Deathspank XBLA and PSN Release date 7/14/10
Deathspank is an action RPG developed by Ron Gilbert (Diablo, Monkey Island) of Hothead Games, in which you meet the mighty hero Deathspank. He is the savior of the downtrodden and noble dispenser of justice. You’ll find yourself in a typical RPG environment with enemies ranging from chickens to dragons on your quest to obtain The Artifact! (Yeah that’s a part of the comedy in the game.) That’s about all you know about it. Well that and it will supposedly grant amazing powers to whomever posses it and you are not the only one trying to get your hands on it! Well that’s enough to get me excited.
On your quest to reclaim this “artifact” you’ll run into many different individuals basically needing justice served playing off cliché RPG elements and makes a parody of others. Mostly this will just comprise of a fetch quest or random task needed from them. And trust me there is plenty of side quests to keep you busy in between times. Most of the side quests I completed were pretty simple, mostly requiring you to travel across the map and kill something, pick up what they dropped and bring it back. Simple as they were, you might get something good in return. It really just gives you another excuse to run around in some pretty fun environments exploring and slaying beasts along the way. If you get lonely, boot up a second controller and play with a friend. Co-op is local only though, which I thought that was a little disappointing.
Collecting loot like, weapons and other inventory items plays a huge role in this game. (Your inventory/equipment page is huge.)You will pick up gold after just about any enemy you kill as well as health items, weapons and new armors; all having different stats and effects. This helps you level up. You will need to level up as much as possible to use the next best weapon for that level. You may be a level 6 but need to level up to use the level 8 sword in your list. Hero cards are used when you level up letting you choose one from 3 cards each time you level up, each providing you with a different ability; such as move 10% faster or deal 20% more melee damage.
The graphics are brilliant. Bright and detailed, the environments are colorful and look like something out of a children’s storybook at times. Cartoon-like images and details make Deathspank easy to look at. The backgrounds go on forever just begging to be explored. I also really appreciated the art style. It’s really nice to see more games like this that play and look great as well. That’s Deathspank. I also really like how different areas would shift in color and overall atmosphere. One minute you’re running down a sunny path in the forest and the next you are in a demon campsite with fire and black skies. These are really cool transitions.
Combat includes button mashing away at your assigned buttons. A, X, B, Y can all be assigned separate weapons. Axes, swords and crossbows can all be equipped at any given time. Just be sure to mix them up during fights to earn combos worth more experience.
Like I said, collecting things is a main focus in this game as you are constantly leveling up and finding newer, stronger weapons. This is overwhelming as your inventory is constantly filling up. It took some time to get used to. If you don’t have room to add your new boots or a shield just drag an item you would like to get rid of down to the Item Grinder and receive gold for it. You get gold and at the same time open up a new slot for a new item. Hey, it beats just dropping an item with nothing in return. Some items can be combined to make more valuable items or to aid in completing a quest for someone. For example, I had to collect white imp horns but the job required red ones. You would have to find a way to dye them red. This required searching the area for an item to allow that to happen by combining it with the horns and then you have your red horns. Pretty simple.
I did have some minor problems with it. From time to time I found myself asking “Where the hell do I go right now?” You have to rely on the mission details to tell you what to do. It doesn’t always say exactly where. It adds a little more challenge to simple jobs but sometimes difficult to figure out. If you are truly stumped and have no idea just find some Fortune cookies scattered different areas. These items are used for unlocking clues during certain quests, giving you a hint as to where an item is, how to use it or who you need to talk to. Those help a lot. Don’t be afraid to use them as I had quite a few stocked up in my inventory. I also wished that when I respawned after losing a fight I would come back to life with a full health bar. That’s not the case. You respawn at the nearest outhouse (just a standalone outhouse that you find on paths.) These can be used as respawn points and for fast travel locations allowing the character to teleport to each outhouse you have activated. This makes traveling a lot faster if you don’t feel like walking.
The sound is not bad either. Music plays the whole time and a lot of it resembled something out of a spy movie. Weapons and enemies respond accurately and the voice work is great. Each encounter with other characters presents speech bubbles, a lot of the time having funny conversations. Don’t forget, this game is supposed to be funny eh. But seriously, the conversations are hilarious, depending on which words you choose.
Developed and polished well, Deathspank is a beautiful game with amazing addictive gameplay to match; not to mention the hilarious story telling. It presents a lot of depth for an XBLA download game which is a rare thing. It’s not hard to see that a lot of work went into this game. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, hoping that this influences more downloadable games in the future that pack as much of a punch as Deathspank does. I highly recommend picking this up to anyone that enjoyed playing Monkey Island and/or the Diablo Series. If you are seeking a fresh new experience in the action/RPG genre that will grant you hours of looting, leveling up and finally discovering The Artifact, for 1200 MS points you can’t go wrong!