Universal The Bard's Tale - (by inXile Entertainment)

That's a good idea, lol. I am a retard sometimes, never crossed my mind.

 

well not having running at retina resolution on A4 devices is surely a performance problem they would else have with the older hardware pushing 4 times the pixel in comparison to SD , similar to why GTA3 was only announced for the A5 generation at the beginning..

so ipad2 and iphone 4s can push rendering the game at full res.

in general i would not mind seeing some more ps2, xbox classics on iOS

 

Lol, I just pushed a cow over.

My issue with save games is not that bad, seems there are a number of save points so far.

 

to people bitching about the cost... this game still sells for $9.95 on steam and doesn't have any work done to it like achievements or whatever else... so the price is fine IMO... very very tempted to grab this!

 

Was about to buy this, but I held off after seeing that achievements do not sync to gamecenter. Is it true? I'm an achievement whore, and that bit of news is saddening.

Guess I'll hold off till they fix that!

 

Sorry for bashing Ib2 the other day, but can you tell me if this game is any good. Like the controls and story (never played it before). I held out on IB2 because players reported it to be on rails like the first one and repetitive. I don't want to wait For reviews from TA and this thread is dry for broad impressions, likes and dislikes.

 

Thanks man, i am downloading it right now. Initially I was about to get BO zombies, but I read mixed reviews in the thread and AppStore reviews that it crashes a lot and issues with controls. I will give my impressions maybe in two hours

 

This and this and this.

Want more impressions? I played it full price in 2005 and really liked it.
I think, we have a well-done port here now.

In terms of gameplay, this is far superior to Infinity Blade 2.
Not the graphics itself (which are still great to look at because of the small screen and resolution - but even the first small dungeon you visit (Inns cellar) is very detailed and feels organic), but in terms of story and fun. There's humor without end (a bit premature and quite some sexistic, but that's great because it is the tone of the game), a funny storyline and really excellent voicework.
The controls in the menus are a bit unresponsive but when you've got used to it, no problem anymore. The controls ingame are spot on, I am having no issues with them. Fast and responsive.
Sounds and music are just fine, as well as the combat, which is fun and challenging.
But the best thing is still the relationship between the Narrator and the Bard itself. The bard is a bit of a rude one, the Narrator more the "gentleman-like" but often sarcastically telling the story or commenting the Bard's actions, so the fourth wall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_wall) get's broken quite often and a direct conversation happens, which is normally unusual. This fact alone makes Bard's Tale very enjoyable as well as the game is making the Bard's look like an ass again and again. Your typical anti-hero. Hillarious are also the songs which are comming up from time to time in the game (including a graphical performance / choreography) and the soundtrack itself.
There's no reason not to like this game, and with 25-30+ hours of gameplay, you get quite some bang for the buck.

I recommend playing this game and advice waiting with buying IB2 until the major bugs are fixed.

 

Very detailed impressions and backtothis had already swayed me to buy it few moments ago (the blue bar barely moving). Thank you nonetheless oh games on rails aren't my thing (IB2), this will do it for now. Is there a weapon upgrading system and character custimisation?

 

Yes, this.

Spoiler

Narrator: "And then the Bard looted the chest which contained the Widow's most precious... wait a minute, did I read that properly? You're stealing from her?" lol

I gave up and bought this game yesterday. The only thing that bothers me is that I can play it on both the iPad and iPhone, but there is no way to synchronize my save games. Unfortunately, that is true of most universal games.

As far as the game goes, this is by far the most complete, most fun hack-and-slash RPG on the store. There simply is no competition. For an iSO game, The Bard's Tale has depth. People already said it, but the voice acting is awesome and I quite like the humour and British accent. I much prefer British accents over American, especially for comedy.

If you want to complete game with high production values and enjoy action RPG's/hack-and-slash, you can't really do wrong by buying this game.

From what I've read in a review of the full version, better equipment is automatically equipped when you find it (haven't found anything better yet) and the rest is automatically converted into cash. You can upgrade stats when you level up and I think there is a system with the amulet that gives you talents, or something. You can also summon more and more creatures that help you.

 

Game Impressions

does anyone else have a sound problems in cutscenes, there are 50% chance that there will be no sound!

 

I ditto all the above positive impressions.

Great memories from playing this on the console when it came out - so happy to have this port! The interface (map, especially) is indeed a bit small to get used to on the iphone, but once you have a bit of time with it, its all good.

Very happy with the sharpness of the textures, as well.

This game has always had such a great mood to it, and the ios version carries that over quite well.

 

Does anyone know how this game runs on a iPhone 3GS ?

 

Not that I have to say much negative about the game, but the original for me is a 70%-80% game, brought up there by the humour and voice acting, but mediocre at it's gameplay heart.

I must agree that putting it on iOS doesn't make it a 90% game just because it has more content than most iOS games. Rather I would say the iOS version performs a little worse overall, I dont find the stick control very comfortable and I won't at all play it on iPhone in the form it is right now - but I play on iPad most time anyway.

However, it is a nice game and if you have lots of time on your hand and are craving for content, the price is more than fair for this one.

But dont just buy it because it is a console game gone portable. Read the xbox reviews and if you think it is a game you like, that's fine, but dont think it is in some way magically enhanced on iOS.

 

Well, the point is that compared to other offerings in the AppStore (Dungeon Hunter 2, etc.) this game is IMO much more fun. Where the made-for-iOS games are pretty shallow most of the time, this is a full console game. So it does kind of shine on iOS, because the competition is crap.

 

3GS here. Game runs fluid for me. I saw only two or three hiccups while playing an hour.
But this might have other reasons.

 

I dont think just from the basic gameplay that Bard's Tale is much better than Dungeon Hunter 2. There is other excellent stuff like Mage Gauntlet and Fara. Or just the Infinity Blades.

After all what sets Bard's Tale is the voice acting from some of them and the playtime from others. But on average I cant see how Bard's Tale is so deep and all the other stuff is just shallow crap.

 

It's hard to explain. It feels better for some reason. The level design, the animation, quests, etc. Certainly the voice acting, writing and polish help a lot. In comparison, many elements from other titles just feel... lesser.

Gameplay in Dungeon Hunter 2 was pretty repetitive IMO. The world felt slapped together. I don't have Fara, but from the gameplay videos it just looks amateur time to me in comparison. Mage Gauntlet nails a lot of things, but it still manages to come across as pretty casual, probably because of its retro approach.

The Infinity Blade games are completely different, but are designed for quick, mobile play, contrary to The Bard's Tale, which is a full-on game experience.