*************** B A R D S   T A L E   R E V I E W ***************
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  If you've ever played any of SIR TECH's "WIZARDRY" series you'll like
  this game. Modelled on a computer form of D&D role playing, "BARDS TALE"
  is a 16 level maze/dungeon which must be conquered to complete the game.

  Graphics representation of monsters and player characters are well
  depicted and are subtly animated.The 'ZOMBIE' is particularly good,
  gruesomely gnawing on a bone which is dripping blood!
  Regrettably, there aren't enough images to cover EACH monster
  separately,so you'll often find one picture representing SEVERAL
  characters/monsters e.g."MAD DOG" & "WOLF" are the same picture.
     
  Starting off in the city of 'SKARA BRAE',you develop six characters to
  make up a 'touring-party'. These can be any of a selected number of
  races and classes e.g. Half-Elf and Conjurer.
  In the beginning it's recommended to use, at least, one Warrior or
  Paladin in the party 'til your 'experience-points' accumulate and your
  characters are harder to 'kill' by wandering monsters.
  In fact, there is a prepared party supplied on the game disk which is
  ideal for beginning the game called "ATEAM".The 'Bard' in "ATEAM" is
  very handy as he can 'Use' his 'Firehorn' to 'Breathe' on monsters
  during combat or play a magical tune to increase the party's protection
  etc.
  So, once you've rolled your characters it's off to 'ENTER' the city.
  The game is supplied with a map of Skara Brae showing streets and
  landmarks. Also included is a rule book & list of 'spells'.

  Once in the city you will be facing North in Main Street which is
  represented in excellent 3D format in the left-hand box of the screen.
  using your mouse or keyboard arrow keys the party can move in the
  required direction,one step at a time.
  On entering any house/building in the street you may be confronted with
  a variety of monsters which you'll probably have to fight,although there
  is a 'run' option which doesn't always allow you to escape!
  The successful 'killing' of monsters gives you experience points
  enabling the character to attain higher levels BUT to achieve these
  levels you must find the "Board of Review'!(Hint:-Try searching in
  Trumpet street.)
  Wounds are healed by going to a 'Temple' & paying the stated fee whereby
  a very realistic chorus of monks' voices chant your character into a
  'healed' state.

  Another area of interest in the city are 'Taverns' where the Bard should
  be given as many 'drinks' as possible so he can sing his magical tunes,
  otherwise he loses his voice! (HINT:- Try investigating all the taverns.
  One of them offers a drink NOT available in any of the others! Also,
  keep note of the names and locations of taverns--you may need them
  later).

  Exploring around Skara Brae will teach you the rudiments of the game and
  help you advance in experience levels BUT eventually you must enter the
  dungeons. Explore The Cellars, The Sewers, The Catacombs and The Castle
  in that order or your party will probably perish prematurely! Also,
  there are secret messages written on walls with other essential items to
  collect before moving on. So, be sure to map EACH square. The dungeons,
  unlike The City must be mapped.Each dungeon level is a 'wrap-around'
  22 x 22 square grid and when you have ascended/descended stairs/portal
  to the next level it is a good idea to cast a SCRY SITE spell(Magician)
  so you can locate your first square on graph paper e.g. if your SCRY
  spell tells you that you are 1 level below, 0 squares North and 0
  squares East then you would start mapping from the bottom left-hand
  corner square of the 22 x 22 grid.
  When in the dungeons, get your magic users to cast a "seeing spell", a
  "levitation spell", a "magical armor" spell and a "light" spell. This
  will ensure that you don't stumble around in darkness or miss seeing
  secret messages/doors etc.
  Mapping can sometimes be difficult, especially when you enter "dark"
  areas where no light can shine or you enter a "teleport" zone & get
  teleported to another place.

   POINTS TO REMEMBER:-

  1).Map EVERY square or you might miss something.
  2).If you can't get out of an area & you've picked up valuable 'items'
  then 'kill' off your characters by attacking each other. Then you will
  be transported back to 'The Adventurer's Guild" where you may 'pool' all
  the money to a new character who can take the other"dead" characters to
  the nearest "Temple" to be resurrected ! This way you won't lose the
  items & money collected on the way.
  3).Conjure-up a 'special' character using a magic user spell.It will be
  first in the firing line when attacks occur & will help fight your
  battles.
  4).When you've cast all your protection,levitation,light & special
  character spells after entering the city, go to "ROSCOE'S" to regenerate
  the magic users before entering dungeons etc.
  6).When in dungeons, drop useless items or you might not be able to pick
  up special things if your 'store' is full.
  7).If you can't find stairs to another level then look for 'portals' or
  cast teleport spells to get where you want to go.
  8).Back up your CHARACTER DISK" in case of disk 'crashes'.

  Finally, it IS possible to cheat, although to do so will probably
  diminish your enjoyment of the game!
  Extra money IS important to have..there is nothing worse than running
  than running out of cash when you need to heal a character in a temple!
  One way to achieve this without playing with machine code is to create
  several 'extra' characters, pool their gold & then delete them !
  Do this several times & you'll have enough money to keep you going for
  some time. Characters CAN be copied & renamed when in CLI, so you can
  duplicate a good wizard &/or items in this way. However, to gain
  special items,experience points & create 'SUPER' characters you'll need
  to read the following article!

       HAPPY ADVENTURING!!


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