South Park - Will it be Good?

Myrthos

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1Up tries to describe the things that can go right or wrong with South Park: The Stick of Truth, based on what is shown to us up to now.
With all these other elements -- visuals, humor, voice acting -- looking as though they've been nailed, the one big question mark becomes the gameplay itself. Developer Obsidian's track record has its ups and downs; although its games often have great ideas, the execution is not always what it could be. (Alpha Protocol, in particular, serves as a great example of that.) What it's trying to do with Stick of Truth does not appear to be the most complex or innovative thing. Its apparent Super Mario RPG inspiration has been cited more than once; hearkening back to older titles to some degree matches the relatively crude look of South Park. And if aspects of Mario RPG are rearing their head, that makes it possible that Chrono Trigger could also be serving as a source of inspiration. I think I speak for many RPG fans when I say I am more than OK with that.

At the same time, I'm hopeful Obsidian doesn't settle for nothing more than replicating the sort of 16-bit RPG gameplay seen in Mario RPG and its contemporaries and then layering all of this South Park goodness on top of it. Indications are that it draws heavily from such games, which is all well and good, but I want to see something more. I'm happy the combat system entails more player interaction than selecting an attack and waiting for both sides' turns to play out. But as I'm currently playing through Paper Mario: Sticker Star and seeing what kind of truly interesting ideas can be fit within the framework of fairly standard RPG combat, the prospect of going back to something comparatively vanilla doesn't sound especially appealing to me.
More information.
 
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i've enjoyed years and years of south park like millions of others, but i dont really feel any compelling reason to play a video game based on it.
 
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It's a great show for a RPG since it has so many colorful characters, but if it's completely linear i won't be very interested. I want to go around and explore South Park, something the TV show can't offer.
 
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i'll probably get this at some point. I'm not expecting a great rpg, but I suspect it will be very funny.
 
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I'm kind of expecting something like an expletive and gore-laiden version of costume quest. That might end up being an enjoyable immature bit of fun or god-awful depending on how it plays out.
 
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I think I'm the only person in the world who is excited about this game, but, God dammit, I am.
 
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I'm not "excited" but I'm looking out for this one, I used to watch South Park every week until a few years ago, but the setting I don't care much, I do want to see the gameplay if it's turn-based and tactical.
 
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It seems a lot of people here are interested in this, actually. Being neither a fan of South Park nor a big fan of Obsidian - I'm not one of them.
 
This game made me worry that Obsidian was done. Project Eternity rekindled my faith somewhat but I'll be glad when this atrocity is put behind us.
 
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I am so happy that this game is coming to PCs.

Nowaday we get so few games with JRPG combat that it is really a shame. I *LOVED* Faery - Legends of Avalon just for this part of the game. The Penny Arcade Adventures are DD only and so a no-buy for me.

I think SP has lost a lot of his appeal over the years, but a so-so familiar setting is better than a unknown bad one.
 
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This game made me worry that Obsidian was done. Project Eternity rekindled my faith somewhat but I'll be glad when this atrocity is put behind us.

I agree. Love the show but couldn't believe Obsidian would make such a game when it was announced. Project Eternity put my faith back in there capable hands.
 
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This game made me worry that Obsidian was done.

If anything it upped my respect for Obsidian. SP is the boldest and most intelligent shows out there imo. Absolutely love how its never preachy and usually shows that there's always two sides of a coin.
 
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