South Park: The Stick of Truth Review by: legacyme3 - 8.5/10
The Stick of Truth - The Short StickFor many like me, South Park: The Stick of Truth never felt like it was going to come out. I'm not talking literally of course, it never reached Duke Nukem levels of concern, but the development cycle was washed over with unfulfilled promises, and constant delays.
Development on this title began about 5 years ago, in 2009. From here it had it's release date changed from March 2013 (ok) to September 2013, thanks to the THQ bankruptcy sale, that resulted in Ubisoft acquiring the publishing rights. From here, it was moved to December 2013, and then again to March 2014, when it was finally released.
Also of vital note is the censorship the game has received all around the world. While the Stick of Truth handles censorship better than anyone, making a joke of the censorship system for anyone unfortunate enough to live outside of the US or Canada, it's still apparently rather jarring and ruins the immersion for several fans of the show. For example, there is one scene in which Randy Marsh is anally probed. In the Australian version of the game, this scene is
replaced with a text block and a picture of a kangaroo (if I recall correctly) explaining what happens in the scene instead. Censorship is never cool, but this game handles it rather well.
With that, I will note that I played with the American, un-edited version.
Graphics - 9
It's hard to give this anything but a 10, honestly, but I have to lower my score simply because of the nature of the game. If you play this game for even 10 minutes, you'll notice the distinctive South Park style is there, and it holds true to the entire game. Nothing feels like it'd be out of place in an episode of South Park. It is because of this, that the score is this high to begin with. Character design, level design, and the little things. All of it adds up to make a beautiful game, if one that is easy to accomplish. If I had one knock, it'd be that the subtitles could have been utilized a little better. Sometimes it didn't look great (I always play with subtitles on), and sometimes it was outright jarring.
Sound - 8
Again, this makes me want to use the term "episode of South Park". And again, it'd be entirely factual. All throughout the game world are various tunes that'll hark back to older episodes. Some of it is great, and some of it is outright annoying. But ultimately, it all stays true to what the series is about and stands for. It gets extremely repetitive (because really, there aren't that many different themes or songs) and sometimes you'll hear the same song right after you just heard it, but it's hard to look down on the history of the show. The characters sound organic, and it's like they thought of everything. Hundreds of lines of dialogue give the characters life, whether you are just talking, hitting them, or farting on them from 30 feet away.
Addictiveness - 9
The game is great while it lasts, but unfortunately, it just doesn't last that long. Stick of Truth will be, for most first time players who like exploring, a 15 hour affair. If you get rid of the immersion and exploring, this becomes a potentially sub 10 hour game. For a game that retails for 60 dollars, this is a bit much. This aside, the game feels incredible, and it really does feel like the creators of the show had much more input with this game than they did with games in the past. The battle system is simple, and very friendly, but it too can get a little repetitive, especially when you are just trying to kill yet another hobo to finish a side quest.
Depth - 5
This is my biggest problem with Stick of Truth. For a game that is an RPG, and on top of that, one that has so much hidden at the start of the game, there's really not all that much to the game once you've beaten the main story. You can collect all the chinpokomon (good luck if you missed one of the ones on the UFO, 100% completition is out of your reach) and friend all the people in the game world (again, this might be missable), max out your level (maxes out very early, and I'm fairly sure I maxed out before I even finished the main quest), or just run around the town of South Park, CO (which is for the first time, truly laid out). But largely speaking, the side quests are short and unfulfilling, and feel like more of a chore than of any substance. South Park fans will get a kick out of meeting some old characters like Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo and his family, but for those who aren't invested in the series, it will feel massively boring.
Story - 10
I hate to keep reusing words, but this is probably where they are the most accurate. This game is basically an extended 15 hour episode of South Park. It has everything you'd expect an episode to carry, and as such, will have you chuckling and turning off your brain for a good stretch of time with each playing. Whether you are saving yourself from an alien abduction, beating up ginger kids at the elementary school, or choosing sides in a mortal conflict between elves and humans, Stick of Truth has everything you could possibly want when it comes to a story.
Is it the best story? Far from it.
But is it the most truthful one you can expect, one that doesn't try to be something it isn't? Yes, yes it is.
Difficulty - 1
It honestly shouldn't be that difficult to get from start to finish without dying once, and it should be practically impossible to get a game over if you have ever played an RPG. Even by RPG standards though, it's easy, so long as you remember you can use items AND attack at the same time. The user interface is very simple if a bit slow to work at times, and the battle system is reminiscent of Paper Mario in its simple, yet elegant, way of doing things.
Those expecting a challenge shouldn't look to this game to provide it.
GRADING
Graphics - 10% (10% of 9 is .9)
Sound - 10% (10% of 8 is .8)
Addictiveness - 35% (35% of 9 is 3.15)
Depth - 20% (20% of 5 is 1)
Story - 25% (25% of 10 is 2.5)
Difficulty - 0% (0% of 1 is 0)
Total - 8.35
Bonus Points - I'm going to award an extra .5 points because of the simple awesomeness of the game. However, I'm going to dock .3 points for being buggy on release (I haven't played lately, so I'm not sure if the bugs have disappeared). Grand total of .2 points
Overall - 8.5
When it boils down to it, the Stick of Truth is a game that die-hards of the series will love and praise, and one that non-fans of the series will either be indifferent to, or see as a good chance to see what all the hype about South Park is about. It's not for everyone, evidently, but for those the game was created for, it feels like a nostalgic 15 hour experience dedicated to us, the fans. Trey Parker and Matt Stone really put a lot of their own time into this project, and it shows, as the game has their stamp of awesome all over this product. It took a long time to come out, but we can all be happy that it did indeed come at all.
Graphics
9 Sound
8 Addictive
9 Depth
5 Story
10 Difficulty
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