Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

DeathSpank is back and unlike most of the people of the world he’s happy that there’s some evil to take on. The reason for DeathSpank’s happiness in a situation that would disturb most is that he’s grown bored sitting on his throne and cracking wise. He misses the action he’s used to. Thankfully there’s plenty of action to experience in The Baconing, the latest action adventure from Hothead Games featuring some light RPG elements to keep players motivated.

If you’ve played either of the previous DeathSpank adventures, you know that our hero has a thing for thongs. What man doesn’t? DeathSpank however prefers to wear them rather than admire them and just as you would expect when a man wears a thong (or six), there’s bound to be some trouble. The combined powers of the six thongs being worn at once has resulted in the ultimate enemy – AntiSpank! So here we go in another adventure, except this time in the future.

Our hero is capable of equipping four weapons at once. Thankfully these weapons are easily manageable using the four face buttons of the controller. DeathSpank’s style of movement is best described as a happy child romping through a park with little control over his limbs. This is purely the way he is displayed as his movements are spot on and the controls are actually pretty tight. Veterans of the franchise will enjoy the newly introduced shield-bash which breaks up the typical button mashing combat of the DeathSpank franchise. Saying it’s satisfying to mow through waves of bio-mechanical orcs is an understatement. Of course it’s not as simple as that. These futuristic monsters take quite a bit of damage.

Weapons are mostly unchanged outside of the gun that utilizes orphans as projectiles and the previously mentioned shield-bash. But the orphan gun brings up The Baconing’s best quality- which is the humor. Ron Gilbert has the perfect delivery and a voice that was meant for a super hero. It’s not easy to write comedy, Hothead has managed to make it look so easy throughout the DeathSpank series of games and succeeds again with The Baconing. It’s not just the voice acting and dialog that will have gamers chuckling. Everything from the designs of enemies to the environments they inhabit were done with laughs in mind.

Speaking of the visuals, they’ve taken a step in the right direction as well. Everything looks cleaner and crisper in this third DeathSpank. There’s no doubt that this is a result of the game’s engine being overhauled. This isn’t to say everything is perfect. You still get the feeling you’re moving from one pre-rendered map to another like many flash games instead of exploring a genuine game world. Still, it’s the best looking game so far in a series that’s already had three titles released in a short eighteen month period.

It’s nice that there is multiplayer, but unfortunate that it’s limited to local play only. It would have been nice to go online and have someone take control of DeathSpank’s sidekick on Xbox LIVE. It’s rare these days to find a game on consoles that can make you laugh for the right reasons. While this game does push the humor a little far – to the point where you might even wish the jokes would stop for a second – there’s very little to dislike about this game. The Baconing has a little something for everyone and manages to put it all together without stretching itself thin. Despite the limited cooperative play and some short comings in the gameplay, The Baconing is worth the price of admission.