STAFF REVIEW of DeathSpank (Xbox 360 Arcade)


Thursday, August 5, 2010.
by Randal Santia

DeathSpank Box art What happens when you take the man behind the classic adventure game ?Monkey Island? and blend it with an action RPG? You get DeathSpank; Hothead Games? newest title, and latest creation of game designer extraordinaire, Ron Gilbert.

Tagged as Diablo meets Monkey Island, DeathSpank is a straight up Hack and Slash action RPG with plenty of both! You are DeathSpank, and your goal is quite simply to acquire ?The Artifact?. In one of many jabs at classic RPG story lines, DeathSpank goes out of it?s way to poke fun at the whole cookie-cutter RPG genre, while being one itself. Item names, quests and even the main story line are littered with laughs and while not uncontrollably R-O-F-L funny, the dialogue has enough in it to make L-O-L now and then.

The gameplay is solid! Being able to assign weapons to each of your four face buttons (X,Y,B,A) DeathSpank makes the hacking and slashing accessible and fun. Alternating the attack sequence through the different buttons builds ?combos? and thus increases your damage multiplier as you litter the battlefield with corpses, loot and of course, money!

At it?s core, DeathSpank is a loot game. Most of your time is spent working on quests and killing baddies in order to increase both your level and your armor. A welcomed function for me was the ability to check off a box that always equips the best armor, which allows you to worry less about micromanaging your gear, and focus on lopping off more demon heads! With a variety of weapons and attack options you?ve already got a lot on your plate just finding the different ways you can kill mobs.

While we're talking about time management, running back to towns and vendors is a thing of the past! In your inventory is a Grinder that grinds up unwanted items into Gold! I never liked having to manage bag space and decide which items to keep and sell, and which to leave lying around and now I don't have to!


Another aspect of the RPG that DeathSpank has simplified is the character customization. Following each level you?re able to pick a card that lets you run faster, hit harder, block more etc, allowing you to gear DeathSpank to the way you play. It isn?t very deep however, and by the time you?ve come around to the end of the game, you?ve collected all the cards and DeathSpank is all he can be.

The graphics are pretty stunning. A very interesting and different art style lends itself perfectly to the game. Different environments, enemies and weapons keep the game looking fresh the whole time you?re in there.

I enjoyed my time with DeathSpank though I found the game a little tedious at times. The pacing is good, and there?s always something to do, but really you?re not getting a vast variety of quest. At their root, they?re all the same. Kill X of these, collect Y of those and then bring them to person Z for more loot.

A big draw has to be the comedy aspect, and as I mentioned there?s plenty of it, though a lot of it on the corny side that will make you groan. It also comes with what I like to call "the girlfriend co-op". Sparkels the Wizard can be played by a second local-player, and can help DeathSpank out in some minor ways by doing things such as healing or picking up some dropped loot. He doesn't level on his own, and is just generally playing a supporting role and can hop in and out at will.

DeathSpank succeeds at what it set out to do, it gives you some laughs, makes a mess of mobs and keeps you busy for a few hours. I?m not entirely convinced it?s worth 1200 Microsoft Points but it?s a solid XBLA game, and if you?re looking for something down this aisle, the value should be there.

The Way I See It: Try It, Buy It, Laugh :)





Overall: 8.2 / 10
Gameplay: 8.0 / 10
Visuals: 9.0 / 10
Sound: 9.0 / 10

Comments

Site Statistics

Registered Members: 79,389
Forum Posts: 725,965
Xbox One Titles: 6,089
Xbox 360 Titles: 1,086
Xbox 360 Kinect Titles: 95
Xbox 360 Arcade Titles: 586
Original Xbox Titles: 987
Staff Reviews: 2,548
Member Reviews: 10,339
News Articles: 16,531
Screenshots: 38,795
Xbox 360 Achievements: 45,112
Xbox 360 Faceplates: 2,016
Cheat Codes: 1,706

Latest News








See News Archives

Community Forum Activity

KeyWe Giveaway!
Post by Variation-XBA
0 Replies, 23063 Views

2021: XBA is still here
Post by shrew king
38 Replies, 188708 Views

Watch Dogs: Legion
Post by Nato King
0 Replies, 120810 Views

Xbox Series X or S
Post by Nato King
5 Replies, 138038 Views

Spellbreak Grand Magus Pack (3) and Starter Pack (7) Giveaway!
Post by Variation-XBA
0 Replies, 129077 Views

I pay $ 1000! I search the Element 54 Canadian launch Team signaturen Faceplate
Post by Smill
0 Replies, 149973 Views

Xbox one no signal
Post by debrartin
0 Replies, 140209 Views

do you remember?
Post by SnoochyBoochy
3 Replies, 202601 Views

i haz xbox
Post by SnoochyBoochy
0 Replies, 157552 Views

Claiming the first thread of 2020
Post by Kraft
7 Replies, 252366 Views

Important! I pay $ 1000! I search the Sweden launch and the Element 54 Faceplate
Post by Smill
3 Replies, 146318 Views

Squad Up
Post by samslophead
0 Replies, 248970 Views

TERA Skinned Xbox One X Giveaway!
Post by Variation-XBA
0 Replies, 176565 Views

Starfield Release expectations?
Post by DJ tx
4 Replies, 304545 Views

Issue with Xbox live on Xbox home
Post by rcmpayne
0 Replies, 164591 Views

© 2000-2024 XboxAddict.com - All rights reserved. All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft. XboxAddict.com is not affiliated with Microsoft.

Made in Canada
Site Design by Cameron Graphics