Introduction:

He is the Bard, man of both fame and notoriety. With his keen wit, sharp eye, nerves of steel, and suave demeanor, he is the very epitome of the gentleman adventurer.

Right.

Maybe in the normal genre of adventure games, but this bard is a bit more true to real life than most would admit. This bard barely stays one step ahead of the law, and two steps ahead of the jealous boyfriends/angry mobs that he always seems to create with his charm and practices. To be honest, we're not really sure he can even spell gentleman, much less act like one. Here we have InXile's homage to the original Bards Tale games, which ironically only really share the name with the 1985 game. Anyone who gets this game with the expectation that it is a continuation of the former series will be disappointed, because by the developer's own admission - it isn't. What it is turns out to be a game that is as much fun, if not more fun, to watch the sequences and interactions as it is to adventure and discover new areas.

The Bard's Tale Vital Stats:

System Requirements for PC:

Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP
Intel Pentium III 800 Mhz, 256 Mb RAM
1.6 GB Free HD, 3D Card
GeForce 2 or ATI 7500 32MB, DirectX 9 compatible
Direct X 9.0b
12X CD-ROM Drive
DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card, Keyboard/Mouse

(My Suggested Requirements)

Windows 2000/XP
Intel P4 1.6 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM
NVidia 6200 or Ati 9600 128mb, DirectX 9 compatible
Direct X 9.0b
12X CD-ROM Drive
DirectX 9 compatible Sound Card, Keyboard/Mouse

Game Original Release Date: October 2004

Developer: InXile Entertainment

Publisher: Vivendi Universal

Setup:
For PC: The game comes as 6 CDs. No problems or surprises occurred during installation, but it unpacked to take up an extremely large portion of hard drive space don't try to shoehorn this onto a smaller drive.
For XBOX/PS2: Put it in and go.

Graphics and Sound:

Graphics are very nice, unfortunately the program is rather graphics intensive due to combat happening in a multi-layered environment. As you can see from the forest screenshot, seeing around and thru foliage adds realism, but makes it hard on a lower end graphics card.

All interaction except for cut scenes happens in this top down mode, the cut scenes are more three dimensional and range from top down to over the shoulder views. The camera can zoom in and out, and rotate left and right, but cannot change to give a side on or 45 degree view, so you're stuck with what you can see or react to.

The sound, especially the voice acting is superb. The bard is voiced by Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in tights, Saw) who brings out the pure snarkyness written into the dialogue. (Yes, I know snarkyness isn't a word, but it works so well here) The secondary vocal actors and the singers (yes singers) also do a commendable job. The world music (wandering around, city music, combat music) is characteristic of the location and setting (Scotland) but with a pleasant enough neutrality that it really doesn't get in the way or get annoying.

Gameplay and Controls:

There are elements, especially in the weapon selection/magical summoning screens that scream that this game was originally developed for console, then ported to PC. Every selection is initiated by an F# key, then submenus are chosen by pressing either A, W, S, or D. As a result, it's a bit of a pain when trying to change weapons in the middle of a fight w/out running in circles.


Your enemies typically use gang tackle attacks, swarming with close in fighters, anyone who has missile weapons will be pointing them in your direction, and their healers will always be healing their people, which really bites when there are three healers focusing on healing the strongest melee fighter.

As far as combat goes, the weapon choices are sword, sword and dagger combo, bow, mace, and two handed weapons. If you are a player that really likes using maces or two handed weapons, be warned. Using them is a lot like listening to a Steven Wright monologue, when it succeeds you're probably going to like the outcome, but you'll spend a lot of time waiting for it to arrive, and when it fails you'll wonder why you're there.

But you have assistants, magically summoned drones who enter combat with you with no fear or hesitation. Mercenaries, bodyguards, electric spiders, girl with crossbow (archer), vorpal rats, all there to assist you in your unintended quest to save the rich, beautiful princess. Problem is, they are all dumb as rocks. You cannot assign actions to each one individually, you can only do group commands: i.e. come here, attack, fall back, etc. Nor can you say "attack my target" or something useful to keep them from dying while they keep attacking the one creature that is running away whilst getting pounded on by the other seven that surround them. As such, most of my playing of the game resorted to only summoning assistants w/ranged attacks or healing, and taking most of the front line battle myself. All the movement and attack controls are handled with the mouse, with attacks being either left clicking or powering up by holding the left mouse button. Movement is handled by the right mouse button, single right click to select the point to move to or double right click to activate the 'stroll' (movement and speed determined by direction and distance of the mouse from the character)

Character development is based on the level/attribute system. Each level gained means two points you can add to either Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Rhythm, or Luck. Every two levels you have the opportunity to improve or improve a skill, for example Dual Wield, Arrow Storm, Dog Training, Treasure Hunter, etc...Now, more often than not, after playing the game for a while, you will discover that there is a portion you cannot get past without one particular skill, which you may or may not have. Be prepared to do a fair amount of loading of the saved games.


Single player/Multiplayer:

This is strictly a single player game. I would guess that it was developed that way because it is a storyline based game, and to remain somewhat true to the original Bards Tale games of the 80's.

Conclusion:

Is The Bard's Tale a fun game? Yes, most definitely. Is it for the hardcore gamer? Nope, definitely not. What role it fills is that of entertainment, and an introduction to role playing games.

Hardcore gamers will say that there isn't enough rewards, not enough weapons, not enough treasure, not enough replayability, and they would be right. This isn't a Monty Haul type of game, you will perpetually be behind the proverbial eight ball, with not enough money to buy everything you want. This is why it is also known as a strategy game.

Those who play it for the story will say that there is too much combat, and there could be more of what makes the game unique, the bard breaking the fourth wall and addressing the narrator directly, the choices of being nice or snarky in his responses to the public, the bouncing ball as you sing to the musical numbers, and they would be right. This isn't a Leisure Suit Larry type of game, there is a reason for all the combat driving the storyline. This is also why it is known as a strategy game.

I know that this game isn't for everyone, and that is why it doesn't score higher. But if you want a good time with a game, and are not willing to take it too seriously, this game could be the basis for a fun weekend or two. In my world, I give this game a 7 out of 10, in the GameApex world of Do Over or No Do Over it is a Do Over!