The Bard's Tale

The Games Machine

Overall 74%

Spectrum 48/128 Cassette: £8.95, Diskette: £14.95 Amstrad CPC Cassette: £8.95, Diskette: £14.95 Commodore 64/128 Cassette: £9.95 Electronic Arts certainly believe in their products, particularly in the case of The Bard's Tale, now into its third volume on the Commodore 64 (reviewed in this issue). The conversions now continue with not only versions for the Spectrum and Amstrad CPC but also the release on Commodore 64 cassette. The Bards Tale is a fantasy role playing game in which the computer-controlled party of fantasy characters are on a quest to defeat the evil Mangar, holding his demonic sway over the city of Skara Brae. The characters start off with next to no experience and knowledge and need to build up experience and advance to higher levels through killing monsters, collecting gold and buying evermore-powerful weapons. The party can be made up of any of seven different races, with ten character classes to choose from including the standard RPG classes of warrior, thief, paladin and magician. Spell-casting characters have up to seven levels of spells available but only through experience can the later level spells be cast. The city of Skara Brae has dungeons to explore, inns to frequent, houses to explore and tasks to perform while building up the characters ready for the conflict with the evil mage Manger. On the CPC, The Bard's Tale certainly has its moments. The window containing the graphic of each creature, building and the Skara Brae streets are graphically pleasant although colour is used in moderation and it hasn't gone into excess in detail. On the Spectrum, encounters with creatures are displayed in the window in various shades of blue, a not particularly adventurous method but one that works as well as on the Amstrad or Commodore. On all versions, the memory constraints have limited the amount of graphic detail. The animation of the Commodore disk version has been taken out leaving static screens only, and sound is near nonexistent on all the versions. On the original Commodore disk version, encounters were heralded by disk access, but, remarkably, this doesn't happen with the tape as encounters occur immediately. Unfortunately, a lot of the encounters use the same graphic so it can get rather tiring fighting the same creature three times in a row. The good news, though, is that even with the removal of the potentially disastrous tape access from the main core of the program, the game has kept its playability and it is easy to get into and still retains a certain amount of depth. The Bard's Tale is the same across all formats, with little difference between them in play or presentation. The Spectrum version copes well with the loss of certain colours but on all formats it's very easy to get lost, as the streets look identical and the map supplied with the game isn't the most helpful of guides. When The Bard's Tale first came out on the Commodore, it was monumental in generating the atmosphere and depth of a true fantasy role playing game. Time has moved on though and the game now looks rather simple with the main player involvement centred around wandering through the many streets of Skara Brae (nearly all of which look identical) killing the monsters that are unfortunate enough to get in the party's way and collecting the treasures. The dungeons do hold further tasks and ever deadlier opponents, but the game boils down to the traditional but shallow idea of hack-and-slay. Although this is the basis for most computerised fantasy roleplaying games, a little more depth would have gone a long way with The Bard's Tale.

More gold than you can shake a spear at - Spectrum screen.

The Japanese walk funny but a Samurai Warrior with a mysterious gate - Amstrad screen.

