Not a Bard Game (groan...)

Advantages: Interesting mix of arcade and RPG gameplay, very funny
Disadvantages: Too repetitive in places, some may find aspects of it objectionable

...Older games players may remember the original Bard's Tale games. If you're looking for an in-depth RPG game in the style of those games, this modern version of The Bard's Tale may not appeal as it's a very different type of game to the original. Though it's got the same Producer as the original - Brian Fargo - this is not a remake by any means. What we have here is an action-RPG - a curious mix of game styles that works well in some ways, not in others, but in the end it works very well because of the large doses of humour injected into it. Most RPGs have rather hackneyed storylines and this is no exception - rescuing a princess held captive in towers by some evil critters, etc - but The Bard's Tale takes this storyline and makes fun of it, along with the clichés that infest the whole genre. The game has a narrator (veteran games...

CaptainDisaster 08.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Bard's Tale (PC)

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Advantages: Provides more insight in to the Harry Potter Series
Disadvantages: Won't appeal to none Harry Potter fans

...If you love the Harry Potter series then this is a must read, but it is a very short and quick read - but a fun one! 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' is mentioned in the final 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' book, and through the footnotes it provides some insight into the 'deathly hallows'. It is a collection of five stories for young magical children, which have been translated by Hermione Granger, and also includes commentary and notations by Albus Dumbledore, which were found amongst his effects after his untimely death. In many ways, the stories are similar to standard fairy tales, such as those by Aesop or the Brothers Grimm, but in a context much more likely to appeal to young children as well as the magic lovers amongst us. Like the fairy tales of old, this has good, bad and evil. Like all fairytales, Rowling...

twiggy001 03.01.2009 (27.09.2009) · Read review
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Review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling

Bawdy Biography of the Bard

Advantages: William Shakespeare and Elizabethan England brought graphically to life.
Disadvantages: So realistic I could smell the stench. But is this really a fault?

...and Herring which is a memoir of his childhood in a Scottish fishing village in the 1940s and 1950s. *** Recommendation *** Having read this compulsive novel, I will now think of William Shakespeare not just as a playwright, but also a real person with a wide range of emotions, strengths and weaknesses. Reading words that alternated between witty, imaginative, poignant, vivid, gross and poetic, or are a mixture of these qualities, I felt that I was living alongside the Bard and eavesdropping on his life. I think that the style of writing is pitched just right. I felt that I was back in Elizabethan England because it was not too modern, but at the same time was fairly easy for a 21st century reader to understand. (A lot easier that reading Shakespeare's plays.) Read it yourself if you want a credible fictional insight (based...

luckyarchers 19.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of Will - Christopher Rush

Tales of Beedle the Badass

Advantages: Great for Potter fans, easy to read
Disadvantages: Not incredibly detailed as they are very short stories.

...for witchcraft and wizardry. Harry is a rather famous child having been the only Wizard to have been attacked by ?The Dark Lord?(a very bad man!) and lived to tell the tale. The Good, The Bard and the Ugly The Tales of Beedle the Bard was put on the shelves in late 2008 as an offering for fans of the Harry Potter series. All of the proceeds went to the Children?s High Level Group (a charity founded by Rowling herself in 2005 to help kids living in large residential institutions). The original hand written copy sold for nearly £2-million at auction with the money going towards the same charity (though it was operating under a different name at that point). In the final instalment of the series (without ruining the story for those of you who haven?t read the Potter books) Hermione Granger (one of the main characters) inherits a book written...

ryanando 27.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling

Not Bard At All!

Advantages: Very interesting at a basic level
Disadvantages: Not so much use as a study guide

.... For anyone actually studying Shakespeare in depth, or even more so for someone studying one of his plays, this book would be of more limited use. It's certainly not a bad place to start with, but it lacks any of the real detail that seemed necessary when I was studying English. In fairness to the authors, however, their intention does not appear to have been to create a Shakespeare study guide and the book certainly achieves their aims very well. For someone like myself who has studied Shakespeare in depth, it did feel a little light and I was disappointed to note that my favourite scenes from "The Merchant of Venice" was not one of the two included. But for those who have not, this is possibly the best way to introduce someone to the Bard I remember seeing, particularly someone who already has a passing interest or someone of school age who may...

Soho_Black 10.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Shakespeare Handbook - Michael Schmidt & Robert Maslen

Another Extra Harry Potter Book!!! YEY!!!

