- Interview: Klei’s Anderson Talks Upside Of EA’s “Indies” - 5 May 2012
Earlier this week, EA launched an indie bundle . Not-so-coincidentally, the Internet proceeded to explode , and I’m now typing this while holding a tin can with a piece of string attached next to my PC. I even said some things about it, though admittedly, mostly to kick off a discussion about an only partially related topic. However, off the back of that, I ended up getting in touch with Klei Entertainment technical designer Nels Anderson, who directly worked on four of the six games (both Deathspanks , both Shanks ) featured in EA’s bundle of befuddlement. And while he agrees that the name itself is “a little gross,” writing off the whole thing as yet another bile-drenched belch from a money-devouring giant would be to turn a blind eye to some pretty enormous benefits for the developers involved. EA Partners is not EA proper. It seems like an insane notion, but…
- EA releases its own 'indie' bundle - 3 May 2012
It's not a move one would expect from a monolithic publisher, but Electronic Arts has released its own "indie bundle" featuring six games from developers under its EA Partners label. The move incited mixed reactions, with some questioning if anything from EA can be considered "indie." The bundle , available for around $21 on Steam, features Deathspank (seen above) and Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue (Hothead Games), Gatling Gears (Vanguard Games), Shank and Shank 2 (Klei Entertainment) and Warp (Trapdoor Inc.). The sale goes until May 9. While the release is a bit unprecedented, the buzz that followed had some bashing and others defending the move. Among the bashers, Mojang's Markus "Notch" Persson accused EA of "attempting to ruin everything," following up saying that "indies are trying to save gaming ..." However, among the defenders, Halfbrick Studios' Ryan Langley said he didn't have a…
- The "EA Indie Bundle" is Like The Man Saying F*** the Man - 2 May 2012
You may not have heard of Electronic Arts, a boutique publishing label based in Redwood City, Calif. Well, I bet you will be raving about them once you pick up the "EA Indie Bundle" on Steam , the indie-friendly digital marketplace, unlike that Origin bullshit run by that place that screwed up the end of Mass Effect 3 . The Indie Game Magazine discovered the bundle was recently registered on Steam. It contains Shank, Shank 2, Deathspank, Deathspank: Thongs Of Virtue, Warp and Gatling Gears , and is currently live, for $20.98 (a savings of $13.96). The offer ends May 9, so please, reach into those wallets and support independent games development. Thank you. Excuse Me? EA Indie Bundle Registered on Steam
- The Baconing's Trailer is a Release Date Preceded by 90 Seconds of Non Sequiturs - 19 August 2011
I've yet to play a Deathspank game. I want to at some point, I just haven't gotten around to it yet . But I'm not sure how this trailer for Deathspank's third outing, The Baconing , makes me feel. Actually, I know exactly how it makes me feel, which is kind of uncomfortable and a tad hungry at the same time. It's rather odd. If queasy hunger and heroes in thongs are your thing, The Baconing will be out August 31st on the PSN (where you can save a bit of money ), XBLA, PC or Mac. You can contact Owen Good, the author of this post, at [email protected] . You can also find him on Twitter , Facebook , and lurking around our #tips page.
