RipTen Review: DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue (XBLA)
The time has come once again to review the exploits of DeathSpank!! Dispenser of Justice!! Vanquisher of Evil!! Hero to the Downtrodden!! A Guy Who Wears Thongs!! It’s time for the RipTen review!!
It was not long ago that the hit action/RPG DeathSpank invaded consoles everywhere!! Yet, a sequel is already upon us!! Do you need to have played the first game in order to appreciate this one? No!! But Hothead and EA would probably want you to go out and buy it anyway!! That being said, this game is bigger and this game is better!!
Behold these trailers!!
So, now that you know the general story, I won’t have to tell it to you!! This saves me both time and money!! Excelsior!!
If you’ve played the first DeathSpank, you will obviously find Thongs of Virtue very familiar. The button mashing hack-n-slash combat, the magnificent art-style, the great music, the ridiculous voice work, it’s all still there!! If it ain’t broke, don’t go breaking it you nitwit!! So, they didn’t, they just added. They added good stuff too, like lots of ranged weapons and a singing sidekick that rides a unicorn and dual wields katanas!! (His name is Steve)
But enough about whats new!! Let’s talk about what’s still great and why!! New is old!!
For The Downtrodden!!
Hack n slash action / RPGs all share similar elements. You get quests, you goto towns, you beat stuff up, you get loot, you equip it, rinse, repeat. How is DeathSpank any different you say? It’s not!! Well ok, it is, in a few ways. First of all, there is no backtracking thanks to the fact that you can teleport to and from locations you’ve already visited by way of outhouses. That’s right, outhouses, the ones you poop in. It’s a small feature, but one that is missing in so many other action/rpgs, and one that helps to keep the pacing of DeathSpank: ToV from dragging its feet in between quests.
For Justice!!
Yes, DeathSpank ToV is a button masher. You can play this game drunk, you can play this game on drugs, (we don’t condone this) you can even play this game with your eyes closed!! In fact, I have!! I died of course, but I still had fun, and it’s good to know that Stevie Wonder can enjoy DeathSpank as well!! Even if he can’t find the questgivers . . .
The combat is funner-er than ever and the addition of a multitude of ranged weapons such as machine guns and rocket launchers really makes for some awesome gameplay. Chop, chop, hack, slash, shoot, shoot, pew pew, explosions!! That’s the jist of the combat, and it’s good ol fashioned fun. But you already knew that, because not only did I already tell you that, but you’ve already read the RipTen review of the original DeathSpank and watched that video above, right? Of course you have!! How silly of me . . .
Moving on: The looting and equipment system is extremely easy to use, almost too easy and at times annoyingly lacking. There are no comparison tooltips, so you simply will assume every new piece of gear is better than the last you picked up. Luckily, that is usually the case. Hoorah!! Yet, there is nothing great about the menu system, and since you will spend a great deal of time using it, quite frankly, it could be better!!
You Shall Be Vanquished!!
So DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue looks good and plays well, but is it actually as funny as everyone says? Yes, you asshat!! If you liked the humor of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion you will love the humor of DeathSpank. The voice acting is superbly over the top and I found myself chuckling constantly, even when I wasn’t intoxicated. Not that I reviewed this game while intoxicated . . . that would be unprofessional!! . . .*hic*
This game is pure mindless fun with a dose of comedy thrown in that is anything but. It’s filled with the sharp wit and humor that fans of Ron Gilbert will surely appreciate and that anyone can enjoy.
If you like action, adventure, swords, guns and thongs . . . You will love DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue
Here’s The Rundown
+ Great Art Style
+ Great voice acting
+ Great action/rpg gameplay
- Annoying menu/loot/equipment system
- The brand of humor is not for everyone
- We’re still hungover from the first game (That came out like two months ago)
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue was developed by Hothead Games and published by EA for the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on September 21. The game retails for $15.00 USD. A copy of the game was provided to us by the publisher for the purposes of review. We played the living crap out of it. It was good.
