EA gets Shanked and Spanked

Yes, I'm already beginning to regret that headline, but what the heck, let's go with it. Electronic Arts has announced today that it'll be publishing two promising independently produced titles via its EA Partners arm. The wonderfully named DeathSpank and the slightly darker sounding Shank, will both appear on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN later this year. The former is a comical action RPG, written by Monkey Island genius Ron Gilbert, and developed by Vancouver-based newcomer, Hothead Games . The press release describes it as, "an epic adventure game that includes collecting loot, crazy puzzle solving, witty dialogue, collecting loot, over-the-top animations, fun, accessible action combat, and of course, collecting loot." Yep, that sounds like Gilbert alright. It has the look of a cartoon-ified Diablo, or an RPG-erised Castle Crashers, both of which sound pretty inviting. Shank , meanwhile, is a side-scrolling brawler with a bright graphic novel look that seems to combine Sergio Leone, The Gorrillaz and Streets of Rage into one irresistible package. Indeed, the game is up for the "Excellence in Visual Art" award at this Independent Games Festival. Klei Entertainment is another fresh-faced Vancouver-based studio, best-known for its brilliant XBLA titles N+ (alongside Slick Entertainment) and Eets: Chowdown. This is heartening stuff from EA, which is extending its reach ever deeper into the emerging casual, social gaming and digitally distributed realms. The EA Partners division was previously all about forging marketing and distribution deals with larger developers - i.e. working with Id on Rage, Harmonix on Rock Band and Grasshopper Manufacturer on its unannounced forthcoming survival horror title. Now, however, the remit has been extended to supporting small studios with offbeat design concepts. It's testament to the growing importance and creative energy of the indie sector. Next stop - War Twat on Wiiware...