DeathSpank Review

Let me tell you. Diablo style games never get old for me. I don’t know what it is, but, killing hordes and hordes of enemies while trying to achieve that next level up to allow you to fondle that new high level weapon or armour rocks. Enter DeathSpank. A sometimes charming but dimwitted hero sent to recover a lightning rod contraption known only as ‘The Artifact’. The story is lighthearted at best, and the whole experience serves to poke fun at itself with some nice humour filled bit’s that are charming and chuckle worthy. Ron Gilbert is the man behind this game. He’s made such classic’s as the Monkey Island series of earlier games and my personal favourite, Grim Fandango. Right off the bat, you’ll notice the same kind of style come through with DeathSpank and actually, Hothead Games tries to meld Diablo style gameplay with inventory puzzles and it works for the most part.

The first thing that impresses are the graphics. They look great. Everything has a sort of hand-drawn look to it with the perspective shifting towards you, kind of like the globe spinning as you walk. All the environment’s are varied enough so that you never get bored of being in the same place. Effects shift in each new area as well and varied enemies further add to the overall world. The world is pretty big for a downloadable game as well so there’s plenty of area to explore. The big thing that impressed me though was the fact that for a loot collecting type of game, DeathSpank is surprisingly deep. You’ll level up by adding cards to your character which will in turn add more speed as you walk, for example. This part isn’t deep. The part that does surprise you are the amount of different armour and weapons that are available. You can equip four weapon’s per face button as well as four other item’s or weapons used via the directional pad. Combining certain amount’s of weapons used in combo’s, can also unleash temporary attack move’s to aid in your quest. Blocking at the right time can also give you an attack boost. Blocking is kind of wonky as it becomes difficult to tell when to block but it’s never a huge problem. The game has depth and it’s not just a quick cash-in.

 None of this would work if the actual combat wasn’t fun but rest assured, it is. The tried and tested Diablo formula of levelling up and collecting bigger and better weapon’s and armour still hold’s true. DeathSpank is more lighthearted in it’s approach but it work’s all the same. Combat feel’s tight and enemie’s will explode everywhere. There is some slight slow down when special abilities are used but it isn’t too frequent. Certain puzzles require you to use certain objects on the environment to progress and that aspect gives it a Monkey Island kind of flare. You can also collect fortune cookies which you can in turn use to reveal hint’s for each quest, should you get stuck. I liked this feature. So what didn’t I like? The music get’s repetitive. It would have been nice to have a little bit more variety there. The dialogue makes you chuckle along the way but DeathSpank has the same introduction with every single character which can get old really fast. Item’s in your inventory, such as potions, can’t be used through the inventory screen outright. You must equip it to your directional pad first, that sucked. There are also a little bit too many fetch quests for my liking but never enough to stop me from playing.

What more needs to be said. Once I bought DeathSpank, I couldn’t put it down. It isn’t a perfect game as it has some issues, but, for 15 dollars it offered me at least 10 hours of addictive game play that was definitely worthy of my money. This is a nice game made by Hothead Games that is surprisingly deep for  an arcade title. It’s a game you can pick up and play for 30 minutes or get sucked into for 3 hours without even noticing. If you like Diablo and loot collecting games pick it up. If you don’t, there’s nothing here that will sway you otherwise. DeathSpank has been one of the more enjoyable arcade games I’ve played this year.

The Good - Decent Length for Price - Nice Visual Style & Humour - Addictive Gameplay - It’s Only 15 Dollars.

The Bad - Music Can Get Repetitive - Inventory Weapons Need To Be Equipped Before Use - Fetch Quests, Though Diverse, Are a Little Too Frequent – “Hello (insert person’s name here)” Intro Dialogue Get’s Old Fast – Some Slowdown.

BUY IT

Xbox 360 Version Reviewed

DeathSpank Review, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating