Bards Tale on the Spectrum was my first taste of RPG gaming. When I heard that this hallowed Rpg was now on iPad I could hardly contain my excitement. With the original Spectrum role player I must admit that it didn't live up to my expectations, being slow and stilted, the technology just wasn't there to make a proper Fantasy world come alive. Even when the Bard's Tale made its way to the Xbox some decades later I was again slightly put out as it didn't live up to the heroic ideals and grandiose dreams that I had of what a true Fighting Fantasy type game should be.
Well now the technology is definitely here to make all our other realm dreams come true (especially proven with my addiction to Skyrim!) but how does this type of grand and epic fantasy translate to the touch screened iPad?
Well it must firstly be said that it is a port of the 2004 Xbox RPG and not the original and much loved (if only for nostalgia's sake) Spectrum game (was the Bard's Tale on other consoles or PC? I'm only speaking from personal gaming experience here) . What makes this touchscreen fantasy immediately standout is the quirky humour that the series is known for. A satirical British flavour delivered by a States based game developer is definitely a unique and much loved feature of this game!
The eponymous Bard is a likeable and mischievous rogue , who is all up for quaffing a good ale, leering at buxom wenches and going on the odd adventure. The game has a fantastic storyline brought to life by a quintessentially English narrator. It is as much a story of high adventure as a coming of age and transformation of the Bard from a likeable rogue into a powerful warrior.
The journey along the way is truly epic and brought to life by some very slick iPad game controls. The game takes place in an isometric viewpoint with a left movement pad controlling your character and icons for blocking and attacking. The in-game fighting mechanics are brilliant as timing is key to parry your enemies strikes, mistimed parries result in damage to you. But get your iPad swordplay right and your enemy will soon be staggering back ready for you to lunge in with more powerful attacks.
This is probably one of the biggest and most epic games we've seen on iOS. There's unlockable quests to win, mysterious powers to master and an hilarious and deep RPG storyline to revel in. A must have RPG game for the iPad.