Review by: Mitch Dyer

When I learned that DeathSpank wouldn’t have online co-op, I wrote it off completely. I stopped caring because I’ve played similarly structured games alone and not enjoyed myself. I love action RPGs, but rolling solo is an inferior experience to cooperative hack-‘n-slashing. Naturally, because I lost interest in it, I bought DeathSpank and played it to completion. Now here I am enthusiastically encouraging you to play it immediately.

Sure, there’s same-screen cooperative multiplayer, but that’s blown too. The second player, a worthless wizard whose primary purpose is healing player one, can’t even collect his or her own gear. In a game so centered on loot drops, armor upgrades, and new weapons, one would assume that the second character could partake in it. Not so much. It’s a wasted opportunity. Thankfully, if you’re rolling around as player one, things are pretty awesome.

Genre veterans might scoff at the simplicity of DeathSpank but there’s enough depth to satisfy even the biggest skeptics. Using the face buttons and d-pad of your controller, you can lash out with four different weapons, chaining combos together to fill your Justice Meter and use special stun or spin attacks. I also dug using magical orbs and other power ups to summon undead armies from the ground or fiery meteor showers from the sky. For all its mindless, button-mashing repetition, DeathSpank successfully keeps itself interesting for the entirety of its 10-hour adventure.

Because DeathSpank has such a delightfully fun time with itself in that time, you can’t help but admire its comedic expertise – puns, punch lines and one-liners occupy every line of dialogue. Its comedy comes in layers, with the juvenile jokes populating the surface, and the wittier stuff spread out across other areas of the game. You really have to look for the “smarter” humor, whether it’s in your inventory or deep within a conversation tree. When you find it, try not to let its dark comedy surprise you. Yeah, I got a kick out of collecting turtle testicles and scooping unicorn poop, but the edgier humor – sexual predator gags and bits about stabbing orphans – he me really cackling. That it all takes place in a gorgeous candy-colored world full of cute cardboard cutouts only adds to that amusement.

Where DeathSpank loses steam is with its simplistic role-playing elements. The problem is that they aren’t particularly satisfying. I felt the titular hero progress as I unlocked sweet new armor or silly new weapons for him, but because the next area’s enemies were usually stronger it felt fruitless. I felt like a badass hero with menacing armor and deadly weapons most of the time, and the tougher enemies served as a decent challenge. But, in irregular instances, I got the sense I was just scraping by. That your most substantial level-up bonuses consist of increased walking speed and menial percentage increases for attacks and defense is a tad disappointing too. DeathSpank, while an excellent addition to both its genre and consoles, isn’t the best option for RPG addicts.

Personally, I enjoyed clubbing skeletons, chickens, zombies, and orques -- French-Canadian orcs? –enough on its own to adore DeathSpank. Brief difficulty spikes, like annoying one-hit kills, rained on my parade from time to time, but I thoroughly enjoyed its overall simplicity. It’s an ace introduction to a genre that isn’t well-represented on consoles, and it’s funny and engaging enough to capture you for hours at a time… even if you’re all by your lonesome.