The Bard's Tale sings golden tune

More than a few old-school gamers have fond memories of playing The Bard's Tale. Released in 1985, the legendary role-playing game was designed by game legend Brian Fargo and published by his company, a then-medium-sized outfit by the name of Electronic Arts.

Nearly two decades later, The Bard's Tale is back. Having long since parted ways with EA, Fargo is releasing the game through his own recently created developer-publisher, InXile Entertainment. This morning, InXile announced that the reincarnation of The Bard's Tale has gone gold for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Featuring a more mischievous tone than the original, the new game will put players in the role of the Bard, who will be voiced by The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes. Rather than trying to achieve noble ends, the Bard's primary activity will be the pursuing "coin and cleavage," according to InXile. The game will feature nonlinear, morally ambiguous gameplay, in which players' naughty or nice interactions with non-player characters will determine the story's outcome.

Rated T for Teen, The Bard's Tale is set to ship the week of October 25. Recently, GameSpot got to play the first several levels of the game--read our hands-on for more information.