While titular character DeathSpank attempts to convince an orphan girl
to get into his bag (there's context to this, which I will leave for you
to discover for yourself in-game), she demands that he find her a cell
phone. You then have to choose from a bevy of adventure game
dialogue-style options, one of which expresses confusion with, "What
does an orphan need a cell phone for?" To which she replies, "To update
my blog, of course!"
That is the kind of humor that peppers DeathSpank (the game): a sort of deadpan absurdity where pretty much anything -- no
matter how anachronistic or fourth-wall-breaking -- gets said as
naturally as we would discuss the time of day. The unflinching delivery
of some of the most surprising and out-of-left-field (yet flowing and
not at all awkward) dialogue makes DeathSpank simply one of the funniest
games to watch and listen to. The script, filled with references and
quips covering topics from fantasy RPG tropes to the secret history of
felt to the value of unicorn excrement to even sly references to other
games, positively shines with classic designer Ron Gilbert's influence.
The jokes hit on so many topics that something is bound to make you
chuckle -- multiple times even. Even the diverse color palette, the Animal Crossing-esque
"on-a-hill" perspective, and the visual gags, along with the voiced
dialogue, all make DeathSpank a charming standout compared to other
games of its ilk.
These elements elevate what is merely an "okay game" that sometimes
feels a bit too streamlined. When you're not listening to DeathSpank
(and his bravado-filled voice that somewhat echoes Ratchet &
Clank's Captain Qwark, or '90s animated series The Tick)
banter with various characters, you're having him run around and hit
baddies for gold and loot in order to finish around 117 quests
(according to my questlog, which took me around nine hours to clear),
which then give you better loot to kill baddies with. It's a familiar
formula, and for the most part, it pulls it off. Heck, you can say that
it introduces a few positive quirks. Such as how each face button can be
mapped to a different weapon that DeathSpank easily switches between;
said weapons are often marked in purple (which means that after filling
the Justice Meter by killing foes, the next swing of said weapon becomes
a special attack) and/or green (which indicates that it's better than
what you're currently wielding); rather than haul your excess loot to
town, you can instead use a grinder in your inventory to turn items into
gold.
Unfortunately, these tweaks ultimately make the game feel a bit
too simple for self-professed "lootwhores." Leveling up gets reduced to
picking a Hero Card to add to your deck; these confer bonuses such as
additional speed, damage, or money depending on choice (the closest
you'll get to character stats), and seem like significant choices early
on -- until you realize that you pretty much get all the cards by the
end, and are mostly picking what order to unlock them in. DeathSpank
himself is fundamentally a melee warrior -- so players who prefer ranged
or magic characters will have to contend with token crossbows and magic
items as substitutes for class preference. The "items in green are
better" system works for the many thematic armor sets (DeathSpank wears
amusing gear that makes him look like a pharaoh, or a yeti, or more),
but when juggling four different weapons with distinct properties, that
simple rubric isn't as effective. I often find myself manually rifling
through the inventory and comparing all of my weapons to min-max my
offense -- a tooltip (or four) that lets me quickly compare items would
have been welcome.
There don't seem to be randomized items, so while there's a
decent number of items, and their written descriptions are funny, you
realize that your gear boils down to: a straightforward weapon with a
funny description (un-enchanted swords, axes, scythes, etc), a lightning
wand, a fire axe, an ice hammer, a poison club, a big hammer, a
spinning sword, and a giant fist -- there just isn't as much of an
element of surprise or randomness to the offensive gear. And despite
elements like the combo meter or the Runestones (where using certain
weapon pairs yields even spiffier attacks), the combat mostly boils down
to either kiting/hit-and-run attacks, or wading into battle while
drinking a lot of potions and blocking.
