Product ReviewsBard's Tale (Microsoft Xbox, 2004)

Interesting old school game

I played this for a little while, but it is my son's game. It has the awkward graphics of an older game, but has nice flute type music. The scene opens in a well stocked village. Outside the village you can start doing your battle stuff, but the first order of business is the rat in the skantily clad bar wench. She comes off as slutty, but in fact she is more than that, you'll be proud of her mom, hehehe. Anyway, there is some humor and singing of course, with the Irish influence. Looks like it would be an interesting game to complete.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: eddys_retro_games

Witty, Fun to Play, Great Game!

The Bard's Tale is a great game! The game's script is very smart, with a dry sense of humor and a main character with a fondness for directly addressing the game's narrator, with often hilarious results. In many situations the player is given the cfor the hero to respond to the other in-game characters with either a pleaseant ("nice") or snarky ("rude") response, some of which can shape the way the characters in the game respond to you, allowing for limited replayability. Gameplay is well-conceived with the camera remaining overhead for much of the game, and zooming in for cut scenes. One drawback to the overhead style of play is that the player must constantly readjust the camera's angle in order to always see the hero, and the hero's clothing can make him blend in with the enemies when in a large-scale battle, but once the player is used to this, it becomes much easier to track the hero. Difficulty level is pretty good, with enough of a challenge to keep savvier gamers interested and the novices appeased as well. No really flashy bells and whistles graphically, but if you like a throwback to older quest-style games that remain a pleasure to play over and over, grab this one up while you can.Read full review...

Super Funny Dialogue and Disapointing Gameplay

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...

The Bard's Tale (Xbox)

This game is a light hearted relief to the dark and serious games that are so prevalent today. I just finished Doom 3 and Halo 2 and had several weeks of bad dreams but with this game there is a relaxed fun feeling.

The graphics do leave a bit to be desired when compared to current standards but this is more than made up for by the irreverent humor. I would suggest you get a hold pf a simple walkthrough as it is very easy to miss a lot of neat stuff which will shorten the game but can also keep you from finishing some of the quests as it is not easy (sometimes impossible) to go back and play through an area again.

I do LOVE the fact that we do not have to break 5 million barrels and make massive trips to "town" to sell things to get money due to the system of automatically converting items to silver. I also love the fact that better itmes will automatically equip themselves. I had a hard time with Diablo 2 because I could not decide what to keep and what to sell so it is nice for a change to just sit down and mindlessly play a game.

CONCLUSION:
This is a great game to just enjoy and not think too much.Read full review...

A Great adventure game for the Classic X-Box console that is really FUN!

Well, first things first. This is an older game for an outdated original X-Box console. Now I have enjoyed my original X-Box system for many years, and I still have my favorite games that I play from time to time. The Bard's Tale is one of those really good games that did not get a lot of attention when it first came out. But that it what makes it special. There is really nothing bad about this game. It is very fun, has better than usual graphic visuals, and the soundtrack is quite good as well. The main character is the Bard of course, but a singing sissy he is not! This bard learns to use some deadly weapons, and causes all sorts of interesting effects by employing magic at just the right moment. The Bard is surprisingly fearless and very capable of fighting his way out of some really dire situations. The story will keep you interested and will even cause you to laugh out loud at certain points. Most of all, you may even find yourself wishing that your own life was more like the Bard, and less of the everyday-ordinary that defines your true daily existence. We have real monsters in todays world, but the ones in "The Bard's Tale" are much more interesting! I would recommend this game to anyone who still enjoys a classic adventure, and still appreciates the timeless fun that comes from playing the original X-Box console. Although, I am currently having loads of fun with my PS3, I have never wanted to part with my old X-Box system. It is classic games such as The Bard's tale that make it fun, even after all these years. Couldn't we all use a little more magic?Read full review...

A good game set in mideval times.

This is an RPG with some action. There are some funny parts and some danger but a good game for a relaxing time between fast action games.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: moviedreamer2002_5

Fun Game

It's a really fun game with a great story line and a really good interface.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: charlinole

Great game

This was a great game that I never had time for back in college. Glad to rediscover it again.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: yourmomlovesmedia

The Bard's Tale is not for all

This game is a fun, light RPG for people who don't take gaming too seriously. Personally, I had a blast playing it. This game had me laughing within the first five minutes of playing it. If you are looking for a fun game that's not too challenging, but sure is entertaining, than this is the game for you. When the narrator yelled at me for opening a chest in someone's room, I knew I was in for a wild ride of RPG parody. Great game!Read full review...

Weird goodness.

This is a fun and weird game.