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The Baconing review: Hacked and slashed
"The only constant in this world is change." Wait, no, that doesn't work. "You can't change the past, but you can work to change the future." Nope, that doesn't do the trick either. "War. War never changes." No, wrong game. Hm. Here's the thing: The Baconing has a lot more of the same DeathSpank flavor you're likely used to, but without a lot of the stuff that made DeathSpank good. I guess there's not a cliched "change" quote that quite works there, huh? Sure, the self-obsessed hero of Hothead's first two DeathSpank games is still there. There's still a whole bunch of quests strewn throughout a whimsical and colorful world. And yeah, the writing is still laden with puns and excretory humor, and is presented by a cast of solid comedic voice actors. The hero to the downtrodden still gets wacky loot like the mafioso-looking Pinstripe Platemail as he hacks and slashes his way through bizarre enemies. All that stuff is still there -- but, sadly, it's hidden under a mound of major problems. %Gallery-130182%
PSN Tuesday: The Baconing, MK Arcade Collection, Elevator Action Deluxe
What a crowded week! PlayStation Network PLAY continues with The Baconing, while the PS3 sees releases of Elevator Action Deluxe, the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection, and more outside of the promotion. If you're a Plus user, you'll have an Assassin's Creed Revelations beta and a God of War Origins demo to play. Even the PSP has a new original game this week, ClaDun X2, and permanent price drops on some cool Square Enix games. Let's just hope the maintenance clears up soon so we can get all this stuff. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
The Baconing begins on Aug. 31 on XBLA
You and Deathspank need a fresh start. Sure, you've had a lot of fun in his last two games, no one's trying to deny that. But there's ... a certain distance that neither of you can ignore. He's ready to change, though. He's so committed to the new beginning that he's dropped his name from The Baconing. It's not just about him, anymore ... it's about the both of you. And even though he'll be involved with a big PSN promotion when he launches on Aug. 30, he's not going to make 360 owners wait for him. That's the sort of thing the old Deathspank would have done. The new Deathspank is going to get up the very next day, put on six multicolored thongs and launch on XBLA on Aug. 31. And if you should notice him swinging his sword just a little harder as you look on, or reaching further than normal for a pun, just know ... that's him trying.
The Baconing preview: New blood
Producer Mike Inglehart and his team at Hothead seem to be serious about making The Baconing the best entry in the Deathspank series yet. Prior to jumping into my demo, director of marketing Oliver Birch showed off a 17-page Word document filled with complaints and ideas for improvement, taken directly from their community. You talked, and Hothead says it listened. But one of the biggest changes is the addition of producer Inglehart, who recently joined Hothead and has been tasked with overseeing this third entry in the irreverent series. The Next Level Games transplant dove headfirst into refining the The Baconing, creating what he thinks is not only a funny game, but also one that is less monotonous than its predecessors. One thing is certain: it's definitely more challenging, as several deaths during my demo will attest. %Gallery-130182%
The Baconing trailer features a bored DeathSpank
The only problem with saving the world, it seems, is boredom. With all the monsters slain and damsels (sort of) saved, there's just nothing left to do. Thankfully, something evil is on the horizon in the latest trailer for The Baconing. The AntiSpank, perhaps?
The Baconing details and screens sizzle, pop onto internet
Hothead has shed some new light on The Baconing. It would seem that DeathSpank's new adventure takes place directly after Thongs of Virtue, and deals with the aftermath of Deathspank foolishly donning all six of them at the same time. As a result, he summons an evil version of himself: the AntiSpank (shouldn't it be LifeSpank?). Check out some new screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-126995%
Hothead explains lack of 'DeathSpank' in The Baconing's title
When Hothead announced the third entry in its dungeon crawl SLASH role-playing series this past week -- titled solely "The Baconing," dropping its usual "DeathSpank" moniker -- we couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the series' main character to get him taken off title duties. Did series creator Ron Gilbert take the rights to the character with him, for instance? As it turns out, there's a fairly simple reason behind the name change: "We haven't removed the words or name 'DeathSpank' from the title for any legal reason. In fact, the title was changed just by asking our fans," a Hothead rep told Joystiq. Aha! Still, we couldn't help but wonder why Hothead would voluntarily ditch the brand name that it stuck to the last two games, effectively walking away from the brand recognition it built up over the past two entries.
DeathSpank: The Baconing is the third entry in the DeathSpank series, coming this summer
DeathSpank's run-ins with the evils of thongs are continuing this summer in a third DeathSpank game for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC/Mac. Hothead revealed as much this afternoon, detailing DeathSpank: The Baconing as the final chapter in DeathSpank's quest "to once and for all destroy the evil power of thongs." The dev studio tells Kotaku that The Baconing will be "more satisfying to play than last year's games," with a handful of new areas to explore, a brand new sidekick named "Bob from Marketing," and a quartet of new bosses to battle. Hothead also promises gamers will feel "more in control" of DeathSpank's moveset with an overhauled combat system. As Ron Gilbert is no longer with Hothead, this will be the first game in the series he created to not have him at its helm. And other than the teaser logo shown off in a video clip (found after the break), Hothead has yet to release any visuals for this summer's game. But given that we're wearing shorts even here in the USA's usually frozen Northeast, we imagine those assets aren't far off.
