DeathSpank

So is it Diablo crossed with The Secret of Monkey Island? Not really, but it’s an action RPG with loot like Diablo, and it has humorous dialogue like in Secret of Monkey Island. Deathspank is the latest game from Ron Gilbert who is the creative mind behind the Monkey Island series and Maniac Mansion. It’s available for download on Xbox Live Arcade and also the Playstation Store for $15. I really liked Deathspank, but for various reasons it falls short of being a big glowing recommendation.

Story – You play as Deathspank who is a square jawed hero in armor out to vanquish evil by bludgeoning it to death. The game is set in a medieval fantasy world complete with dirty orphan children, cockney accents, humble farmers, dragons, unicorns and such. But like the Monkey Island series aspects of it are deliberately anachronistic for the sake of humor and pop culture references. Not to say that the humor relies on a Family Guy style of referential humor that only 2% of people will understand, but every now and then it can throw one in that is a nice wink or nudge.    

The story is told via dialogue and also the 2D animated cutscenes similar in style to the Penny Arcade game which was also developed by Hothead Games. DeathSpank is in pursuit of an artifact known as “The Artifact” which sets the game in motion, but ultimately doesn’t mean much. Early on, it’s almost within reach when it’s stolen by the evil Lord Von Prong’s minions. DeathSpank is then hired to find the stolen orphans of the town that helps him get back on his feet.

The dialogue is fully voiced and for the most part works well. DeathSpank’s voice is probably what you’d imagine to come out of a big square jawed hero’s mouth. Think about “The Tick” or any stereotypical Disney muscle bound macho guy. Most of his dialogue are consists of big declarative statements/observations such as “Greetings orphan of deficient hygiene!” (not an actual quote, but you get the idea).

Gameplay – Much has been said about how the gameplay is largely inspired by Diablo. Each face button has a weapon mapped to it like a sword, war hammer, crossbow, magic potion or other blunt force instrument. The D-pad can be mapped to secondary items like healing potions or potions that raise your defense.  Some weapons have elemental attributes like fire or ice, but during my playthrough I rarely ever adjusted weapons according to enemies I was fighting. You’ll kill a lot of monsters, break a lot of barrels for the money inside and collect a lot of loot.

Armor is separated into different pieces such as hands, shoulders, chest etc. A handy function in the game automatically equips the strongest armor available, because there’s never any type of armor that provides less defense but some other beneficial attribute. If you’re paying attention, the combat isn’t terribly difficult. There’s only one section of the game where I felt like the game was blatantly unfair in how much damage I received from an enemy. Even after forcing myself to learn to block attacks it still felt like those particular enemies were too strong. 

There are some light puzzle solving elements to the game where you drop an item according to the situation, but if the answer isn’t blatantly obvious it still doesn’t take long to figure out. Most of the game is fetch and kill quests. Someone will ask you for something, and you’ll have to go somewhere not very far away to retrieve it for them. Getting around the game is made easier via outhouses which serve as save and teleport points. All quests are kept in a log book separating sidequests from primary quests.

On one hand I was glad that the quests are made so easy to finish. On the map screen you see little exclamation bubbles indicating NPCs who have a quest to do or one for which you’ve fulfilled the requirements. The side effect of such quick and plentiful quests is there are times they start to feel like a chore. Sometimes for the sake of humor the game makes you go back and forth ad nauseum, but I’m not sure the joke was good enough in execution. Your reaction to the quick and disposable side quests will depend on how much you enjoy the loot and or dialogue rewards from finishing a quest. Sometimes the loot isn’t very interesting, so the new dialogue becomes the reward.

The other place humor is injected into the game are in the item descriptions. I regret that I didn’t get a chance to read the descriptions of some unique items before I used them. Most are silly or clever, but a some are laugh out loud funny. The humor in the game mostly worked for me. As with any comedic medium whether movie or video game I always worry that I’ll be laughing because I feel like obligated to laugh. I can say though that there are parts of DeathSpank that are genuinely laugh out loud funny, but the majority are good for a chuckle.        

Multiplayer – DeathSpank has a 2-player mode style which many people are now calling “Girlfriend mode.” It could also be a mode for a parent helping their child or vice versa. The 2nd player plays “Sparkles the Wizard” who has a fire attack, magic wand attack, healing spell and the ability to make explosive clones of himself. At any moment he can also teleport right next to DeathSpank to catch up or if he gets stuck. If the 2nd player doesn’t control Sparkles at all the game is smart enough to move him around or teleport him when necessary. If the second player doesn’t mind not being able to equip the loot then it’s a good mode if you want to play with a significant other, child or friend. I played the entire game with my girlfriend, and we had a good time without getting bored.

Graphics – The visual style of DeathSpank is very cartoony with sprites for environmental elements like trees or loot. The design fits the tone and the lighting transitions between the different types of environment work. Sam & Max fans will notice that some character design was done by Steve Purcell who is responsible for the Sam & Max series. Most of the NPC characters have large noses a la “Hans the Moleman” from “Sam & Max Hit the Road.” There are some great creature designs and animations. My favorite of which is the cow/kangaroo hybrid with a hilarious looking kangaroo kick attack. 

Sound – DeathSpank is a cartoony game so it makes sense that the sound design matches the aesthetic. The sound usually is like the Disney style where musical cues and instruments are used to create sound. Still though, I wish that the sound has some more oomph especially for the weapons and impacts. Part of the fun of getting loot in games like Diablo is being able to do large amounts of damage, and feeling like you’re really powerful. Even if the damage numbers increase in size it didn’t feel like I was doing more damage even if I was mowing down fields of enemies that at the beginning of the game gave me trouble. The sound for me lacked impact kind of like how guns in Halo lack impact. Some more care taken with the sound design would’ve made the difference between me being too lazy to break some barrels and me rushing out to break every barrel that was in sight.

Final Thoughts – DeathSpank is a good game, and if you’re going strictly by gameplay hours it’s worth the $15 it’ll cost you to download. The humor hits enough that I can call this a funny game and the gameplay fun enough that you’ll still be compelled to get every sidequest and piece of loot. Or maybe it’s my OCD tendencies at work that made me blast through the game in only a few sittings