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THE BARD'S TALE (Maze Adventure for one to six players)
Compatibility: 64K Apple II+, IIe, IIc
Requirements: One disk drive, second drive optional
The evil wizard Mangar the Dark has tightened his grip upon the once prosperous hamlet of Skara Brae. A spell of Eternal Winter isolates the town and, only a few days ago all the militiamen simply disappeared! Now horrible creatures lurk in abandoned buildings and, at night, roam the streets working mayhem.
In this first installment of Electronic Arts's "Tales of the Unknown" you lead a party of daring young warriors, magicians, rogues, and bards determined to free Skara Brae. From your base at the Adventurer's Inn you, at first, venture forth only by day in search of less dangerous monsters (and their booty!), clues to locations said to harbor vital artifacts, and, sometimes a good tankard or two to wet your spellsinger bard's ready lips.
Spread across a 32 x 32 grid, Skara Brae is packed with curious places to explore such challenging oddities as guardian statues, mysterious temples, and unapproachable (?) gates. The display shows a very realistic forward view of buildings and, during combat, monsters. A nice touch is a sky that gradually darkens as night falls.
"The Bard's Tale" is an engaging long play adventure with the ingenious property of permitting transfer of characters from "Ultima III" and "Wizardry". (Moving a few of my advanced Ultima characters into the Inn solved the problem of night monsters very nicely.) Probably, this option should be employed with care, since developing characters from scratch is one of the best parts of the game. Well documented and superbly crafted, "The Bard's Tale" is guaranteed adventuring fun for many long evenings.
Available from Electronic Arts: 2755 Campus Drive, San Mateo, CA 94403. (415) 571-7171. $49.95
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