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Review – DeathSpank: Thongs of Virture | PSNStores

Review – DeathSpank: Thongs of Virture

Posted by on November 9th, 2010 | 0 Comments | Tags: ,

Developer: Hothead Games
Publisher: EA
Release Date: September 27 2010
Availability:
Price: $14.99 | £9.99 | €12.99 | HK$ 117.00
Demo: Yes (1295 MB)
Players: 2 (Local Co-op)
Rating: Teen

What I Liked:
Same kind of self aware humor.
Expansive and varied over-world
Steve

What I Disliked:
Healing
Inventory system
Graphics still lend to crowding

I played through the first DeathSpank a few months ago and had a good time with it. I was treated to bright visuals, funny dialogue, and ridiculous quests. When I found out that a “sequel” was releasing so soon after, I was worried that the series might get stale. Luckily, I was mistaken.

Deathspank: ToV picks up with our titular hero locked in a PoW camp. After escaping you’ll meet Sandy, your red haired vixen from the first game. She tasks you with collecting the Thongs of Virtue; ancient thongs of immense power that corrupts the user. From there, you’re off on your way to collect the Thong of Generosity, the Thong of Cuisine, and the Thong of Compassion. Over the course of your 8-10 hour adventure, you’ll cross into a warzone, the wild west, a jungle, the high seas, and the north pole… to only name a few. I really liked this mix up in locales compared to the last game. It has more of a ridiculous feel to it.

The music and graphics are just like the previous outing. Tunes are a mix of catchy guitar licks that accompany you on your journey. I love it. The voice acting is also superb with constant ridiculous bits of dialogue, “DIE MINOR CHARACTER!” The pop-up-book appeal is maintained, but with the twist in environments, things never get old. The game still has a tendency to have a cluttered screen. One too many times I was in the thick of a battle and was suddenly struck down, only to be left wondering what had happened.

Gameplay is the same affair, but this time, our dispenser of justice actually gets Guns! I’ll take them over the crossbow. They added a varied component that wasn’t there last game. Beware of the bazooka, save that only for long range attacks or you’ll end up blowing yourself up. Quests are still the same system, go fetch this, go kill that. While doing the quests you find yourself adventuring further in the over-world and unlocking new areas. I felt like the other game had you stuck in the same place longer than this one. The same level-up system, HUD, and inventory system are present as well. Inventory was still a pain to manage, but I just accepted it and with every level gained, I would grind up my previous gear. Multiplayer exists in the same capacity as well, though with added characters. DLC character Tankko wasn’t that fun to use, but my buddy loved Steve. Steve is an all around nice guy… he’s also a midget that rides a tiny unicorn.

A quick note on the DLC. Though it’s only 3 bucks, it doesn’t tack on much to the game. Tankko the sidekick isn’t as good as the free multiplayer options and the Snowy Mountain Dungeon can be tackled in about half an hour. It also loads you with the best gear that can be found in the game, which feels lame because if you do the dungeon before you finish the last boss, you miss out on using some pretty funny gear later on. Only buy it if you really want that one trophy it comes with and feel the need to dispense a tiny bit more justice.

I’m surprised I’ve played through two of these games without getting sick of them. This one definitely improved a couple things from the first, and only a few things hold it back. If you liked this the first one, definitely pick this one up.

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