to mention. You have to be a bard. You can only have one character in your party. You can summon a few monsters but most of them you don't find until the very last tower. Once you beat the game you cannot replay your character. You can raise levels but it's not that fun and the monsters keep getting stronger as you raise levels. The magic items are idiotic.

A lot better game than I would have thought.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've played all the X-box RPGs and I've liked pretty much all of them. What sets the Bard's Tale apart is the story. Usually the story in Baldur's Gate, etc is fairly linear. You proceed from point A to point B and it sure seems like point B is just like point A except it has snow or lava. It seems as if the focus is on character creation and combat while the story is tacked on. But the Bard's Tale actually makes it seem like the story comes first and is meant to entertain you while you kill everything and solve the quests. The game plays a lot like other X-box RPG games but lacks a lot of the hours of character creation and equipment upgrades that the other RPGs have. This is either good or bad depending on your point of view. All in all, a great game.

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