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South Park: The Stick of Truth

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South Park: The Stick of Truth
Developer(s)Obsidian Entertainment[3]
South Park Digital Studios
Publisher(s)Ubisoft[4]
Director(s)Chris Brion (South Park Studios)
Chris Parker (Obsidian)
Zane Lyon (Obsidian)
Producer(s)Todd Benson
Matthew Singh
Designer(s)Matt MacLean
Charles Staples
Programmer(s)Dan Spitzley
Artist(s)Brian Menze
Writer(s)Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Composer(s)Jamie Dunlap
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
Xbox 360
Release
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a role-playing video game, based on the American animated television series South Park. The game was developed by Obsidian Entertainment in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios and published by Ubisoft. The game was expected to be released sometime in 2013, for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, and Microsoft Windows,[5] but was postponed to 2014, due to the shutdown of original publisher THQ[6] and numerous delays.

Similar to their duties on the TV show, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone wrote the script for the game, oversaw the project, and provided the voices of the characters. Details about the game were revealed in early December 2011, in the Game Informer magazine South Park special, and its digital version.[7]

The Stick of Truth follows a number of video games based on the series, including three early titles South Park, South Park: Chef's Luv Shack and South Park Rally released in 1998 and 1999, and more recently South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, released in 2009, and South Park: Tenorman's Revenge, released in March 2012.[8]

Plot

The player takes control of "The New Kid", who moves to South Park with his parents after a mysterious event forced the family to move. The parents of the New Kid send him out to make friends, and soon afterward he meets Butters, who introduces him to Cartman. Cartman's backyard castle, called "The Kingdom of Kupa Keep" (also referred to as "The KKK"), houses The Stick of Truth, which his army recovered from Kyle's army two days prior. The New Kid is given the name "Douchebag" and selects a class (either "Fighter", "Mage", "Thief", or "Jew"). Soon after, the elves attack Kupa Keep and reclaim the Stick. Angry at Clyde's failure to protect the Stick, Cartman banishes him from the group. In an effort to strike back and reclaim the Stick of Truth, Cartman orders "Douchebag" to alert the best human fighters Token, Tweek, and Craig.

After successfully recruiting the three fighters, the humans learn Jimmy has the Stick at the Inn of the Giggling Donkey. The humans attack and successfully retrieve the Stick from Jimmy. That night, when the New Kid goes to sleep, he and several South Park residents are abducted by aliens. "Douchebag" manages to escape his cell on the ship and rescues Randy Marsh. In trying to escape, the New Kid causes the alien ship to crash into the South Park Mall.

In the morning, the events of the ship crash have been covered up by a secret government agency, with the explanation that a Taco Bell is being built. The New Kid visits the Kupa Keep to find that the Stick of Truth was stolen at night. Cartman tasks "Douchebag" with recruiting more humans for the cause in order to defeat the elves at the school. The New Kid attempts to convince the goth kids to join the fight, but they will not join unless the New Kid proves he is a "non-conformist" like them, and task the New Kid with posting a "Fuck the Conformists" sign at the PTA meeting in the community center. Randy, who is present, tells "Douchebag" he will help post the sign on the desk if the New Kid discovers what the new Taco Bell building actually is. The New Kid sneaks into the crash site and retrieves an audio recorder of the government organization speaking about the alien ship cover up. He also discovers that the government has also found a virus in the wreckage that turns people into Nazi Zombies. One of the infected escapes the facility, releasing the virus into South Park.

That night, Cartman leads the human group, along with the goth kids, to attack the elves at the school (or Kyle leads the elves into the school, depending on who the New Kid sides with). After defeating them, the kids learn that the defending army did not actually steal the Stick of Truth. Clyde is then revealed to have stolen the Stick of Truth and has built up his own army after being banished by Cartman from the "realms of time and space". Both humans and elves band together to stop Clyde and retrieve the Stick of Truth, but their numbers are too low to defeat Clyde in his large fortress. Overnight, an attack by The Underpants Gnomes enables the New Kid to change his size at will after defeating the magic gnome.

Desperate to defeat Clyde and regain the stick, the New Kid is ordered to ask the girls for help. The New Kid meets with the girls in their secret base, where they agree to fight for the boys if they find out which one of their friends had an abortion. He is dressed as a girl and taken to the clinic for an abortion, but instead sneaks out with doctors clothing and enters the record room. He retrieves the records for the previous week when Randy shows up, followed by agents from the secret government organization. Randy and the New Kid hide in a nearby operating room, and disguise themselves as a doctor and a patient. The agents find them, and force the New Kid to perform an abortion on Randy to prove he actually is a doctor, which he does. The New Kid tries to escape the abortion clinic but he is prevented from doing so by Khloe Kardashian's aborted fetus, which has been infected. After defeating the fetus, the New Kid returns with the abortion records to the girls, who discover they are written in French. In order to translate the records, the New Kid is sent to Canada.

