The game was released on Jon the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network and on Jon the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It was created by game designers Ron Gilbert and Clayton Kauzlaric. They’re both responsible for some of the best writing in gaming today, but neither seems to have found a suitable outlet for it beyond graphic adventures.Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360ĭeathSpank, also known as DeathSpank: Orphans of Justice, is an action role-playing video game developed by Hothead Games and published by Electronic Arts. In the end it’s hard not to compare the game with the more recent work of fellow Monkey Island veteran Tim Schafer, whose Brütal Legend suffered from a similar mix of good intentions but mediocre gameplay. It doesn’t help that the main character sounds almost exactly like cartoon character The Tick, not only in terms of the voice actor but also the obsession with justice and fourth-wall breaking villains. The main problem is that the humour is a lot baser and more scatological than Gilbert’s earlier work and a lot of it is aimed at mocking the already patently absurd Western role-playing genre. Many a repetitive fetch quest is lifted by a witty bit of dialogue, but to be brutally honest a lot of it isn’t. Instead the best evidence of his previous work is in the script, including multiple choice Q&As with characters that could’ve come straight out of Monkey Island. There are a few inventory-combing puzzles that recall Gilbert’s adventure heritage but not enough to be significant. The problem with streamlining a genre as single-minded as a dungeon crawler is that it makes it all the more obvious that there’s little real variety or depth to anything you’re doing. There is a co-op mode but it’s a disappointingly fudged affair, with Sparkles the Wizard only having four fixed magic spells and no inventory – or even health bar – of his own. Meanwhile, the experience system simply has you choosing a new ability-enhancing ‘Hero Card’ when you level up, rather than worrying about actual stats. There are some useful time savers though, such as using a portable grinder to turn unwanted loot into gold. Many of the weapons and items are largely unnecessary and you’ll soon learn to stick with just a few favourites. The game is clearly aware of the dangers of devolving into a mindless button-basher, but it still doesn’t entirely avoid that fate. ![]() It’s frustratingly easy set off when you didn’t mean to though, so it becomes tricky to rely on. You also have a ‘justice meter’ which slowly fills and allows you to perform a special attack with the relevant weapon. Potions and other special items can be similarly assigned to the D-pad. Although in practise it’s almost impossible to anticipate when a single enemy in a scrum is winding up for an attack. The game also tries to encourage more considered play by making you use the block button often and wisely. This makes combos very easy to pull off, as you switch between different weapons on the fly. You can map any of the many weapons you collect to any of the four face buttons and a simple tap of any will allow you to use it to lay into the nearest demon/chicken/demonic chicken.
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