When a game is described as "Diablo meets Monkey Island," two reactions come naturally: "Neat!," followed by, "Wait a second ... how can that even be possible?"

Well, it is. I found this out for myself earlier this week when the 'Stiq had its first hands-on (we'd seen it at PAX 2009) with DeathSpank, the latest game from Ron Gilbert, designer of The Secret of Monkey Island (but not Diablo). His new downloadable game is a fast-paced, button-mashy loot-'em-up, as well as an adventure filled with interesting characters and diabolically funny dialog. Also, it's about bacon and a hero who's favorite number is ... plaid.