AMSTRAD CPC Overall: 72%

COMMODORE 64/128 Overall: 73%

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Graphics 5/10

Realism 4/10

Value 8/10

Playability 9/10

Overall 7/10

Chris Jenkins 7/10

MACHINES: Spec/Ams/Amiga/ST/C64/PC SUPPLIER: Electronic Arts PRICE: £8.95 cass, £14.95 disk VERSION TESTED: Spec/Ams There's not much doubt that the Bard's Tale is the most successful attempt yet to re-create the excitement of a fantasy role-playing game. Already a big success in sixteen-bit formats, the game has now made it onto the Spectrum and Amstrad with practically all the playing characteristics intact, though with an inevitable loss in the areas of graphics and sound. The Bard's Tale offers just about everything you could want from on FRPG; huge playing area, complex character definitions, endless variations and sophisticated use of objects and magical spells. It's set in Skara Brae, a huge city featuring the obligatory castles, dungeons and catacombs. You start off with an adventuring party of six characters. On the left of the screen appears either the view around you, or the characters you meet; on the right is a text display telling you what's happening; and at the bottom are the traditional counters showing your character name, and such attributes as strength, hit points taken, experience points, gold carried and so on. The great thing about The Bard's Tale is that you don't have to have any real aim as you explore the city of Skara Brae. However, if you want to actually complete the game, the idea is to gain experience points (from surviving battles), qualify for a higher rank in the Adventurer's Guild, and fight your way through the castle until you defeat the tyrant Mangar. The battle routines are pretty good. On each round, you can choose the order in which your characters will advance, and if you opt for them to attack, defend, hide, use an object or, if appropriate, use magic or sing a song. Magical spells, the availability of which depends on the experience off your magic-user, can make all the difference in a battle; simply type in the four-letter abbreviation for the appropriate spell (given in the handbook) and you can bring light where there's darkness, blast your enemies asunder, render your party invulnerable, reveal magic doors, and so on. Singing characters (bards) can do a bit of good by breaking into song at the right moment; some songs stimulate warriors to greater feats of battle, others frighten the enemy, some heal wounds. You can break out of most combats if your party begins to take too much damage, but if you win you will usually gain experience points and treasure. Since you can face up to 99 opponents in each battle (usually small ones such as rats, you'll be relieved to hear), the greatest skill in the game consists of knowing when discretion is the better part of valour. Though something of the charm has been lost along with the excellent graphics and music of the sixteen-bit versions. The Bard's Tale remains the best attempt at computer FRPGs.

Can you sing your way out of this fight?

The Bard's Tale is a must for FRP fanatics.

FOOTNOTE... The Bard's Tale is now available for most major formats. The Spectrum and Amstrad versions include extra scenarios and character sets on a second cassette, and forthcoming is Bards Tale 2, already available for the Amiga and ST, and on the way for the eight-bit computers. Once again, the adventure is set in Skara Brae, but this time there are even more complex situations and deadly enemies to encounter.

Your SinclairYour Sinclair Megagame

Graphics 7/10

Playability 8/10

Value For Money 9/10

Addictiveness 9/10

Overall 9/10

Mike Gerrard 9/10

Electronic Arts £8.95 cass/£14.95 disk Reviewer: Mike Gerrard Once upon a time there was a reviewer who loved adventures but hated role-playing games. Then he discovered The Bard's Tale on his [name of other computer deleted] and changed his mind. Now here it is in its 8-bit Speccy version and it's great to see that hardly anything has been lost in the conversion. Well, the graphics aren't as good, obviously, and gameplay isn't quite as smooth, but it's still a terrific job. The game starts in the Adventurers' Guild in a country town called Skara Brae. This used to be a peaceful town, 'till evil creatures infiltrated the place and the odious Mangar froze the surrounding lands with a spell of Eternal Winter. Cut off from the outside world, with the local police disappeared, naturally it falls to a group of ragged but intrepid adventurers to save Skara Brae and defeat Mangar. The Bard's Tale fills both sides of two cassettes, and so it should with 16 levels of dungeon maze to explore. You load the core program first, followed by whichever level you've reached, and then load in your saved band of adventurers to take up the fight. There's a bit of fiddling around, and jotting down numbers from the tape counter, but it's well worth it. There's also an Editor program that allows you to swop characters around from one group to another - like dead ones for live ones! To get you started there's a default group of characters known as the A Team, so if you're impatient you can be straight out of the Adventurers' Guild and onto the streets of Skara Brae with these. Top-left of the screen is a graphic of your location, or one of the characters, or one of the many monsters lurking around. Top-right tells you where you are, or gives you information, or tells you what's happening, or allows you to trade weapons, spells and so on. And across the bottom you get the details of your party, giving each character's name, Armour Class (level of protection), Hit Points (in total), Condition (Hit Points remaining), Spell Points and Class. There are 10 different character classes, but the last two (Sorcerer and Wizard) can only be gained by working your way up through the ranks. Otherwise you must try to choose a well-balanced party of six from the warriors, rogues, hunters, bards, magicians and so on at your disposal. So far it sounds very like any other ordinary RPG of the type I've never liked, so why is this one special? I think the design of the game is the answer. Although there is a 24-page manual in the package you don't have to wade through it all before you can put your fingers near the keyboard. You can grasp the basics very quickly and be playing (and probably getting killed off) in no time at all. The more you play the more you learn, and a fair chunk of the game is menu-driven, though not so much that it takes all the fun out of playing. A map of Skara Brae is provided so you can find your way around, but obviously you're on your own when it comes to the dungeons. As soon as I was out of the Guild, I was attacked by six Gnomes. Would I fight or run? Why fight, of course. Gnomes? No problem! I soon saw them off, but then I couldn't read what my reward was as the message went off the screen too quickly. I'd earned 80 experience points and... hang on, how many pieces of gold was that? Too late, t'message had gone. With my gold I went into Ye Olde Equipment Shoppe and saw that they sold everything from a torch for five gold pieces to plate armour at 700. My bank balance didn't quite run to that, and they didn't take plastic, so I bought the best I could and it was out onto the streets again, kicking in the doors of buildings and watching out for marauding monsters. Suddenly I was faced with six Kobolds - who looked remarkably like Gnomes to me. Oh well, that's one way to convert a 16-bit game to 8-bit. Whatever they were, they fell to the might of my merry band. I was just getting cocky when out of the shadows came seven Barbarians. Gulp! They looked mean and nasty. Fight or run? Ahem... run for it, lads! Oh dear, sometimes you can't run even if you want to. Splat! End of party. Back to the Guild and start again. A few hours later, I was still wandering the streets of Skara Brae, looking in on the inn, the temples and the Review Board, and slowly building up the strength of my party, discovering which creatures you can beat (like spiders) and which are best avoided (like skeletons). Somewhere in the city are the entrances to the dungeons, which take a lot of finding, but (in the immortal words of David Frost) the clues are there. Can you find Harkyn's Castle or the Mad God's Catacombs? And if you can, will you wish you hadn't? Don't ask me, I'm stuck half-way down a sewer at the moment, though if you bung a fiver to Electronic Arts you can have a copy of The Bard's Tale Cluebook. And I warn you that more volumes of The Bard's Tale are on the way. Gordon Bennett, this could be a lifetime's occupation!