The New Kid successfully crosses the border into Canada, and after completing a lengthy side quest which includes learning a new fart move from Terrance and Phillip, returns with the document translated to the girls. The girls agree to join the Elves and Men in fighting Clyde. The New Kid fights his way up the fortress to defeat Clyde and his friends. On his way to the top, the New Kid disarms a nuclear bomb inside Mr. Slave's anus. When their army reaches the top, they are confronted by the government agents who reveal the New Kid has the power to make friends, having previously had billions on Facebook. The chief agent asks for the New Kid to leave the elves and humans and join him, which he refuses. Princess Kenny betrays the group and sides with the chief agent, and the New Kid then fights the infected Princess Kenny, who automatically revives whenever she dies. Seeing no other way out, Cartman tells the New Kid to break the rule of "not farting on a person's balls", and Princess Kenny is finally defeated. As South Park rebuilds, the group retrieves the Stick of Truth, but decide that its power is too great for any person to hold and throw it into Stark's Pond. Bored of the game, the boys decide to play something else. They ask the New Kid what he wants to play. The New Kid, who hasn't said a word the entire game, speaks for the first time and tells the boys "Screw you guys, I'm going home" to which Cartman replies, "Wow, what a dick!"

Development

Obsidian Entertainment had previously developed a number of role-playing video games (RPG) based on licensed properties, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004), and Fallout: New Vegas (2010).[9] As opposed to being contacted by a video game publisher owning a license, Obsidian was directly approached by the creators of South Park.[10] Earlier South Park games included a number of 3D games – such as South Park (1998) and South Park Rally (2000) –, where Trey Parker and Matt Stone had little to do with development, and the quality of which they have publicly criticized.[11][12][13]

On March 13, 2012, Obsidian cancelled a "future next gen project", resulting in the layoff of approximately 20-30 employees both from that project and the upcoming Stick of Truth team.[14] On June 4, 2012, they debuted the first trailer at E3 2012. It was also announced at E3 that there would be multiple DLC packs, the first 3 of which will debut on Xbox 360 first and the DLC pack "Mysterion Superhero" would be an Xbox 360 exclusive. It was also announced that the Xbox 360 version would feature Kinect integration, allowing the user to use voice control including the ability to berate Cartman. However, Kinect support was dropped after the game was acquired by Ubisoft.

Three minigames were removed from the Australian version of the game after Australian Classification Board refused to rate the game.[15] The game went gold on February 12, 2014.[16] Ubisoft EMFA announced in late February 2014 that seven scenes were censored on the console versions of the game, in the Europe, Middle East, and African regions.[17]

Design

During Obsidian's first meeting with Parker and Stone, it was decided that the game would only be made if it could faithfully represent the show's unique 2D look, which is based on the style of cutout animation.[10] Obsidian provided the creators proofs of concept that they could achieve the South Park look, with which the creators were happy.[10]

The characters' costumes and classes appear to be based on the South Park episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers".[18] The costumes and class names also appear in the three-episode story arc formed by "Black Friday", "A Song of Ass and Fire", and "Titties and Dragons". IGN's Max Nicholson said the episode "felt like a sneak peek" for the game, and if nothing else, was "good marketing" in light of the numerous delays to the release of the game.[19]

Delays

On November 5, 2012, THQ announced that the game would be delayed to April 30, 2013.[20] In the gameplay trailer released on December 9, 2012, it was revealed that the pre-order bonus would be the "Good Times With Weapons" pack, which includes the Bulrog Chicken Attack, Cartman's Kick-Ass Sai weapons and the Samurai costume.[21]

On January 25, 2013, it was announced that Ubisoft had bought the publishing rights to South Park: The Stick of Truth from THQ as the latter had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. After Ubisoft acquired the game, the release date was delayed again, to an unspecified date.[4] On May 3, 2013, a Ubisoft spokesperson confirmed that the game would still be released in 2013, after not being included in the publisher's official release schedule for upcoming games.[22]

On September 26, 2013, it was announced that the game would be released in North America on December 10, 2013,[23] in Australia on December 12, 2013,[24] and in Europe on December 13, 2013.[23] However, on October 31, 2013, it was announced that the game had been delayed again, and was released on March 4, 2014 in North America,[2] March 6, 2014 in Australia[1] and on March 7, 2014 in Europe except in Germany and Austria due to the game containing references to the Nazi Germans.[25]

The delays on South Park: The Stick of Truth are satirized in the "Black Friday" episode trilogy: Cartman denounces the pre-order system in "Black Friday", and Butters is skeptical of the game's proposed release at the end of "Titties and Dragons".