- The First Annual PlayStation Network Play Lineup Brings You Bacon, Vampires, and Street Fighter 3 Galore - 5 August 2011
If you've been neglecting the Playstation Network's downloadable offerings, then perhaps you'd like to drop by and take a gander at the Playstation Store's wares in the coming weeks as the first annual PSN P event kicks off. Beginning August 9, the Play lineup will highlight four new action games hitting the Network in the coming weeks, along with a few gifts thrown in for good measure. Users who preorder any of the Play games will receive a free PS3 theme per preorder. "Hey, Kotaku !" you say, "Just how do I preorder a digital game? It's not I'm having it shipped to my house! " To which I would say that you were quite correct, and perhaps the word "preorder" is a bit of a misnomer (and it's not even proper English! But that's my own petty qualm). Maybe "preorder" in this instance should be, "deposit some money before hand and promise that you'll buy the game", and it's only called "pre…
- Gaze At The Baconing’s New Screenshots - 14 July 2011
The Baconing is the new game that isn’t a Deathspank game, but does have Deathspank in it, coming “this summer” from Hothead. We’ve not seen much on it since it’s announcement in June, but here’s a peek at The Forest of Tomorrow, where it apparently tastes like science, and the Clone-A-torium, where from the looks of things a whole lot of cloning is going on. Click the images to embiggen. (more…)
- DeathSpank With A Side Of: The Baconing - 23 June 2011
Hothead Games, sans Ron Gilbert, have released the first visual details of their next game, The Baconing . Which is of course a DeathSpank game. But oddly one that absolutely does not mention DeathSpank in the title. Here DeathSpank tries on all his underwear at once, which as we all know summons an evil version of yourself, in his case the AntiSpank. And they say that gaming is immature. There’s pics and a trailer below. (more…)
- DeathSpank vs Anti-Spank - 25 May 2011
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is not the only game Hothead is currently working on, it transpires. Those man-fellas and lady-fellas are also turning their attentions to a third DeathSpank game. DeathSpank is, you might recall, the creation of former Lucas Arts heroman Ron Gilbert; he’s now reunited with former colleague Tim Schafer at Doublefine, with Hothead confirming to Kotaku that the ‘Spank will be entirely their own work. It is called The Baconing, it is promised to be major improvement upon the first two games, and it features (in fine, crappy superhero comic tradition) The Anti-Spank. (more…)
- DeathSpank Returns in The Baconing, an Apparently Improved and Ridiculous Sequel - 25 May 2011
There will be a new DeathSpank game this summer and it will involve a quest for the Fires of Bacon. It will also be a greatly improved follow-up to last year's downloadable DeathSpank adventures, two comedic riffs on Diablo . Like Hothead Games' previous DeathSpank third-person action games, the new one will put players in charge of a silly self-important dope of a hero, the titular DeathSpank. Our hero spends his games beating up packs of bad guys who are mostly walking fantasy-genre jokes. He will gather loot, collect weapons and take many more odd jobs from odd characters. The folks at Hothead gave us news of The Baconing early, and the normal course of action would be for us to take their info, cut out the boring parts and get to the meat of things. But at the risk of stretching a pun badly, we need to quote their press release extensively, to retain the flavor of this summer-schedu…
- DeathSpank: Thongs Of Virtue Out Nov 30th - 24 November 2010
Ouch! I’ve just been shot by the news gunman. I hate that guy. So, it turns out DeathSpank pt. 2, Thongs of Virtue , will be released on November 30th and will include both console DLC The Snowy Mountain Dungeon as well as an exclusive co-op partner named Tankko- “half-man, half-spider and all awesome.” Caw, it feels like it was only yesterday that DeathSpank came out. Probably because it basically was. Four weeks between releases? I could do with some more of that in my gaming diet. Trailer after the jump. (more…)
- I’ve Been Playing DeathSpank - 4 November 2010
We spent quite some time expecting DeathSpank to come to PC, posting trailers, talking about it, and so on. Then it didn’t. Was it coming out on PC, or not? We didn’t know. We asked around. Did anyone know? We asked the developers. Hothead weren’t saying. We looked under a rock. There was nothing there. Finally, we stood around in Castle Shotgun, shrugging and looking puzzled. What was going on? It looked like we were never going to get DeathSpank. But then last month – lo! – it was finally confirmed for PC. A comedy loot-collect goblin basher from Mr Ron Gilbert seemed like a logical member of the PC club, and it has now put its name on the dotted line. But what does that mean for our game collections or our wallets? I descended into the binary bowel of my digitally downloaded Steam version of the game to find out. (more…)
- Cheeky: DeathSpank Out Now On Steam - 27 October 2010
Ron Gilbert’s comedy Diablo-alike, Deathspank , is out now on Steam for £9.99! I mean, technically it was also out yesterday on Steam for £9.99, but it’s RPS’s firm belief that news gets better with age. You know, like fine wine, or the Bond films of Roger Moore . I played DeathSpank when it first came out on Xbox Live and really enjoyed myself. The jokes are hit and miss, but come at you in such relentless volleys that you can end up doing a fair bit of giggling. Combat and progression were tighter than I was expecting, too. Ye olde trailere after the jump. (more…)
- New Release - Deathspank - 26 October 2010
Deathspank is now available on Steam! The world of DeathSpank is massive and full of tons of unique and hilarious characters, dangerous foes, diverse landscapes, and chickens...lots of chickens. For uncounted years, DeathSpank has been a Dispenser of Justice, a Vanquisher of Evil, and a Hero to the Downtrodden. DeathSpank has long searched for a powerful artifact called….The Artifact.
- Pre-Purchase Now - Deathspank and Shank - 6 October 2010
Pre-Purchase DeathSpank or Shank and save 10%. Buy the Shank and 'Spank pack together and save 15%!
