Despite it being one of the most popular adult cartoon shows of all time and one of the longest running, I have never been a big fan of South Park. I enjoy odd episodes and I thought the film was fantastic, but my personal opinion is that the good episodes are few and far between and that it usually crosses the line from being funny to being annoying.
When I first heard of Stick of Truth a couple of years back I was neither pleased nor displeased. I believe that its about time we had another South Park game seeing as it has been a very long time since the last retail released one, and so I was quite happy to see a new game on the horizon. But when I learned of what the game was to be, a turn based RPG that parodies stories such as Lord of the Rings & Game of Thrones, I must admit I had already made up my mind that it was going to miserably fail because there was no way it would be able to do anything halfway decent with them properties, or actually manage to sell copies to non-South Park & JRPG fans due to its gameplay style. I can now, wholeheartedly say that my expectations could not have been more wrong.
You play as yourself in Stick of Truth, a new kid that has moved in to the quiet mountain town of South Park. As you are encouraged to go and make friends with the local children you quickly get dragged into an epic battle against two factions over a mystical object known as the stick of truth. Cartman, Kenny, Butters, & Clyde head up the KKK (Kingdom of Kupa Keep) and do battle against Kyle, Stan, & Jimmy who lead The Elves. What ensues is a 12+ hour long episode of South Park, to say the least. Everything from the dialogue, to the jokes, to the outrageousness of it all feels as though it has been lifted straight from the show and into the game; and what's even better is that despite the humour at times cutting it a little too close, it never crosses the line into annoying.
Expect parodies of fantasy tales like LotR & GoT, many different popular videogames, the Turn Based RPG genre, sci-fi films, and many more alongside a clear mockery of politics, government, and society in general. Despite the humour being perhaps the most immature the series has ever gotten, it is extremely clever in what it has decided to poke fun at and how it has done so; never does it feel awkwardly squeezed in and never does it seem out of place. I'm not going to say anything more about Stick of Truth's story because it is in all truth too big to know where to start, but all I will say is that it is an incredibly well written & hilarious story that will probably take the crown for the biggest, most ridiculous, and most outrageous South Park story to date.
When I first heard of Stick of Truth a couple of years back I was neither pleased nor displeased. I believe that its about time we had another South Park game seeing as it has been a very long time since the last retail released one, and so I was quite happy to see a new game on the horizon. But when I learned of what the game was to be, a turn based RPG that parodies stories such as Lord of the Rings & Game of Thrones, I must admit I had already made up my mind that it was going to miserably fail because there was no way it would be able to do anything halfway decent with them properties, or actually manage to sell copies to non-South Park & JRPG fans due to its gameplay style. I can now, wholeheartedly say that my expectations could not have been more wrong.
You play as yourself in Stick of Truth, a new kid that has moved in to the quiet mountain town of South Park. As you are encouraged to go and make friends with the local children you quickly get dragged into an epic battle against two factions over a mystical object known as the stick of truth. Cartman, Kenny, Butters, & Clyde head up the KKK (Kingdom of Kupa Keep) and do battle against Kyle, Stan, & Jimmy who lead The Elves. What ensues is a 12+ hour long episode of South Park, to say the least. Everything from the dialogue, to the jokes, to the outrageousness of it all feels as though it has been lifted straight from the show and into the game; and what's even better is that despite the humour at times cutting it a little too close, it never crosses the line into annoying.
Expect parodies of fantasy tales like LotR & GoT, many different popular videogames, the Turn Based RPG genre, sci-fi films, and many more alongside a clear mockery of politics, government, and society in general. Despite the humour being perhaps the most immature the series has ever gotten, it is extremely clever in what it has decided to poke fun at and how it has done so; never does it feel awkwardly squeezed in and never does it seem out of place. I'm not going to say anything more about Stick of Truth's story because it is in all truth too big to know where to start, but all I will say is that it is an incredibly well written & hilarious story that will probably take the crown for the biggest, most ridiculous, and most outrageous South Park story to date.
