DeathSpank is one of those dream mash-up projects you never expect but always delight in. This is loot-crawling, role-playing action of the Diablo variety -- ingeniously blended with the fourth wall-obliterating mirth of the Monkey Island series. Yep, this one is the brainchild of the one and only Ron Gilbert. If you're even remotely interested at this point, go ahead and make DeathSpank your next purchase.

I have no complaints whatsoever when it comes to DeathSpank's visuals, and that's mainly because of its unique fairytale pop-up book aesthetic. Several parts of the environment have been rendered in two dimensions, and the entire world seems to have been constructed on top of a layered rolling log. It may disorient and confuse at first, but it won't take long for anyone to see that this visual style is perfect for the game. Characters look great; DeathSpank's constantly-evolving armor set is always visually represented in the field. Diablo II got away with not doing this, but I'm not sure DeathSpank could. Most of the armor pieces are so ridiculous that they are worth trying on even if the stats aren't so impressive.

It's difficult to tell whether DeathSpank sounds better than it looks. This game sounds wonderful; every audio design choice is sound, if not brilliant. DeathSpank's soundtrack favors surf rock over stock heroic fare; once you hear it, you'll accept its coupling with the strange visual design with no hesitation. Additionally, the voice acting is superb across the board. DeathSpank's lines are delivered with an overdose of narcissistic zeal; at times, Michael Dobson sounds like he's channeling Phil Hartman, but he makes the role all his own. The dialogue is ridiculous almost all the time; the fact that you get to choose from a number of increasingly bizarre lines only makes it better.

DeathSpank's story is a bit silly. Considering the source, that's to be expected. Plus, in DeathSpank's case, that's a good thing. Consider the hero's quest: he's been charged with the retrieval of an artifact only known as... The Artifact. What is it? A squiggly stick. What's it do? Don't know, but it's DeathSpank's destiny to get it. It's this wonderful self-awareness that helps DeathSpank establish its own absurd identity. Yes, this story involves tyrants, monsters, and heroic deeds, but it's not the story that's compelling -- it's the way in which it's told. Put simply, if you've got a thing for hammy one-liners, corny double-entendres, and moments of pure WTF, DeathSpank will frequently have you in stitches.

DeathSpank follows the same blueprint of every loot-based action role-playing game. You go from town to town, completing quests for people. Most of these quests involve the retrieval of special items or the casual slaughter of a certain undesirable species. The main quest shakes things up a bit more, with boss fights and focused dungeon crawls. Several of these boss fights are hysterical; my words cannot do them justice.

There's a drop-in/drop-out cooperative multiplayer mode in DeathSpank, but it feels like a missed opportunity, as it is local only. I'm not hating on Sparkles the Mage, though; anything is better than two DeathSpanks running around.

If you've played one, you've played 'em all. Diablo, Torchlight, Fate, Titan Quest, Nox. Ring a bell? If so, DeathSpank doesn't have much of a learning curve. Even if you've never heard of these games, you'll still find the game easy to get into. The tutorials are situation-sensitive, and they pop up when the game senses that you're having trouble with something.

If you tend to ignore sidequests in role-playing games, DeathSpank might give you some trouble, especially early on. Lots of the early game experience will come from completing quests; grinding only goes so far. If you go for the sidequests first, you'll have an easier time.

Some of DeathSpank's puzzles require a bit of prodding, but you'll never find yourself at an impasse as long as you pay attention. Read every bit of text; it's informative and usually very entertaining. This includes item descriptors, which most people tend to ignore these days.

DeathSpank isn't about innovation. Nor is it about customization. It's a game built on tried-and-true mechanics. You run, you attack, you block, you loot, you talk, and you mess with your inventory. That's the foundation of DeathSpank. Be prepared for a relatively simplistic action role-playing experience.

Much like the rest of the game, the interface is clean and simple. Consumables and weapons are mapped to the D-pad and face buttons, respectively. DeathSpank can equip four weapons at a time; this lends a bit of depth to the combat system, but not as much as I'd like to see. Hammering on a single button won't exactly maximize the rate at which you dispense justice. Mixing things up and not repeating attacks will earn you damage multipliers. Before you know it, you'll be scoring knockdowns and downing foes that you'd thought for sure would never fall to the likes of DeathSpank. Things get more interesting when the Weapons of Justice are involved. These weapons have special abilities that are tied into the Justice Meter, which fills as you attack enemies or perfectly time a block. Once the meter is full, you can trigger an amusing and devastating attack.

Quests are the prime yielders of the experience points that allow you to level DeathSpank up. Growth is yet another action role-playing convention that is distilled to its basest form in DeathSpank. When you level up, you can choose a Hero Card. These offer special statistical perks, but by the end of the game, everyone's DeathSpank should be just about the same. It's not about which cards you choose -- rather, it's about the order in which you choose them. Is this shallow or merely simplified? It could indeed be both.

DeathSpank strengthens the case for humor in games. Sure, it's got some inadequacies in the gameplay department, but it's so charming and funny that you'll likely accept each and every quirk with open arms.