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South Park: The Stick of Truth Review

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South Park is one of those shows that I’m surprised has lasted this long, it is arguably the most offensive TV show out there. They’ve decided to venture into the video game world once more and this time all hands are on deck. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators, vowed to get actively involved to make it the most authentic adaptation possible. Stand aside Chef’s Luv Shack and Tower Defense because here lies the newest title, determined to blow away all their previous efforts, South Park – The Stick of Truth.

Set out as a Role-Playing adventure, you become the new kid in town and you’ve couldn’t have arrived at a worse time. The battle between humans and elves has reached breaking point where their respective leaders are laying all their hopes on you. What caused such a war between these races? The possession of the ultimate weapon to take control of the Universe, the Stick of Truth! Unfortunately all is not as simple as it seems as a selection of other factions and enemies threaten the whole survival of the quiet little mountain town we know as South Park.

south-park-the-stick-of-truth-image

Once you’ve created your character, using the decent amount of customisable hair and features on offer, you are thrust into South Park and seem a perfect fit in a 2D world in the style of the show itself. As it is an RPG you can choose which class you’d prefer to be, I went for “Warrior” for a brutish fighter but there’s also “Mage”, “Thief” and that obviously frequently seen class… “Jew”. Already I knew that was hardly scratching the surface of how far they will go in an attempt to offend the masses.

During the tutorial you are taught that combat during battles is true to its genre in such way that each character takes a turn and choose what to do on this turn is up to you. Options include melee, range, magic (not the conventional kind), special moves and using items. I rather enjoyed combat throughout because it’s more interactive than I’m used to; connecting with powerful hits relies on button press timings and the same goes when defending, timing is everything which keeps the player on their toes.

I have to give credit to the range of weapons and armour for both the way they are used and the creativity put into them. Fight your battles with a dodge ball or a few lawn darts whilst dressed as an elven gothic doctor with wizard beard. There are loads of possible combinations to consider if you want to stand out from the crowd.

south park weapon pic 1

If you remember that “magic” I mentioned earlier, well this is useful in battle and free-roam should you wish to blow away your enemies. Like a ninja you too could be silent and deadly once you’ve mastered the art of… farting. There’s only one rule which I cannot speak of, other than that you can fart to distract enemies, gross them out and even destroy things. Come on did you expect anything else?

When you aren’t fighting you’ll be roaming around the entire town of South Park which seems large at first but soon becomes roughly a minute worth of journey time. Size isn’t everything though as the quests keep you busy no matter if it’s a main story quest to help recruit to your army or a side quest to find out which one of the girls’ group is a two-faced liar. There are another couple of areas outside of South Park, one of which is especially pleasing to see as it pays homage to an RPG that most people love.

Along the way there are many collectibles to look out for, with friends being a high priority in a simplistic Facebook style concept. The navigation menu between inventories and maps has an “old school” PC feel to it which takes a little adapting to. Keeping an eye out for Chinpokomon (parody of those beloved Pokémon creatures) ensures that no stone is left unturned and garages are ransacked. Looting gave me a few laughs that I never expected, be aware searching through peoples drawers can lead to unsavoury items and playthings, that’s as detailed as I can go.

south park snow pic

The strongest area of the game is the story no doubt; the cut scenes give it an interactive feature length episode feel and you are always the main focus. Working to their strengths they incorporate every character imaginable, not just Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny but even some old favourites that you think “Nah they’ll not be in it”. Idea-wise it’s outrageous and beyond the line of morality to the point where parts have actually been censored in the European edition. Luckily the censored parts are a minority and it doesn’t make too much difference.

Whilst it stays relatively true to the nature of role-playing games it doesn’t have the vast environment normally seen. What it does have it makes the most of, squeezing every last drop from jokes and making fun of everyone along the way. You can tell the creators have heavily influenced the game because it has turned out to be nearly everything a fan could ask for. South Park – The Stick of Truth is an 18 rated title so if you wish to buy it be prepared for swearing, violence and adult humour.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

DRAFT 4 TXH Rating

 

James Birks
James Birks
Been gaming casually since the SNES as a youngster but found my true passion for games on the Playstation 1 (the forbidden word ooo). My addiction grew to its pinnacle with the purchase of an Xbox 360 & Xbox Live Service. A recovering GS hunter that will still play literally any game.

