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EA Indie Bundle challenges your definitions, is live on Steam now
The EA Indie Bundle (yes, we assure you, it is barely-100-percent-mostly-ish possible for EA to have an indie bundle) is live on Steam, offering 70 percent off a package of six titles from four indie developers, or half off each individual game.Included in the sale is Warp, Shank, Shank 2, DeathSpank, DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue and Gatling Gears. The DeathSpank titles are $7.50 individually and are available on PC and Mac through Steamplay, while the rest of EA's indies cost $5 and are PC only.Indie Game Magazine first spotted the bundle in the super-secret Steam registry files this morning. The sale is now officially on, set to disappear from Steam in one week on May 9.
11 PSN games discounted by 50% tomorrow
Tomorrow's PSN update will be notable for what it adds to the PlayStation Store, though you may be a little fonder of what it's set to remove: fifty percent from the price of 11 games in an "11 for 2011" sale. Among the discounted games are Double's Fine enchanting Costume Quest for $7.49, hypnotic brick breaker Shatter for $3.99 (its excellent soundtrack is also discounted to $2.99), and Hoard for $7.49 -- a fitting saving for a dragon looking to amass a boast-worthy pile of presents and a roast-worthy mass of peasants. Sony has also included other well-received games like Swords and Soldiers, Tumble and Space Invaders Infinity Gene in the sale (valid in the US, Canada and Mexico through January 31). Have a peek at the full list after the break. Warning: Peggle is in there too.
Ron Gilbert reflects on DeathSpank combat, and its under-developed 'intellectual element'
Wired recently spoke with Ron Gilbert, creator of the Monkey Island and DeathSpank series, and the conversation turned to the latter's conventional hack-and-slash combat. Though he didn't stick around long enough to guide the final releases of this year's dual-developed DeathSpank games, Gilbert was their lead designer and said, if he could do it over, he'd likely add more depth to the combat. Instead of just "hacking through a bunch of enemies," he suggested "treating combat as if it was a puzzle to be solved [...] might have helped people a little bit with not just having to button-mash their way through battles." Gilbert cited Dragon Age as an example, "not in its turn-based nature," but "more of the intellectual element" of requiring some strategy to combat. Perhaps that's not the best example. How about Diablo 3? That's shaping up to be a hack-and-slash game that introduces a satisfying level of strategy through its myriad spells and tactics. Now, if you were to marry such fine-tuned gameplay with Unicorn poop, you're talking "Game of the Year." Easy. Next time, Mr. Gilbert?
December XBLA deal: Buy two games, get 400 MS Points free
In yet another Xbox Live Arcade deal, Microsoft is now offering a free batch of 400 MS Points for purchasing two qualifying XBLA games. Don't run off downloading games just yet though, because you'll need to head over to the Xbox Live Events page and download the Arcade Offer gamer picture to register for the giveaway first (the direct link to the gamer picture is currently broken, but it's the first one listed on the events page). Once that's done, snag two of the games listed after the break (including favorites like Limbo, Lara Croft, Monday Night Combat, Super Meat Boy and more). Within four weeks, the free points will be added to registered Live accounts automatically or sent as redemption code via email. If you're planning to pick up any of the eligible games, you might as well get some free points too, right? The promotion ends December 20, so get to it. [Thanks, Grand Kerfuffle]
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue coming to PC, Mac this year
The virtuous thongs of DeathSpank's sequel will arrive on PC and Mac later this year, EA has announced. DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue will launch on PC November 30, with a Mac release following on December 14 (the original DeathSpank will be released for Mac the same day as ToV -- that's a lot of spanking!). Like the console versions, Thongs of Virtue will cost $14.99. DeathSpank: ToV comes with two pieces of free DLC at launch: "Snowy Mountain Dungeon" and "Sidekick Tankko: Half-man, half-spider, and all awesome." If you absolutely can't wait for next Tuesday, a minigame on the DeathSpank website ("DeathSpank: Spank This!") offers you a chance to win free stuff. One grand prize winner will get "a squawkin' chicken, a signed DeathSpank poster, a free copy of DeathSpank, and an Intel Core i7-870." All prize winners, actually, will get that squawkin' chicken, which leads us to believe there's a very large squawkin' chicken population at Hothead. That must make it hard to concentrate on programming.
Sonic Adventure climbs, Dead Rising 2 tops Xbox Live Activity charts
After a poor, not-even-in-the-top-10 opening week for the XBLA version of Sonic Adventure, some worried that Sega might lose its interest in bringing more Dreamcast classics to the platform. However, it seems that contrary to the nature of its blue, pointy protagonist, Sonic Adventure is just a slow starter -- it placed fourth in this week's top Arcade sales. Dead Rising 2: Case Zero held down its spot at the top of the list, while DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue managed to debut in second. Halo: Reach managed to wrestle the top spot on the Xbox Live Activity chart from Modern Warfare 2 -- where it will likely remain for a good long time. At least, until Call of Duty: Black Ops makes a run for the throne. Ooooh, this is going to be so exciting! Check out the full Xbox Live weekly rankings after the jump.
