What the hell is DeathSpank? And why the hell should you care?

DeathSpank… Not a title that inspires much confidence. In fact, when my fellow editors heard that I was going to play something called DeathSpank, they automatically assumed it was a throwaway iPhone app, or free Flash nonsense, or worse. I didn't blame them because, at first, so did I.

But we were all wrong. DeathSpank is indeed a real game, published by a real company (ever heard of EA?) and created by a real (and famous) game designer. More importantly, DeathSpank has real potential. Here are a few reasons why:

It's Diablo meets%26hellip; Monkey Island?!

I've played plenty of Diablo clones over the past decade, but most have – predictably – stuck with the same dark fantasy settings. None have dared to replace the murky, musty dungeons with bright beaches, colorful forests, gingerbread houses and other fanciful storybook scenes. None have risked swapping orcs and trolls for chickens and orphans. And none have given us a hero with personality, one that's half egotistical Captain Quark and half wisecracking Guybrush Threepwood.

Of course, none – until DeathSpank – have been conceived and created by Ron Gilbert, the man behind the first two Monkey Island adventures.