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6 years ago

[…] will of course remind you when the 13th Feb arrives, but if you wish to know more about either The Stick of Truth or The Fractured But Whole, then make sure you hit the links and check out our […]

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9 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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9 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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9 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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9 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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9 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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10 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

Slaptarze
Slaptarze
10 years ago

Strange that you can buy the uncensored version in Europe only from the Uplay shop. Looks like they only wanted to drum extra sales rather than actually have any issues with jokes and causing offence. Its a shame THQ went down when it did as I believe, with the reviews this game has received, this could have gone a long way to saving them.

How would it compare to Costume Quest? a title that I actually enjoyed way more than I should of done. I’m not sure I can justify splashing out a full £40 on a title for 360 while it seems like I can spend the same on a next gen xbox one game.

J Birks
Reply to  Slaptarze
10 years ago

I too think THQ could have done with the profits from this and maybe one other successful title could have saved them.

Now you mention it, it does remind me quite a bit of the time I had on Costume Quest but better in battles and the characters/writing made me laugh makes it worthy of £30 as I’m sure you could find it at that price in no time given the current 360 market and the prices generally dropping quickly for singe player games.

J Birks
Reply to  J Birks
10 years ago

Think I needed more punctuation in that last paragraph haha.

Bennijin
Bennijin
10 years ago

I’m glad it’s turned out to be good after Let’s Go Tower Defence Play was also good and Tenorman’s Revenge was awful, but it’s bogus Ubi felt the need to censor it. I think this picture sums it up nicely.

J Birks
Reply to  Bennijin
10 years ago

I hear you on that, everyone knows what to expect from South Park… those who will be overly offended won’t buy it anyway. Luckily it didn’t matter too much what was cut out though, it didn’t affect my opinions missing out on a few cutscenes.

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10 years ago

[…] South Park: The Stick of Truth Review […]

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10 years ago

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A Parker
A Parker
10 years ago

I’m intrigued by the “timing” utilized in combat. Is this reminiscent of a legend of dragoon feel where it’s turn based but you get bonuses by properly button timing? Or like mini QTEs where you’re paying attention for what to press and when for each move?

Looking forward to checking this out one when its in the budget (and acknowledging I’ll have to play it after hours since there’s no chance my wife will want to watch this one 😉 )

Follow up question: are there difficulty modes and is there a “grind” component to the gameplay? If there’s grinding I presume the turn-based + action system helps keep that a little fresher?

Thanks for the review and insight!
-@DontJudgeMyADD

J Birks
Reply to  A Parker
10 years ago

Cheers for the questions!

There’s a bit of both to be honest. Button timing for melee and range where abilites can include QTEs in a way. The button will come up and you may need to bash it quickly. There’s also a Guitar Hero style press the button as it reaches the instrument which in this case is Jimmy’s flute.

Difficulty is changeable in the menu but I didn’t noticed much difference in all honesty. Toughness was up and down within the middle difficulty and the lowest. I never felt it was a grind and I’d put that down not only to the ingenius abilities and weapons but also the variety of enemies and characters seen throughout to battle against and with.

Hope that helps 🙂

A Parker
A Parker
Reply to  J Birks
10 years ago

Yeah, thanks for the response.

In a humor driven, “story” centric RPG, I respect adding some creativity to the battle system but I’m sure it won’t make or break the experience. I’ve been known to revel in the grind (Bravely Default being the most recent time sucking example), but I doubt it would fit with this title, so better to have the depth there, add some creativity, and let us progress through the story.

And as a rhythm game coin-a-sewer (I’m classy like that), I look forward to battling with Jimmy’s flute 🙂

Cheers!

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10 years ago

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