Advantages: Fun, For Charity, Excellently Written, Perfect for HP fans!
Disadvantages: Short

...It seemed approriate to review this as it has only been released a couple of weeks (Thursday 4th December 2008) and I would love to be the first to review this amazing book! P.S. I am the biggest Harry Potter EVER!!! ---About The Book--- The Tales Of The Beedle And The Bard, as many Harry Potter fans will know, is one of the books actually mentioned and used in the last Harry Potter book. In the "Deathly Hallows", the 7th and last book in the series, the late Albus Dumbledore leaves it for Hermione in his will. In the book, it is described as our version of fairy tales, like Cinderella and Snow White. There exceptionally well known by every witch and wizard in the Wizarding world. So of course us muggles need to read it. In the Deathly Hallows, Hermione describes the book as a small, very old ancient looking book. This gives...

scotlandizdabest 18.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling

My kind of hero!

Advantages: Good RPG action and very funny to boot!
Disadvantages: Quite a bit of loading time

...GAME INFO Genre = RPG (Role Playing Game) Developer = InXile Entertainment Publisher = Ubisoft Players = 1 Player Online = No Age = 12+ Released = 2005 STORYLINE The original Bard's Tale was released in 1985 on the various platforms of the day and was based on Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying. Having never played that version, I can't comment first-hand on the similarity to this offering, but I do know that it is not a straight remake, but rather a new adventure with the same star character. Interestingly, the makers don't even have copyrights on the original game, which are still held by electronic arts. The more recent game is actually a spoof of the RPG genre, with gameplay owing more to Baldur's Gate and it's ilk. The action takes place in the Orkney Islands, where the eponymous Bard is about to set out on an epic...

baalzamon 05.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Bard's Tale (PS2)

Will and Viola - a bard's love story

Advantages: Excellent Cast, Amusing
Disadvantages: Slightly Weak Plot, Slow To Get Going

...bard's tragedy. Instead, it's a rather polite, somewhat amusing and easily watched film that won't quite have you rolling around with split sides but equally won't leave you yawning. It takes a little while to get going but, once the script is up to pace, it's quite enjoyable in a not-quite-chick-flick kind of way. It has the potential to be very weak, but is lifted by a strong cast of star-studded actors and actresses, including Ben Affleck, Judi Dench (playing the Queen), Rupert Everett, Martin Clunes and Simon Callow on top of those already mentioned. These days, you can find the DVD in bargain bucket spots in your local Woolworths although the list price is still around £13.99 on sites such as Amazon. There are some deleted scenes, a 'making of?' documentary and cast, crew and director's commentaries, but other than that the DVD...

markd_uk 21.03.2007 · Read review
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Review of Shakespeare In Love (DVD)

Coin and cleavage

Advantages: Extremely funny, unusual anti-hero
Disadvantages: Some poor camera angles, dark levels.

...The Bard, our eponymous anti-hero, travels form place to place conning the locals out of their coin, and occassionally trying to get into their beds. So when a beautiful princess asks him to be the next hero to try to rescue her it is rather unexpected (apparently all the better candidates have died). After some intense negotiation over rescue rates, the bard sets off on his new quest - that is, if he can take his eyes of gold and women long enough to remember it... The Bard's Tale is an excellent mix of RPG, action and black humour, which should appeal to most gamers. It has a well-written script and strong storylines and characters supported by standard gameplay and graphics, with surprisingly good sound. The voice acting in particular is superb, particularly Cary Elwes as our not-so-noble hero. Aside from sarcasm, the Bard...

tirial 16.01.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Bard's Tale (PS2)

The tales of Beedle the best!

Advantages: excellent piece of memorabilia
Disadvantages: quite short

...often in this world is a series of books so widely loved, that it spawns an actual 'prop', if you will. The tales of Beedle the bard is, basically a book the was give to Hermione Granger in the final book of the series, by Albus dumbledore. She uses it to find out what she needs to know, in her fight against the evil Voldemort. Now, if you know anything of the deathly hallows, you will know that this copy, cannot be a replica of the one given to Hermione as it was in written in ancient runes. This one, has been widely circulated having been translated into English by Hermione, and with additional notes from Albus dumbledore. The book is a series of 5 short stories, which are thought to be nursery rhymes told to children of wizard parentage. Similar in many ways, to our Hantzel and gretal, or the three little pigs. I am not going to...

giksy21 31.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Tales of Beedle the Bard - J. K. Rowling