South Park: The Stick of Truth

I've got a confession to make. I've never beaten an RPG, turn-based or otherwise. In fact the only RPG I've ever played prior to this game is Pokemon Red. However, as someone who has watched South Park religiously since the day my mom first let me watch it, I couldn't resist this game, RPG or not.

This game has its flaws. It gets easy at points, it's short by RPG standards and it's a little glitchy, most notably in cut scenes. The game seemed to struggle with your character. Sometimes he wouldn't be facing the camera and sometimes he would be the wrong size. This is most likely due to the fact that your character is completely customizable. Okay, those are all my complaints.

Anyway, this game is incredible. It's easily one my favorites of all time. You play as the "new kid" as you fight for the stick of truth with the familiar faces of South Park. They do an awesome job of playing off the fact that the kids are really just pretending like most fourth graders would while still keeping it within the South Park reality. They've got an upgrade and leveling system that allows you to customize your weapons and armor and thankfully all the weapons and armor fit within the South Park universe. This game does such a good job of making every little thing in it a reference to some episode or another, from the ManBearPig ears to the Alien Probe sword.

The fighting system is simple, but I found it very satisfying. It was exploitable by using the right "consumable item," but I still felt accomplished with most of my wins. The only complaint I have is that you can only have yourself and one partner fighting. I spent far too much time with just me and Butters. I wish I had some opportunity to fight with Cartman and Kyle at my side at the same time. They could have had some great dialogue going on.

Still, the biggest selling point for this game is probably the story. It's like one big episode. It's really funny and feels so perfectly South Park. I don't want to go into too much detail because everyone deserves to experience it.

This is probably the greatest "licensed" video game ever, thanks in large part to all the work Matt and Trey did on it. I am dying for a sequel, but I doubt we will ever see one. Those guys are just too damn busy.