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DeathSpank


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DeathSpank

 

Developer: Hothead Games

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, PSN, XBLA

Genre: Hack-N-Slash, RPG, Adventure

Mode: Single-player

 

 

EPIC.

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Ron Gilbert On DeathSpank: Why Play Two Games?

 

Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion creator Ron Gilbert was at PAX 2009 to talk about his upcoming action RPG meets adventure game DeathSpank, discussing melding the two genres and accusing me of witchcraft.

 

Before we could talk about DeathSpank, we had to get past the subject of my magical pen. I use a Livescribe pen during interviews, which records sound while I take notes, allowing me to later touch the pen to the text and play back exactly what it recorded while I was writing. Ron was astounded to the point of accusing me of cavorting with the devil.

 

"It's magic! That's not technology - you're a witch."

 

Having established my unholy status, I moved on to asking Ron exactly what DeathSpank meant to him.

 

"DeathSpank to me is Monkey Island meets Diablo. Obviously I love adventure games a lot, and I wanted to take some of the really great things about adventure games - the way they tell stories, present dialog with characters, and include puzzle solving. But I'm also a big fan of action RPGs like Diablo, and I wanted to marry those two things together."

 

The marriage of classic 2D adventure games and a 3D isometric action RPG like Diablo carries over into the art direction for the game as well, with 3D characters, NPCs, and enemies doing battle and interacting amidst 2D scenery, creating something that almost has the look and feel of a pop-up book.

 

Ron walks me through a little combat, showing me how any of DeathSpank's powers and abilities can be mapped to any action button, allowing players to play however they want. Powers like the ability to summon a pack of wild chickens to attack your enemies. It sounds like a great power to have, but it has a major drawback - if you accidentally hit the birds with an attack, they'll turn on you.

 

"One of the guys on the project summons 100 chickens, gets them to attack him, and then runs around with this horde of 100 chickens following him everywhere. It's amazing to see."

 

So Ron's trademark humor is intact, and seems to translate well into a 3D action game, but what of the adventuring elements? He warps to a place further along in the game, where DeathSpank has to talk to a retired hero in order to get a new weapon. Like the classic Monkey Island games, the dialog options aren't simply decisions you make, but a way to flesh out the story, with humorous exposition that is only there to entertain the player. Eventually DeathSpank gets the old man to tell him what he wants in exchange for the weapon - "A tank! No wait...a taco!"

 

It's more than you'd expect from a 3D RPG, with more than you'd expect from an adventure game.

 

"Adventure games and RPGs share a lot in common. They tell stories. They're both about collecting items. RPGs have quests; adventure games send you off to solve puzzles, and I really just enjoy them both. Why should I play two games when I can just play one?"

 

That one game is coming from Hothead Games sometime next year, playable on everything Ron can possibly release it on.

 

"Everything with a chip on it. It'll be on microwave ovens."

 

-------------

 

he took Sam's joke :rofl:

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  • 7 months later...

DeathSpank is the greatest hero that has ever heroed

DeathSpank was created over five years ago by Ron Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric as a way to poke fun at the videogame industry. The DeathSpank character grew and grew until Ron, best known as the brains behind SCUMM and the Secret of Monkey Island games, felt it was time to put DeathSpank in an actual game.

 

The Monkey-Island-meets-Diablo adventure has been in development for over two years now, and DeathSpank is finally ready to hit the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year.

 

DeathSpank was raised with the knowledge of his destiny, which foretold of him becoming the ultimate hero of all the lands in order to be worthy of "The Artifact." DeathSpank dedicates his life to being the best hero ever, and he travels the land in search of people that need heroing (and of "The Artifact").

 

The game picks up just as DeathSpank finds the final clue in order to gain "The Artifact." The witch, Ms. Heybenstance, has magically sealed "The Artifact" away, but she's willing to help DeathSpank so long as the hero saves her pet dragons. From chickens. Yes, really.

 

DeathSpank is from the creator of Monkey Island, so you can expect a ton of humorous moments sprinkled throughout the game. Remember, DeathSpank started as a joke at the expense of the industry, so everything in the game is a satire of some sort. From the names of items (The Cleaver of Cleaving), to the silly missions -- are all presented in a funny way.

 

Talking with Ms. Heybenstance immediately reveals the Monkey Island aspect of DeathSpank, as every character you interact with will sprout up a dialogue tree. You'll be able to select what you say, and you'll get witty responses right back. You can cut straight to the point, but exploring all of the dialogue options will reveal more of the game to you. It's up to you just how immersed you want to get in the game.

 

The Diablo aspect comes from pretty much everything else. Really, think Diablo, except a cute, silly and not-super-emo version of the classic RPG. Enemies are all over the world, and DeathSpank starts off with a modest amount of equipment. Players will be able to map the face buttons and D-pad with whatever item or weapon they want. There's a wide assortment of weapons throughout the game, including axes, swords, bows & arrows, hammers, and health potions. Items and weapons that are better than your current selection will show up with a green background in the inventory to easily notify players that they should swap out. Weapons that are no longer useful can instantly be converted into cash within your inventory as well.

 

As you kill foes, you'll be leveling up DeathSpank. Every time you level up, you'll be given a special card along with your stat boosts. A max of six special cards can be assigned to DeathSpank; they will allow him to do an assortment of things such as moving faster and healing faster.

 

After DeathSpank saves Ms. Heybenstance's pet dragons, she helps him on his quest for "The Artifact." The witch needs special ingredients in order to break the magical seal, and that's when DeathSpank ventures off into the huge world presented in DeathSpank.

 

The world of DeathSpank has this pop-up book feel with its mix of 2D and 3D art; the world curves as you're moving about. The world is littered with treasure chests, barrels full of gold and outhouses. Yes, outhouses. Outhouses function as respawn points and act as a means of fast traveling to the places you've already visited. The world is persistent; the only penalty in place for dying is losing some coins. So anything you've killed before you get killed will remain dead.

 

I'm not much of a fan of hack-'n-slash games, but I did find DeathSpank to be enjoyable. The story, from what I saw, was pretty funny, and the game handled rather well during my hands-on time. Fans of classic adventure games will no doubt like the latest from Ron Gilbert.

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  • 2 months later...

well this game is due to release on xbla and psn on july 13th for 15$. there's a new co-op trailer out which looks like it would be loads of fun - http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/64568

can't tell whether the co-op is local or online but i'm hoping for the latter.

 

they've been giving lots of hints that a pc version is in the works but nothing concrete so far :):thumbsup: of all the people to turn their backs on pc gaming... ron gilbert?! :rofl:

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