Review: DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue
With a title like that, this game must be funny. And it is. Like the first game, the tone is immediately set with a funny intro, and the comedy continues throughout the (beautiful) cutscenes and the story that follows. The story is partly a parody on The Lord of the Rings. Instead of corrupting rings however, six corrupting (and colourful) thongs have been forged. Yes, thongs. No, not the ones you wear on your feet. This semi-serious take on powerful underwear works very well, and humour is present in much of the expertly voiced dialogue as well.
But unlike the first game, DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue does not limit itself to parodying traditional fantasy. Right at the start, you’re thrown into a sort of Saving Private Ryan scenario, with lots of tough military guys and guns being toted. This also has a bearing on the weaponry – DeathSpank can now add guns and grenades to his mighty arsenal. The funny thing is that it’s never really clear what this war is all about though – something that’s also commented on by some of the characters in the game.
If all that talk of war doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you needn’t worry. The game features a world that’s much more extensive, and above all varied, than that. Among the many locations you’ll visit are a desert with a Western-themed village, a pirate village, and a fast food factory. As a bonus, you can also sail your own pirate ship to several islands, which is, for me at least, easily one of the highlights of the game, reminiscent of the Monkey Island games.
Although the game world feels bigger than in the first DeathSpank instalment, it also feels less open. Most sections of the world are closed off and open up gradually while you complete quests. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course, but what is rather unfortunate is that it’s not always clear what quests you need to complete to open up an area, and sometimes active quests refer to areas that are not yet opened up, leaving you scratching your head about where to go next.
A definite improvement has been made in the puzzle department though. While the meat of the game is still hacking away at enemies and completing boatloads of quests (162 in total), there are quite a bit more puzzles here than in the first DeathSpank. Sometimes you have to combine inventory items, sometimes you have to figure out just exactly what a non-player character wants from you, and at some points in the game you may even want to keep a notepad handy to jot things down, just like with the old adventure games. Also interesting is the addition of a library, complete with grumpy old lady like in Monkey Island 2. I do feel it’s a bit underused though, but it’s still fun.
With the varied world also comes a varied assortment of not just weapons, but also outfits. You can dress up DeathSpank as a pirate, a cowboy, a soldier, and lots of other cool things, depending on your level. Overall, the game feels more varied than its predecessor, although something could be said for the original DeathSpank’s consistency. It would also have been nice if some more music had been created specifically for the sequel. There is some, but most of it has been lifted straight from the first game.
One final thing to address remains: the ending. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that there are two endings between which you can choose. Fortunately, if you’re not quite happy with your decision, you can resume playing and choose the other ending as well. Needless to say, this could have repercussions on potential sequels, or Hothead might go with a prequel instead. Perhaps it’s a good idea to forget about DeathSpank for a while and focus on other things though, to prevent the franchise from going stale. Not forever though, mind you. I’ve grown quite attached to the hero in the purple thong, and I’d like to see him again.
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