The Bard's Tale

 Xbox
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
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  1. BlueFalcon
    Aug 26, 2005
    8
    It's a hack and slasher with excellent humour. The hacking and slashing isn't super polished, but I found it much more entertaining than a lot of other games out there. I would recommend the game for sure.
  2. Rick
    Mar 2, 2006
    7
    Having played through and conquered Bards Tale 1, 2, 3 on the Commodore 64 (yes...you should see the hand drawn maps I have in what were the nastiest dungeons ever created in a game) I was very excited about the possibilites of an updated version of these games (better graphics, different engine/interface etc). With the original creator Brian Fargo on board I was hoping for more story, Having played through and conquered Bards Tale 1, 2, 3 on the Commodore 64 (yes...you should see the hand drawn maps I have in what were the nastiest dungeons ever created in a game) I was very excited about the possibilites of an updated version of these games (better graphics, different engine/interface etc). With the original creator Brian Fargo on board I was hoping for more story, better character development, differing quests. As a highpoint of the game I was enjoying the Bards ability to conjure a helper; elctricity spider, archer, warrior, knight and so on but there just weren't enough of these characters - maybe another 10 and ending up with a pet Dragon at the end? Also more variety of weapons and armour would have been nice. Enjoyable enough, with some humour, worth a rent. Worth a buy if you are an RPG fan.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best Xbox Game of 2004
52
#52 Most Shared Xbox Game of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 50 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 50
  3. Negative: 1 out of 50
  1. Xbox Nation Magazine
    80
    Its self-concious metacomedy helps elevate what is already a solid game into a sing-songily fine game. [Jan 2005, p.98]
  2. Edge Magazine
    70
    Ultimately, setting out to critique and parody so studiously such a hidebound genre has brought The Bard's Tale too close to what it was trying to distance itself from. This is a conventional, likeable dungeon crawl whose flashes of brilliance distract you from its accomplishments by hinting at how much more it could have been. [Christmas 2004, p.93]
  3. Eurogamer
    60
    But while dumbing down the RPG premise for the casual console gamer might work for some people, it ultimately fell down for us by making the main action portion of the game really quite tiresome.
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