The Bard's Tale Preview

We foresee a slight problem with this one. Bard's Tale is currently in the works for all gaming platforms, including Xbox and PS2. Although the game appears to have a variety of impressively modeled 3D characters, we don't see much promise in the Dark Alliance engine. The technology seemed to have done its part for the console Dark Alliance games as well as the recently released Champions of Norrath, but it's still a bit uncertain how it will work with the PC version of The Bard's Tale. Let's hope that InXile Entertainment takes this one seriously :) Well, fair enough, they claim to have severely modified the engine, also relying on modern-day technology such as dynamic lighting. (That's VERY modern day indeed. - Ed) Also, the backdrops are highly detailed and look surprisingly good for a title that's being primarily being optimized for consoles.

The game is still far from its shipping date (October 2004 for PS2 and Xbox, and Spring 2005 for the PC), but at this point it shows signs of promise thanks to a distinctive fantasy setting, witty characters, humorous dialogue, and pleasing graphics. Brian and his crew at InXile appear to have the situation well in hand, so the only thing I'd worry about at this point is the hip-hop songs that could possibly come with the main character's repertoire of smash hits.