The Stick of Truth was a hard game to review. On the one hand, its a relatively shallow turn based RPG akin to Paper Mario with timed hits, on the other hand its probably the best television licensed game ever made, and the best South Park game to date.
Like in most RPGs, you start off by creating a character with a creation system that doesn't really have many options, and are then thrown into the world of South Park as the new kid. Making friends with the boys, you join them in a massive LARP session where the boys are split into two factions, the humans and the elves fighting over the Stick of Truth. While I said the character creation system is somewhat shallow, there are more customization items later on in the game like dyes to make your equipment whatever color you want, as well as make up and facial hair. Its just a shame that your character never talks [aside from the closing scene at the end of the game] and that you cant pick between a boy or a girl.
Gameplay wise, the game is very much like Paper Mario. Its turn based combat where you have to press a specific button or mash a button at a certain time to inflict bonus or massive damage against a enemy. There are status ailments like burn, gross out [poison basically] slow, and bleeding, but these ailments are a bit broken in that I never encountered a boss that was immune to these effects, meaning I could just inflict gross out and bleed [which are very easy to inflict if you're a warrior, which I was] and the fight would be pretty much over. That being said, combat is fun since you're always involved in it, trying to get damage bonuses and performing certain attacks [Roshambo]. In addition you can have a buddy fight with you, like Cartman, Butters [my personal favorite] Stan, and even Jimmy. They each have their own unique attacks and special abilities, Butters can heal you, Stan can debuff enemies, and Cartman can gross out enemies. Classes consist of warrior, mage, thief, and Jew. And it is just as offensive, yet oddly entertaining as it sounds. Aside from combat, gameplay also consists of exploring the town of South Park [a very well done recreation I might add], finding collectibles like Chinpokemon, exploring the houses of the characters [Cartman's mom's room.....ugh]. While the open world aspect is rather small when compared to other open world RPGs like the Elder Scrolls though, it works because the town of South Park is small in the show. Everything important from the show is in the game. Even some places that I would rather not have visited. [Anyone else remember Lemiwinks? And where he went? Its a level. Just absorb that for a moment. ]
But what about the most important thing aspect of South Park? The humor? Is that in the game? Is it authentic South Park humor? Well allow me to answer this question with another question, does Cartman hate hippies? This game is like playing an interactive episode of South Park, every single thing is geared towards making it feel like the TV show as much as possible and on that note, it succeeds easily. If you are a South Park fan, you will be laughing out loud the entire time you play this game and especially when you see all the hidden easter eggs and references to specific episodes [Let's Fighting Love] And on that note I must mention, this is the most shocking and disgusting game I've ever played. And while I may have outgrown South Park and found myself yelling "what the fuck" most of the time while playing [especially during one quick time event involving your character's parents] I did find myself laughing or at the very least chuckling during certain moments [The Al Gore fight specifically.]
Also, I must say this, THIS IS THE MOST COMPLETE OBSIDIAN GAME EVER MADE. I encountered no game bugs, no crashes, and no incomplete quests or dialogue between characters. Although the game is on the short side, it only took me 12 or 15 hours and I did everything in the game.
Overall this game is difficult for me to judge. On the one hand, its a very shallow RPG with somewhat entertaining content but no real reason to play more than once, on the other hand its every South Park fan's dream come true, and something that every South Park needs to play at least once. With that said, I will give this game two scores. As a game meant for South Park fans, it earns a perfect 4/4. As a game for people who like RPGs but don't like South Park, its a 2/4.
South Park game: 4/4
RPG for non South Park fans: 2/4
So screw you guys, I'm going home. Red Vulture out.
No comments:
Post a Comment