Deathspank dispensed

13 Jul, 2010, 14:44 | Posted by: Kroms

Deathspank, the sort-of upcoming RPG/adventure game from Ron Gilbert and Hothead Games is sort-of out. I say "sort of", because it's out on XBLA PSN only today. The PSN XBLA release is tomorrow.

The reviews have been good, with 85% being the agreed-on score by several different websites. Especially worth noting is IGN's:

Because Monkey Island is known for its puzzles as well as its humor, I was expecting more puzzle-centric quests. However a vast majority of the "Unimportant Things" followed the same formula as the main missions -- fetching ingredients and items or happily slaying monsters on behalf of other people. Granted, this is what most RPG's deliver, but I was expecting a bit more given the developer's background

Leave it to IGN to complain about developers doing something different to their past work.

Comments: 11

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Comment by: GozzoMan | Posted 19 Jul, 2010, 05:41 | Quote
Laserschwert
The wrinting smells a lot like MI though.

Oook, I have finally been able to play it a while! :D

Well, I love it, and I agree about the writing.

Also, regarding my rant about xbox version of MI2: SE and avatar swag... for DeathSpank avatar item are in fact awarded by playing! A very pleasing bonus in my opinion :)
Comment by: GozzoMan | Posted 15 Jul, 2010, 04:57 | Quote
Laserschwert
The wrinting smells a lot like MI though.

Well, I hope to have the time to try it tonight :)

But... some say the pirate area, shown some time ago, has been canceled from the game! o_O"
Is that true?
Comment by: Laserschwert | Posted 14 Jul, 2010, 06:26 | Quote
The wrinting smells a lot like MI though.
Comment by: GozzoMan | Posted 14 Jul, 2010, 04:57 | Quote
jp-30
Well Gilbert has been describing it as "Monkey Island meets Diablo" from day one, so it's not unreasonable to expect a healthy dose of puzzle solving.

Yep, exactly my point too.

Kroms
But I find it ridiculous to think that IGN feel the need to mention Gilbert's pedigree.

As jp-30 said above, it's Ronzo to have mentioned his own pedigreee all-way-round with the "Monkey Island meets Diablo" bite!

For as much as I love mr Gilbert, of course.
Comment by: Kroms | Posted 14 Jul, 2010, 00:20 | Quote
AlfredJ
I know it's easy (and often very important) to make fun of IGN, but I think they do have a point here. They're not complaining about the fact that Gilbert is doing 'something different', they're complaining about the fact that the side missions are the same as in every rpg ever. Like IGN (and other reviews), I would have liked to see some more creativity there.

Right, but their point becomes invalid the moment they mention the reason they have gripes with repetitive side quests is because of Ronzo's involvement. Eurogamer said, "Like nearly any game in the genre, repetition is the key gripe." Which is fine - that was a problem in Brutal Legend. This game isn't for everyone, we get that (I think the "poop hammer" was enough indication anyways). But I find it ridiculous to think that IGN feel the need to mention Gilbert's pedigree.
Comment by: ThunderPeel2001 | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 19:27 | Quote
I don't think that's what IGN were saying...
Comment by: Threepwood4life | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 18:45 | Quote
Eurogamer gave it 6/10 stating:

"When the curtain falls DeathSpank feels like something of a disappointment, but there's undoubtedly a market for the end product. If you like your loot-'em-ups, and you're looking for something humorous and a bit different, this is clearly the game for you. Just don't expect it to sparkle in the way which many, myself included, hoped that it would."[i]
Comment by: AlfredJ | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 17:06 | Quote
I know it's easy (and often very important) to make fun of IGN, but I think they do have a point here. They're not complaining about the fact that Gilbert is doing 'something different', they're complaining about the fact that the side missions are the same as in every rpg ever. Like IGN (and other reviews), I would have liked to see some more creativity there.

Of course, I'm making all these claims without actually playing the game. So yeah. I'm still looking forward to this game very much though, I just thought this was one of the very few instances where IGN didn't deserve the ridicule.

Anyway, Deathspank is coming out soon! Yeah!
Comment by: jp-30 | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 16:06 | Quote
Well Gilbert has been describing it as "Monkey Island meets Diablo" from day one, so it's not unreasonable to expect a healthy dose of puzzle solving.
Comment by: Kroms | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 15:10 | Quote
Wikipedia says otherwise. Sigh. I should Google more. Thanks custard.
Comment by: custard | Posted 13 Jul, 2010, 15:03 | Quote
Wrong way round, PSN today, XBLA tommorow.

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