South Park: The Stick of Truth

*SERIOUS BLOODY CONTENT WARNING FOR THIS GAME* I mean, if you know anything about South Park, that's an unnecessary warning, but still, if you're offended by or just don't find the show's signature brand of humour very funny, this game won't do anything to change your mind, so don't even bother. That's because from top to bottom, beginning to end, this game IS the show. They're completely indistinguishable, the animation is the same, the voice actors are all reprising their roles, and it's easily the best thing about this game. The story too, feels exactly like a 10-15 hour long episode of the show, in a good way, with a lot of nonsensical and hilarious twists and turns that really puts the make-believe fantasy war between the kids into perspective. However, I did feel some moments in the story dragged on a bit, and towards the middle of the game, you'll be expected to make a choice that you'd think would drastically affect the rest of the story somehow, but it affects a grand total of absolutely nothing. Bit of a letdown. On PS3, the game does like to stutter a fair bit, but it is mostly made up for by the amazing world of the town, how detailed it is, and how packed to the brim with easter eggs and hilarious items it is. It's so rare to see a straight up comedy game these days, that it's a joy to see one that took any opportunity it could to throw a joke in somewhere, whether that be in the inventory screen, NPC dialogue, or during combat. Speaking of combat though, that feels like the most seriously lacking area of the game. I played the game on the hardest difficulty and it was still an absolute breeze, and overall it's a very shallow RPG, where 9 times out of 10, the best strategy will always be to simply equip the highest level items in your inventory and spam magic attacks, while being able to refill your health or magic before attacking if necessary. For a while, that's fine, and the animations of the special attacks for each character are funny and imaginative, but after seeing them for 10 hours straight, and mostly using the same strategies over and over again, it does end up feeling a little tedious by the end. Still, if you're a fan of the show, you'll undoubtedly find a lot of enjoyment in this, and if you're not someone who already knows they don't like the show, but haven't had much experience with it, give it a go anyway, it's a charming, gross, satirical, outrageous good time.

This is one of my favorite RPGs to play and the story almost made me piss myself.

South Park: TSOT was my obsession for 2 days straight. The humor begins almost instantly. Think of it as a mix between South Park and Pokemon during the action sequences. You basically will run into the 'enemy' i.e. other fourth graders and when you do it puts you in an organized fighting sequence. This is similar to Pokemon where you find an enemy and then take turns taking swings at each other. That is what you do as far as fighting goes. To be completely honest, it sometimes can get annoying to continually get in these but it is your only means of XP. There will be times where you can utilize the environment to kill or K.O. enemies w/o getting into battle. But the fighting will be funny and cool at first, but it sort of gets stale by the end.

The open world is fairly condense, yet sometimes confusing so be sure to use your map often. What I like about this game and is that it isn't a dull and mindless game. You WILL have to think about obstacles and how to get by them. They are not impossible, but remember if you cannot figure out how to get to something in the outside world, you probably just haven't gotten far enough into the game; be patient! If you do not enjoy stupid humor this game will be mind-numbing to you (i.e. farting, unnecessary sexual content, etc...). I must say that there are some parts that are very 'over the top' to the point that even I was saying, "really? how did they get away with this?" or "really? I seriously have to do this?"... I won't give away anything but there are some really messed up things in the game but... it's South Park so I should've known better. Just be aware that it can get kind of nasty.

All-in-all I would give this game a 9/10 because it really was an enjoyment. If you are a South Park fan this game will definitely be right down your alley. As you rank up, you get new materials, new weapons, and new 'abilities.' These abilities can get confusing since there are so many, and there will be many points in the game where you have to utilize all of them at some point. I think there are too many to be honest, but it may just be because I would use the wrong ability for the wrong circumstance and I got frustrated. If you are an achievement/trophy collector, you most likely will have to do two full-game runthroughs so just be aware. Enjoy!

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that feels like South Park has been stretched way past its limit or maybe I'm just getting old, but I haven't seen a truly funny episode in a very long time. Along comes SOT and makes up for all that. It's hilarious, ballsy and shameless. Perhaps the greatest achievement is that it hardly ever feels like a video game and certainly doesn't look like one. The turn-based battles are a nice throwback to older rpg games while simultaneously feeling fresh and funny (especially when "Princess" Kenny is involved). If you're a South Park fan and have been watching since the start, you absolutely should not miss this experience. My only complaint is the short length. 8 hours is pretty much the extent of it, but besides that, big love to Trey and Matt for giving us the South Park game we deserve. It's about time.

If you are a South Park fan, there is no way you won't love this game.

Even though it was constantly delayed and was released way too late, it was worth the wait. For starters, the game is hilarious. It uses the same humor as the TV show, and had me laughing throughout the entire story.

The storyline was well thought out and very fun to play. The graphics are the exact same as the TV show, so it feels like you are actually in a TV episode.

I absolutely love this game, and would recommend it to all South Park fans.