Written by: Joseph

 

 

 

Adventuring forth from the mind of Ron Gilbert, the impossibly chinned “Hero to the Downtrodden” returns for a conclusive instalment. Developed in tandem with the first game, "DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue" is another Diablo style experience, with deep dialogue trees and a smattering of point-and-click throwbacks.

 

If you’ve played the first game, you’ll be instantly familiar with the whole setup. Almost every gameplay element remains untouched. DeathSpank still has access to a weapon slot for each lettered button and another four spaces for d-pad directions. The tone also remains the same - revisiting the tongue-in-cheek humour of the first with Michael Dobson’s enthusiastic voice-acting put to excellent use. The biggest change is the setting, which shifts from sword-and-sorcery to a mash-up of World War II, Western, Pirate, and Sci-Fi.

 

 

There’s not a line of dialogue in Thongs of Virtue that isn’t voiced, a decision which goes a long way to keeping the humour consistently funny. Without Dobson’s ridiculous macho pastiche a lot of the laughs would fall flat. The same goes for the kooky cast of characters DeathSpank meets along the way.

 

 

In the comedy dialogue trees the game finds its biggest parallels with Maniac Mansion and Monkey Island, but there are other moments of gameplay nostalgia for DOS veterans. A few quests require item combination and there are a smattering of lever-based puzzles to navigate.

 

 

Within the first hour of Thongs of Virtue you will collect enough, swords, guns, potions, and orbs to fill up every one of your weapon slots. There’s more loot in Thongs of Virtue than you can shake a Necrotic Bastard Sword at. The sheer volume can catch you off guard if you’re the hoarding type. It’s tempting to save those machine gun rounds or ice grenades for the big monster you’re sure is waiting just over the crest of the hill, but, inevitably, by the time you get there you’ll already have picked up something that packs an even bigger punch.

 

Even with his heroically muscular triceps, DeathSpank doesn’t have infinite carrying capacity. It becomes a pleasurable struggle to work your way through your accumulated implements of destruction in time to make space for new pick-ups. Luckily DeathSpank always has the “Grinder” to fall back on, which converts any spare equipment into crisp green notes.

 

 

Money is another thing you’re never likely to be wanting for. The denizens of DeathSpank’s world keep their cash in barrels, which they spread liberally about for wandering heroes to plunder.