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Bard's Tale (Sony PlayStation 2, 2004)
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C $21.46
Approximately£12.41
+ C $32.39 postage
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Well, what's to say about this game? It's certainly a fun bit of hack 'n slash, but atypical in its weapon and summon set-ups, which is a good thing, in this case. You roam about a Celtic-themed landscape as the bard, a smarmy, wise-assed rogue with a taste for booze and pretty ladies. The storyline is very humorous; think Monty Python and the Holy Grail (including a vorpal rat and a haggis monster). The bard is voiced by Cary Elwes (remember "The Princess Bride?"), and he does a fantastic job of bringing the character to life. Tony Jay is the narrator, whom I personally love as a voice actor. He's appeared on a few video games. He voiced Xantam the beholder in Bardur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Lord Innoruuk (or however you spell it) in Champions of Norrath. Jay definitely shows a much lighter side to his talents in this game, for sure! Anyway, back to the game. When talking to people, the bard has the option to reply with a nice comment, or a sarcastic one. Sometimes it pays to utilize both options, depending on the situation. The sarcastic comments tend to add a bit of humor to the conversation, for sure! The battle system is the basic "push buttons and kill things" system, but with a little twist. You can equip different weapons by using the L1 and R1 buttons during a fight, and learn different skills for the weapons as you level up. Summons are learned as different "tunes" as the game progresses, and the bard acquires many different instruments along the way to increase his mana and the amount of summons he can call at once. They are AI pets, and very useful. The bard can also use crystals called Adderstones to summon bosses he's defeated for varying effects. Another fun thing about this game is that you can donate money to the priests in the kirks around the towns, and as you donate, special features can be unlocked, such as art galleries, movies, and songs ("The Knuckelavee" is my favorite). There are also maps you can purchase that'll take you to ancient ruins for additional treasure plundering. I think the only issue I have with this game is the camera. When in forest environments, it's easy to get blinded by tree branches and get your face clobbered by enemies you can't see. It's only a minor annoyance, though.Read full review
I'm about 2/3rds of the way through this game, and will probably finish it, if for no other reason than the satire and the comedy value in it. The game play is kind of annoying because it's played from a 3rd person point of view, where you're actually looking down on the scenes and characters from up above. Also, the load times tend to be a bit long. The graphics are average, at best. However, the dialogue between the characters and between the narrator and the main character is a riot! The main idea is that you, as the main character - the Bard - can choose how to talk or respond to people. You can either be snarky (smart-ass, nasty or crude comments) or nice (usually only slightly less snarky than the actual snarky responses). How you interact with other characters has an effect on the game play and, obviously, on their responses to you. Cary Elwes (he played the main character in The Princess Bride and was in a bunch of other movies - including (I think) Tombstone, where he played Doc Holliday) provides the cockney English or Scottish accent for the voice of the Bard. His comments are a kick - especially regarding women. There are lots of references throughout the game by the Bard, as well as other characters, to pop culture things and events but within the context of the middle-ages setting of the game. The narrator constantly rips on the Bard throughout the game - cutting him down and jabbing/prodding him mercilessly. This isn't a game I thought I was going to stick with when I first started playing it, but now I'm kind of hooked and wanting to see what happens next, how it all ends and what further satirical comments are in store. If you get this game, give it time and don't necessarily judge it on the gameplay or the graphics quality. That's not really the main point, as the game itself if pretty simple and linear in nature. Just enjoy the verbal jousting and satire.Read full review
Bard's Tale is a more adult version of an original computer game you may have played in the late '90s. You follow the journey of the main character through a myriad of battles, conversations and choices. At several points you have the option to be a gentleman or a choose a more sassy answer to your conversation. These choices change the direction of the game making it a more personal experience. Although this game is an action/fighting game...IMO it is more theatrical and movie like. To me it has the feel of some comedy or parody type movie. If you want a hard-core fantasy battle game, this is NOT it. If you are looking for some fun and enjoyment with some decent battles and an average amount of strategy, this will be a good time. As I said before, Bard's Tale definitely has some adult undertones and therefore I would be cautious with giving this to minors, but that makes it that much more enjoyable for adults. TRead full review
I have this game on both PC and PS2. First I played it almost all the way through on PC , then I ordered it on PS2, just because I liked it so much. The Bard is voiced by Carey Elwes (Robin Hood Men in Tights, Princess Bride). The comedy aspect is along the lines of Jack Sparrow from "Pirates of the Caribbean". The Bard is VERY similar. He's mainly out for himself trying to get paid and find any woman he can to share a bed with. The Bard's impact on a conversation depends on how you choose to respond, either snarky or nice, which leads to loads of humor, he also takes time out to look at the camera and argue with the narrator during his quest for a little more added humor. In a round-about way, the Bard gets tricked into going on this massive, enthralling quest to save a beautiful princess being held captive by a band of evil druids at hopes of only getting laid and a huge reward. On his quest, he learns different tunes to play on his lute (and other instruments) that summon up to four allies (varies by instrument) to aid him on his quest, he also must defeat four guardians and gain their magic in order to break the spell imprisoning the princess. The game is pretty long with expansive, beautifully detailed levels and dungeons, tons of puzzles, enemies, and items. It'll keep you busy for a very long time. There are a lot of hidden items to find, a lot are found only with the aid of an companion. This is an action adventure game that is played out like an RPG. The only difference is that the battles are more like that of DIABLO where you can fight multiple enemies at your own discrepancy rather than that of D&D which is turn-based. Another great thing is your weapons don't break or get damaged (as they do in most RPGs), and you have infinite arrows when using a bow. I believe fans of both genres will appreciate this game and the surprise ending... you have three choices on how you want end the game...choose wisely (or hell, play the last battle over and play-out all three).Read full review
This game has incredibly funny and sarcastic dialogue and narration. It starts out well enough with the story of the main character who is a rather crude maladjusted yet somehow likable Bard. The Bards constant motivation throughout the game is money and lust as he pursues a chance to bed down a beautiful princess. All and all, the hilarious situations and continuous sarcasm keep the game moving along and entertaining. The game play is another story altogether, as it is awkward to control and becomes very repetitive, especially in battle scenes. Changing between weapons and calling forth magic are not as simple as a button press, it requires you to go through several icon menus all the while in the heat of battle which gets frustrating after a while. The game also doesn't give you much free play, it pretty much forces you through the storyline and doesn't let you really explore back through the game. I did enjoy a couple of the bonus dungeons that popped up during the game which allowed you to find additional weapons and armor. I also thought that some of the city layouts and graphics along with the character graphics were pretty good. Still, I felt that when the game was over, I was left a little disappointed and wanting something more that never seemed to materialize. * Hilarious Dialogue (Witty, Sarcastic, Best I've come across in a game.) * Awkward Game Play / Repetitive Battle Sequences * Forced storyline with very little free play. * Decent Character Graphics and City/Town Layouts * Overall a little bit lacking.Read full review
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