Read it at Your Sinclair Rock'n'Roll Years

Crash

Overall 86%

Kati Hamza 86%

ADVENTURE TRAIL WITH SAMARA As if by magic there's been a windfall of games just in time for the Adventure Trail Extra - and what a mixed bag they've turned out to be. In addition to the usual fix of home-grown, we've conjured up a couple of role-playing games, a compilation and the brand new Abstract Concepts production, Mindfighter. In reply to all the enquiries regarding my origin, Samara is an ancient Egyptian name and not, as some ignoramus has seen fit to suggest, an obscure but fragrant brand of Persian peanut butter. May the curse of Ra be visited on anyone else who dares to make such a smart aleck suggestion. THE BARD'S TALE Electronic Arts £8.95 (cassette), £14.95 (disk) On other formats, The Bard's Tale has been going strong for some time. In fact, it's been so popular that some are into their third instalment; The Bard's Tale III. Admittedly, what is essentially a role-playing game transferred to your home computer isn't exactly an adventure but, taking into account elements of exploration, strategy and analysis, it seems to fit in more with the adventure than the arcade scene. The scenario certainly sounds very like an adventure. The city of Skara Brae has been transformed into a dark and dangerous place by Mangar, a nefarious, megalomaniac mage. Vicious man-eating dogs patrol the streets, thieves lurk around every corner and giant spiders spin their massive webs in anticipation of attack. Thrust into the midst of all this activity you have been chosen to gather together a party of six warriors to find Mangar and force him to release the city. The quest begins in the safety of the Adventurers' Guild. You can create your own six characters or step straight into battle with a ready-made party known ironically as the A team. Characters are selected from seven races including human, hobbit and half-elf. Each is allocated different attributes (strength, IQ, dexterity, magic power, gold etc) in the form of points and is given a character classification. Warrior class adventurers, for example, can use nearly every available weapon, bards have the power to sing magical songs and four varieties of magic specialise in different branches of magic. Viewing mode, accessed via the keyboard, gives information on the status of each character and the number of objects he is carrying. As the party moves through Skara Brae, the landscape ahead is shown in the form of a functional, monochrome viewing window. The journey winds through mazes, taverns, shops and buildings and it's not long before the group comes under attack. Combat takes place as a series of rounds. A list of actions available to each member of the party is given and once these have been selected (there's a chance to change your mind), your strategies are enacted. As one player you can plan the simultaneous actions of up to six characters. Spells make the process all the more exciting. Depending on their magic ability, magicians and conjurers can (among other things) heal wounds, hurl supernatural weapons, enhance the fighting ability of a companion or conjure up burly monsters as allies. Combined with the magical properties of a bard's song, these can make for some enthralling battle scenes. Role-playing computer games can sometimes be criticised for their lack of variety. With so many possible courses of action available, combat, which forms the mainstay of the game, is unlikely to become repetitive. Weapons, torches and magical objects arc scattered through the environment and can be sold, bought or exchanged at Garth's Equipment Shoppe. Roscoe's Energy Emporium sells spell points and temples provide healing and resurrection, but only at a price. Gain sufficient experience and your character class rating can rise from green and innocent novice (Level 1) to vastly experienced master (Level 13) though to get to this stage you'll have to put in weeks and weeks of play. The Skara Brae environment is so complex and involves so many different factors that it's hard not to get completely enthralled in your quest. The combination of hack and slay, exploration and magic ensure plenty of variety and demand more than a modicum of strategic thought. If you do get stuck The Bard's Tale cluebook is available from Electronic Arts' Customer Service (0753 46465) for £5.00. Obviously you don't get the same sophistication that you might in a text input adventure but what The Bard's Tale lacks in terms of depth it certainly makes up for in role-playing action and complexity. Adventure enthusiasts should definitely give it a try.

