EA Partners (a division of EA) and Hothead Games are set to publish the latest game from Ron Gilbert, the popular creator of The Secret of Monkey Island.

DeathSpank will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network sometime this year. The game is being developed under the guidance of Gilbert and is said to blend a “story filled with Gilbert’s unique humor and wit with classic and addictive action RPG gameplay.”

Players will assume the role of DeathSpank, described as “the Hero to the Downtrodden, a Vanquisher of Evil and Defender of Justice.” DeathSpank is on a journey to fulfil his destiny searching for ‘The Artefact,’ a mysterious and magical item. Sounding pretty good so far?

According to the press release “Along the way he’ll rescue a few Orphans, defeat a local tyrant and tumble headlong into the even deeper mystery surrounding the legendary Thongs of Virtue in 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.”

You can dig up more dirt about DeathSpank over at the game’s official website or watch the delightful ‘Lore’ trailer below.

We just learnt that EA Partners will also be teaming up with Klei Entertainment to bring Shank to Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and PC. You can read more about that new “evocative cinematic brawler” over here. Finally turn your gaze downwards to read how excited EA Partners and Hothead Games are about DeathSpank.

“The team at Hothead Games is a perfect fit for EA Partners. They are a great example of how the EA Partners program continues to emphasize the importance of building strong relationships with the world’s top indie developers,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director, Business Development at EA Partners. “DeathSpank is an engrossingly fun and hysterically funny experience, and we are all excited to have the opportunity to help introduce DeathSpank to gamers across the world.”

Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Hothead Games added, “We are proud of our independence, but are very excited to be working with EA Partners on a title as big as DeathSpank. With EA Partners handling distribution and marketing, Hothead can continue to focus on what we do best, making great games.”