The first DeathSpank took place in an almost-typical medieval fantasy world, Thongs of Virtue is somewhere between the Wild West and World War Two, and now The Baconing is about futuristic technology clashing with orcs and dragons. While things haven’t changed that much in terms of gameplay (left and right mouse buttons attack, space blocks, bash guys), things definitely have changed in the world. The question is, why would anyone want to start here? It’s far more fun to start with the first episode. What about the newcomer who’s never spanked death before in his life? While the story continues directly on from Thongs of Virtue (well, the ending where DeathSpank didn’t kill himself) and doesn’t really explain why he’s wearing six thongs, this isn’t Mass Effect, there’s no complicated backstory, so new players should get into things fast.
#DEATHSPANK THE BACONING BOX ART PC#
Maybe the console version got more improvements and Hothead thought the PC controls were perfect? Well, they’re not, but I do prefer them to a joypad.Īnyway, I’m going to stop talking to previous DeathSpankers for now. There are several things though that needed improving that haven’t been, such as eating (which is still just as slow and dull as before), and not being able to attack without targeting something with the mouse (which can be difficult if an enemy’s moving quickly). Nevertheless improvements are merely minor: the only things I noticed was that the “Upgrade Cards” you get when levelling up are more helpful, a stun move done by blocking, and the ability to charge up ranged weapons (very useful). I am definitely in that group and enjoyed the game despite the déjà vu. Whatever the score is at the side the game is still just as fun and almost as good as the last two games, so if you enjoyed both and are happy to do the same thing but with different locations then you should get The Baconing. It is utterly entirely up to you, dear reader, whether this is a bad thing. The interface is the same, the gameplay is the same, the graphics are the same, progression is the same, DeathSpank is the same. You still start at Level 1 (despite becoming all-powerful at the end of Thongs of Virtue), you hack and blast your way through thousands of enemies, you complete simple quests, there are bosses which require running away from a lot, you win, end credits.
There are a few minor improvements, but otherwise you’d be hard-pressed to tell the three games apart. I don’t mean similar due to being the same series, I mean identical. I decided on now: the biggest problem with The Baconing is that it is utterly identical to the last two DeathSpank games. I was debating whether to call attention to the elephant in the room right away or leave it to the very end with a “this is all very well, but…” lead in. If you want a fresh view Alan’s got you covered with his review of the console version, but I’m inevitably going to compare it to previous games. I’m a fan of DeathSpank so I’m doing this review from that perspective. You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn yo- wait, we should totally get a picture of this! It didn’t do The Curse of Monkey Island any harm, let’s hope the same is true here. The first two games had the veteran designer’s hand in them, but he’s now left Hothead to take a desk at Tim Schafer’s Double Fine (a match made in heaven since Schafer was lead writer on Monkey Island) so The Baconing is the first DeathSpank game to be released sans-Gilbert. Should they have taken their time?įor those that don’t know, DeathSpank was created by Ron Gilbert (the mind that thought up The Secret of Monkey Island) and intended to be a tribute to Diablo-style action-RPGs at the same time as parodying them. By releasing three similar and decently sized games in a year, Hothead are risking player apathy. However, it’s hard to decide which way’s the better. With Blizzard dragging their heels for a decade on whether Diablo III will be out that year or not (2012… maybe?) Hothead can get three fun action-RPGs out in a single year.
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