Stalwart fighters or cowardy custards - only the bard can tell.

Sinclair User

Graphics 55%

Sound N/A

Playability 80%

Lastability 80%

Overall 89%

Chris Jenkins 89%

Label: Electronic Arts Price: £8.95 Memory: 48K/128K Joystick: None Reviewer: Chris Jenkins Pixies ahoy! At last, the most sophisticated roleplaying fantasy adventure for home computers has made it onto the Spectrum. The Bard's Tale has been a tremendous success on other formats, stimulating fairy folk everywhere into frenzies of late-night sword-and-sorcery sessions. The Bard's Tale (Vol 1 - there are more adventures to come) takes place in a Tolkienesque world of humans, elves, ores, dwarves and hobbits. The first adventure's set in Skara Brae, a rough-and-tumble township where staying alive is your first challenge. Your ultimate aim is to explore the town, gaining experience points and treasure, and earning promotions from the Adventurer's Guild until you reach the highest possible rank. Because the game is so large, and the combinations of characters and events so flexible, it never really ends. On loading you are presented with a default party of adventurers, including warriors, magic users, thieves and half-humans. You can delete any or all of these, and replace them with your own characters. I created a nasty piece of work called Mr Hatred, a thief, coward and cattle molestor. You can assign points for various characteristics such as strength, intelligence, dexterity and luck, and equip the character with items of weaponry, armour, gold and useful objects such as lamps. Movement around the city, which is planned on a 22 by 22 grid, is controlled using keys I, J and L. Once you reach an interesting looking building, you unceremoniously kick in the door using the K key. It's a good idea to make a map, because all the buildings look the same. There are also sewer and dungeon levels which are accessed through hidden doorways. In your search for treasure, experience and, ultimately, the chance to destroy the tyrant Mangar, you will meet many hostile creatures. You can opt to fight or run away, and if you choose to fight, you can define your attacking style. After choosing which characters will lead your party, you are offered options to attack, defend, cast spells, hide and so on. The battle then takes place until you defeat your enemies, or decide that cowardice is the better part of valour. As you fight, "hit points" are deducted from your strength and armour points, shown at the bottom of the screen. Another complex aspect of the game is the use of magic. As you progress, magic using characters can accumulate more and more powerful spells. In combat, or as you explore the city, you can activate these spells by typing in a four-letter abbreviation, such as ARFI for "arc fire", a fan of blue flame which inflicts a small amount of damage on a large number of opponents (of which you can find yourself fighting up to 99 at a time). If you are using a Bard character, he can sing songs which stimulate the warriors to a fighting frenzy, ward off evil spells, tranquilise your opponents and so on. Annoyingly, he does this in total silence. Characters, whole parties, and situations can be saved and reloaded using tape or disk, so you don't have to save the entire universe in one sitting. An extra scenario tape is included in the package. OK, so this sort of thing appeals to a certain sort of person, who always argues that you should use your imagination and get really involved, and it doesn't matter if the graphics aren't up to much. So I won't knock it too much, because I'm sure thousands of people will love it. But lots of the most exciting features, such as full-colour animated monsters, sophisticated sound and pretty background graphics, haven't survived the transition to the Spectrum, and the finished result looks a bit crummy. The Bard's Tale will enthrall diehard pixie fans who will probably queue up to spend £5 on the clue book. But there's too much text, and not enough graphics and animation, to convert the uncommitted.