Reception

South Park: The Stick of Truth has received critical acclaim. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PC version 87.06% and 84/100,[26][30] the PlayStation 3 version 85.67% and 86/100[27][29] and the Xbox 360 version 82.33% and 82/100 respectively.[28][31]

IGN gave the game 9/10, praising its humour and RPG mechanics whilst criticising the similarity between the classes in the game.[42] Game Informer rated the game an 8.5/10[36] and GameSpot a 7/10.[38]

GameZone gave the PC version an 8/10, stating "South Park: The Stick of Truth may be the best video game spin-off in the show’s 17 year history."[40]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Gamerfeed - South Park - The Stick of Truth Australian". Facebook. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Sousa, Mike (November 3, 2013). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Delayed Until March 2014". Gaming Union. Retrieved November 3, 2013.
  3. ^ "'South Park' console game to debut next year". CNN. December 1, 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Ubisoft confirms capture of THQ Montreal game, sets South Park for '2013'". Computer and Video Games. January 25, 2013.
  5. ^ "South Park: The Stick of Truth is coming somewhere in 2013, no lie [Update: Kinect integration, DLC first on Xbox Live]". Joystiq.
  6. ^ "'South Park: The Stick of Truth' Release Date Delayed; Game Pushed To Later In 2013 by Ubisoft. It was announced view a new trailer on September the 25th, that the game will be released on current-gen platforms only on the 12th October 2013". International Digital Times. March 4, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  7. ^ "THQ Joins Forces with South Park Digital rt" (Press release). Game Informer. Retrieved December 2, 2011. {{cite press release}}: |first= missing |last= (help)
  8. ^ "'South Park' Launches 'South Park: Tenorman's Revenge' Video Game Exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Spring 2012 Debut" (Press release). Comedy Central. October 13, 2011. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  9. ^ Caoili, Eric (December 1, 2011). "Fallout: New Vegas Developer Working On South Park RPG". Gamasutra. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c Video interview with Obsidian Entertainment CEO Feargus Urquhart. In: Hanson, Ben (December 5, 2011). "Crafting The South Park RPG". Game Informer. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  11. ^ Question answered by Matt Stone. In: "News, October 2001". South Park Studios. October 1, 2001. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  12. ^ PlayStation 2 Premiere. shpadoinkle. October 18, 2000. Retrieved September 4, 2011. {{cite AV media}}: External link in |publisher= (help) Video on YouTube.
  13. ^ Pond, Steve (June 2000). "Interview: Trey Parker and Matt Stone". Playboy. 47 (6): 65–80. PARKER: And they've made all [...] these video games that we fucking hate [...]
  14. ^ "Obsidian Entertainment Layoffs, Project North Carolina Cancelled". GameBanshee.
  15. ^ Pitcher, Jenna (19 December 2013). "Three mini-games removed from South Park: The Stick of Truth Australia, now features a crying Koala". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  16. ^ Pereira, Chris (February 12, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Goes Gold". IGN. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  17. ^ Karmali, Luke (February 25, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Censored in Europe". IGN. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  18. ^ "'South Park' console game to debut next year".
  19. ^ Nicholson, Max (November 14, 2013). "The Console War is Coming..." IGN. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  20. ^ "'South Park', 'Metro: Last Light' delayed by THQ". Digital Spy.
  21. ^ "South Park: The Stick of Truth - Gameplay Trailer - IGN Video". Ign.com. 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
  22. ^ Gera, Emily (May 3, 2013). "South Park: The Stick of Truth is still on track for 2013 launch, Ubisoft confirms". Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  23. ^ a b Fahmy, Albaraa (September 26, 2013). "'South Park: The Stick of Truth' release date revealed". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  24. ^ Barnes, Darren (September 26, 2013). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Release Date". Aussie Game Geek. Retrieved September 26, 2013.
  25. ^ "Why South Park: The Stick of Truth was delayed in Austria and Germany". Polygon. Dave Tech. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  26. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  27. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for PlayStation 3". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  28. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for Xbox 360". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  29. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  30. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  31. ^ a b "South Park: The Stick of Truth for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  32. ^ Elliot, Matthew (March 4, 2014). "Review: South Park - The Stick of Truth is shameless, hilarious and surprisingly complex". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  33. ^ Carter, Chris (March 4, 2014). "Review: South Park: The Stick of Truth". Destructoid. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  34. ^ "South Park: The Stick Of Truth review". Edge. March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  35. ^ Carsillo, Ray (March 4, 2014). "EGM Review: South Park: The Stick of Truth". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  36. ^ a b Ryckert, Dan (March 4, 2014). "A Funny And Faithful Adaptation - South Park: The Stick of Truth". Game Informer. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  37. ^ Cooper, Hollander (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  38. ^ a b VanOrd, Kevin (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  39. ^ Damiani, Michael (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth - Review". GameTrailers. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  40. ^ a b Liebl, Matt (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review: Come on down and meet some friends of mine". GameZone. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  41. ^ Navarro, Alex (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review". Giant Bomb. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  42. ^ a b McCaffrey, Ryan (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  43. ^ Prell, Sam (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth review: Come on down". Joystiq. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  44. ^ McElroy, Justin (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review: Pen and Paper". Polygon. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  45. ^ Sterling, Jim (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review - A Storm of Swear Words". The Escapist. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  46. ^ Williamson, Steven (March 4, 2014). "South Park: The Stick of Truth Review - a side-splitting RPG with real character". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  47. ^ Hannley, Steve (4 March 2014). "Review: South Park: The Stick of Truth". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  48. ^ "Game Critics Awards 2012 Winners". Game Critics Awards. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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