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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%
PlayStation Network PLAY is (a lot) like Summer of Arcade; starts later this month
Sony has just announced PlayStation Network PLAY, "a new program showcasing four of the season's hottest action titles." We'll just cut right to the quick here, guys: It's Summer of Arcade, but for PS3. Oh, and with a way dumber name. The four games on offer are Street Fighter III Third Strike Online Edition which will be available on August 23 for $15; the latest DeathSpank adventure The Baconing available August 30 for $15; the impressive BloodRayne: Betrayal, available for $15 on September 6 (a delay for PSN); and lastly Avalanche's Renegade Ops, available on September 15 for $15. There's one last game in this lineup of four: If you purchase all four of the above titles you'll be gifted Payday: The Heist by way of a voucher code "for redemption when the game releases." One caveat: You've got to be 18 or older (read: lie on your PSN account). If you don't want to bother with all that, you can pick it up solo for $20. So that separate free game also sounds a lot like Summer of Arcade, but since we already know how Summer of Arcade works, we've taken it upon ourselves to catalog the ways that PlayStation Network PLAY is, in fact, totally different than Microsoft's initiative: You can pre-order titles; each pre-order nets you a free PS3 theme "PLAY also offers gamers a separate gift with purchase for each order made throughout the duration of the program" – These mostly take the form of free in-game goodies, like a DLC fighter for Street Fighter III, a bonus co-op character for The Baconing, a PlayStation Home tchotchke for Bloodrayne: Betrayal, and some extra vehicles and weapons for Renegade Ops PlayStation Plus subscribers get "an automatic 20% off every PLAY program purchase" One final difference: Unlike Summer of Arcade, it doesn't appear any of these titles, short of Sony's own Payday: The Heist, have any exclusivity. We're following up with Sony and all of the individual publishers now. And that's about it. Get the full details at that Source link below.
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.