PSN Tuesday: Lara Croft, Deathspank, Claptrap's New Robot Revolution
The PSN update has quite some quality downloadable games this week. Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light not only arrives, but it adds a whole featured section on the PSN. There's also Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue and Swords & Solidiers. Fans of Borderlands should also take a look at the game's final piece of DLC, "Claptrap's New Robot Revolution." Although, remember, if you haven't already invested in the game's DLC, the Borderlands Game of the Year Edition will be out October 12. Check out the full PSN update after the break. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
DeathSpank soundtracks could be released for free in exchange for 'Likes'
Are you looking for a set of tunes to listen to while vanquishing scores of foes in search of marginally improved equipment? Sounds like you need the Jeff Tymoschuk-composed soundtracks to DeathSpank and its follow-up, Thongs of Virtue. As revealed on the game's site, the soundtracks might be released for free if enough fans "Like" Hothead Games' official Facebook page. Oh, and in this case, Hothead has quantified "enough fans" as "4,000 fans." At the time of this writing, the page is currently sitting at a little under 700 members, so you've got a ways to go before the albums are released. Still, if there's anything we know about you guys, it's that you aren't quitters. You're not quitters, are you? You don't seem like quitters. [Thanks, Patrick]
XBLA in Brief: Alien Breed 2: Assault, Serious Sam HD: TSE, DeathSpank T.O.V. and Blade Kitten
Look, let's not waste any time writing this perfunctory text. There are four new XBLA games out this week. Four. Let's just get right to the latest episode of XBLA in Brief so you can see if any of them tickle your fancy (or your wallet). Tunes] Subscribe to XBLA in Brief directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the XBLA in Brief directly. [RSS] Add the XBLA in Brief feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
European PSN releases for September 22
Things may have slowed down a tad since last week's Omega Update, but this week's batch of new content on the European PlayStation Store certainly holds its own. We've got Sonic Adventure, Deathspank 2: Electric Boogaloo and Blade Kitten, the "Liars and Cheats" pack for Red Dead Redemption, and a full Bob Marley album for Rock Band. There's a little something for just about everyone -- especially for PlayStation Plus subscribers, who get early access to the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow demo. Luckyyyyyyy. Choose your platform to view the corresponding release list: (Note: Continue past the break to view both release lists.)
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue offers free DLC during launch week
Even if it seems oddly soon for a sequel to DeathSpank, it might be worth your while to grab Thongs of Virtue soon rather than letting a more appropriate interim pass. EA announced that those who purchase the followup during the week of launch (September 20-27 on PSN, September 22-28 on XBLA) will get two free items of DLC. After that period, the "Snowy Mountain Dungeon" and playable co-op character "Sidekick Tankko" will be sold for $2.99/240 Microsoft Points and $0.99/80 Microsoft Points, respectively. That's not much, but it's certainly more than the nothing the DLC costs now. As a side note, now we understand why Thongs of Virtue is a "sequel" and not an "episode." Buying DLC for one part of an episodic game seems weird, but DLC for a separate downloadable game is par for the course.
Presenting the characters of DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue
DeathSpank's humor was one of the things that made it popular enough to warrant a quick sequel, and since that humor was most often driven by the wacky characters, Thongs of Virtue won't lack for funny faces, either. Hothead sent along some profiles of the bosses and allies you'll be meeting as you hunt down the six thongs (there were nine, apparently, but marketing stuck its big nose in and shortened the thong total by three), and you can browse through them in the gallery below. Our favorite? "Steve," as pictured above. Look, the dude was raised by ninjas and rides a tiny unicorn -- your argument is irrelevant. In fact, is it too late to change the name of the game? Steve: Thongs of Virtue has a nice ring to it, too.%Gallery-102374%
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue's virtuous thongs: explained!
When DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue was first introduced, we were baffled by the mysterious origin of the game's various undergarments of legend. Now that we know where they're from -- thanks to this latest trailer, care of PAX -- well, we're just as baffled. Head past the break and see for yourself.
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue gameplay leaves little to the imagination
We're still not 100 percent positive what the subtitle in DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue means. Perhaps our titular hero enjoys the snugness only a certain type of undergarment can provide? Regardless, we've got the next best thing for you today: gameplay footage. Over at GameVideos, they've managed to procure four different gameplay sections showcasing several distinct areas of the game. We went on a quest to retrieve said videos, which show DeathSpank doing what he does best: making other people look like chumps. Feel free to swoon at our level 10 copy/paste ability past the break. %Gallery-100820%
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue sequel coming to XBLA, PSN in September
With justice not entirely dispensed, evil still to be vanquished and plenty of downtrodden to be, uh, heroed, the titular DeathSpank returns in DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue. Hothead Games today announced a full-on sequel to this summer's Diablo homage (parody?) on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network -- and it's almost complete! Thongs of Virtue will launch on PSN and XBLA on September 21 and 22, respectively, for $15 (or 1200 Microsoft Points). The quick turnaround is the result of Hothead beginning development on Thongs of Virtue well before the release of the first game, and despite creator Ron Gilbert's departure from the studio in April. (You might recall that DeathSpank was originally proposed as an episodic endeavor, but that plan was supposedly abandoned during development of the first game.) Thongs of Virtue still reflects Gilbert's influence and looks to expand on the foundational elements of the original game; even if it doesn't address all of the post-release fan feedback. "DeathSpank 1 was an introduction to the universe for people and it was very much a fantasy action RPG," producer Hamish Millar tells GameSpot. "For the second game -- and this is a reason it was a separate product, too- -- we just wanted to redefine what that could be. We just wanted to blow people's expectations out of the water as far as what kind of weapons DeathSpank can have, what worlds he can travel to, and what sort of creatures and characters and enemies he can face."
