Bards Tale Review

Developer: InXile

Publisher: Vivendi

Rating: Teen (T)

About The Bard's Tale

The Bard’s Tale is a fun, single-player, action/role-playing/adventure game filled with magic, humorous dialog and narration, battles with multiple creatures and exploration of exotic lands. You play the “Bard”, a sarcastic, sharp-witted, lute-playing individual whose goals in life up to this point were only to fill his pocket with silver, his belly with food, and enjoy the company of many women.

The game begins when the Bard goes to a local tavern to try and con the barkeep for some food. Using his magic lute, he conjures up a small rat that he “gets rid of” for a price. The voluptuous barkeep is grateful and tells him if he disposes of their rat problem in the basement, she will give him food and shelter. The Bard then goes to the basement only to find a gigantic rat who is more than a handful.

A mysterious stranger (who happens to be in the basement) offers the Bard training and a new tune that can conjure up a more powerful creature that will help the Bard kill the beast. After the Bard destroys the rat and receives his reward, the helpful stranger tells him about another powerful magic song; and with promises of wealth and power, sets him on a journey that turns him into an unlikely hero.

Difficulty Level/Modes of Play

The Bard’s Tale is a fairly easy game to learn. It offers only a single-player mode, in Easy, Normal and Old-School. When you start a new game, the Bard’s character statistics for Strength, Vitality, Charisma, Luck, Dexterity can be adjusted with a set number of points. A skill is also selected to complete your Bard’s character. The choices of skills at character creation are: Critical Hit, Shield Bash, Two-Handed Weapons, Power Shot, Treasure Hunter and Dual Wield. The only difference between the difficulty levels is the number of points the Bard will have available to him and the number of save game locations. The Easy level starts off with higher stats in all categories whereas the Old-School level offers lower points in each category to start.

Fun Factor

This game is very fun. The most enjoyable aspect is the summoning of various creatures that the Bard will cast by playing his magic lute. The Bard can summon one creature initially, but will eventually be able to cast up to four at a time. As you progress, you will have access to a total of 16 magic tunes. Some of the creatures you will be able to cast are: the Rat, Spider, Elemental, Crone, Mercenary, Soul Stealer, Knight, Heroine, Brute, Behemoth and Trap Finder. Each summoned creature has different skills and abilities. You can experiment with different combinations to see what works for you.

The Bard is also a capable fighter. Combat choices are: Sword, Flail, Dirk, Claymore and Bow. Weapons and armor can be purchased at a limited number of shops or found during adventuring.

His sarcastic wit also comes to play throughout the tale. You are sometimes required to make a choice on what type of verbal response the Bard will give in certain situations. You can choose to be nice or smarmy (sarcastic). Many times, the Bard’s sarcasm gets the best results, while other times it is inappropriate. The narrator of the game will also chime in many times to tell some details of the Bard’s story and make smart and insulting remarks about him throughout the game.

Replayability

This game, once completed doesn’t have any additional quests or bonus levels. Your only options for more difficult gameplay are to start with a lower level of character statistics, which will make combat more difficult initially, or play the game through (while still saving your progress) without dying once.

Depth/Length of Game

There are numerous small quests and one big, continuing quest through out the game. The Bard gains levels after accumulating a number of points achieved through combat and quest completion. Each area becomes more challenging and difficult as you come closer to the end of the game.

Graphics and Audio

The graphics are pretty good. Many locations seem to be inspired by Irish culture, and some of the human characters you will encounter in the town are wearing a traditional kilt-like garments and speak with an Irish accent.

The dialog and narration is excellent. The producer of this game chose just the right people to play the Bard and Narrator. The music played by the Bard has an Irish folk-song style.

Movie Sequences

The movie sequences are numerous, as they include many dialog sessions and key moments. Movie sequences can be skipped for the most part, and the Bard will make a sarcastic remark like “Next!”, “Boring!” or “Let’s get to the good part!”. The only time you cannot skip the movie sequence is when you have to make a choice or respond to a character.

Review Summary

The Bard’s Tale is a fun, single player, action/role-playing/adventure game where you play a sarcastic, self-centered lute-playing individual who is on a personal quest for power, silver and lust. Enjoy the humorous and malicious remarks of the Bard and the Narrator. Summon helpful creatures with your magic lute, battle numerous enemies, travel through exotic lands and complete many quests. Create your own Bard by adjusting his character stats, and picking his initial skill. Use magic tunes to summon creatures of various strengths and skills. Make good or smarmy decisions that will affect the outcome of certain situations. Join the Bard's perilous adventures as he becomes an unlikely hero. Complete the quests and get the power, the wealth and the girl.