As mentioned earlier Stick of Truth is a turn based RPG. Now turn based combat is always a big no for me because it's slow, time consuming, and boring. Stick of Truth however actually manages to make it interesting by allowing real-time blocking & combo attacks if you have quick fingers. You also aren't forced into fighting unless it's vital to the story and level grinding isn't overly necessary either as most of the main quest-line is relatively easy. There are four classes to play as, the Fighter, Mage, Thief, and Jew classes. Each class has unique special attacks however they don't really vary in any other way. You have access to the same wardrobe and weapons, not to mention the same attacks with all three attack types (melee, ranged & magic) meaning that the only real decider on classes is what special abilities you want.
You then have a skill tree that will have points allocated to it once you level up to give your special attacks more power, as well as a skill points system where you can choose a perk to aid you in the game once you befriend a set amount of South Park characters. Collecting friends is a big part of the game and is done by completing quests for that character, or by reaching a milestone in the game. Inventory management is kept to a simplistic level with very well laid out menu's and a simple stat comparison system to help you choose the best weapon or clothing item for the occasion, you can then apply modifications to give you an advantage in battle, these become a necessity towards the end of the game.
The town of South Park is also for the first time ever fully mapped out and ready for you to go and explore. Though I have spotted occasional errors with buildings being next to ones they aren't in the show, it's no real problem because it's so cool to be able to walk the streets of South Park in full 2D. Landmarks such as the Elementary School, Rhinoplasty Clinic, Community Centre, and Stark's Pond are all present and able to be explored alongside the main characters houses & other well known places. There are plenty of collectibles in the form of Chinpokomon and Facebook friends to keep you going even after the game is over, not to mention plenty of other secrets and Easter eggs for die hard South Park fans to see.
To say that South Park looks good is a bad thing to say. As once famously said by the very Eric Cartman in the 1999 'Bigger, Longer & Uncut', it's because “the animation's all crappy” and that's what makes it such a wonderful sight to behold. It looks exactly like an episode of the show and a lot of effort has been put into replicating the style of the show too, including camera angles, soundtrack, and voice acting (with all cast reprising their roles for the game).
South Park: The Stick of Truth is something very special indeed. It's very rare that a game based off existing properties manages to thrive with the license rather than using it as something to hold itself up with. Strip away the South Park property and you still have a very enjoyable RPG, but used as well as it has been the license makes the game so much more amazing than it already is.
You then have a skill tree that will have points allocated to it once you level up to give your special attacks more power, as well as a skill points system where you can choose a perk to aid you in the game once you befriend a set amount of South Park characters. Collecting friends is a big part of the game and is done by completing quests for that character, or by reaching a milestone in the game. Inventory management is kept to a simplistic level with very well laid out menu's and a simple stat comparison system to help you choose the best weapon or clothing item for the occasion, you can then apply modifications to give you an advantage in battle, these become a necessity towards the end of the game.
The town of South Park is also for the first time ever fully mapped out and ready for you to go and explore. Though I have spotted occasional errors with buildings being next to ones they aren't in the show, it's no real problem because it's so cool to be able to walk the streets of South Park in full 2D. Landmarks such as the Elementary School, Rhinoplasty Clinic, Community Centre, and Stark's Pond are all present and able to be explored alongside the main characters houses & other well known places. There are plenty of collectibles in the form of Chinpokomon and Facebook friends to keep you going even after the game is over, not to mention plenty of other secrets and Easter eggs for die hard South Park fans to see.
To say that South Park looks good is a bad thing to say. As once famously said by the very Eric Cartman in the 1999 'Bigger, Longer & Uncut', it's because “the animation's all crappy” and that's what makes it such a wonderful sight to behold. It looks exactly like an episode of the show and a lot of effort has been put into replicating the style of the show too, including camera angles, soundtrack, and voice acting (with all cast reprising their roles for the game).
South Park: The Stick of Truth is something very special indeed. It's very rare that a game based off existing properties manages to thrive with the license rather than using it as something to hold itself up with. Strip away the South Park property and you still have a very enjoyable RPG, but used as well as it has been the license makes the game so much more amazing than it already is.
STORY: 8/10
GAMEPLAY: 9/10
PRESENTATION: 9/10
LIFESPAN: 8/10
SCORE: 8/10
I'm more than happy to say that The Stick of Truth is probably the best licensed video game ever made and I very much look forward to seeing some form of sequel in the future.