South Park: The Stick of Truth Is Crude, Immature, and Oh So Funny

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I'll admit my sense of humour is a little puerile. Hell, maybe it's even a little perverse. But delicately cupping your hand between your butt cheeks, letting rip a killer fart, and then setting that sucker on fire? I don't care who you are, that's comedy gold.

It's that crude level of humour that makes South Park: The Stick of Truth one of the funniest games I've ever seen; there were more F-bombs, farts, and poops dropped within the first 30 seconds of the demo than in even the most filthy of South Park episodes. It's a game that fully embraces the source material--in this case the excellent writing and animations of Matt Stone and Trey Parker--and pairs it with classic role-playing game mechanics in some wonderful ways.

Take the battle system, for instance. In any classic RPG you have spells and various powers with which to attack the enemy. But just what would a group of (admittedly problematic) 9-year-old children do to mimic such powers when playing make-believe? If it's a fire spell, then naturally it's farting on objects and setting them ablaze with a lighter. Or, if it's an electricity spell, dousing someone in water and then dumping a car battery into the mix is the most logical solution.

Ice spells are brought to life with fire extinguishers, fireworks are used for explosions, and cupped farts are used as bombs. The slick animation brings those attacks to life in a way that brilliantly mimics the series' trademark half-assed look, while the voice acting and writing from Stone and Parker ensures there's always a witty comeback or a barrage of swears to accompany each attack.

The madness doesn't stop there either. Like in any typical RPG, you can fully customise each of your characters for various types of buffs. Except, of course, most RPGs don't let you dress your characters up in assless leather chaps. Or gimp masks. Or arm them with a big pink dildo. Neither would most RPGs let you take your newly dildo-equipped character to a urinal, poop in said urinal, pick up the poop, and then hurl it at enemies in battle for a messy brown attack.

There are plenty of nods to classic episodes of the show too. Characters like the goth kids roam the halls of the school, Chipotle burritos restore precious mana, and the underpants gnomes give you the ability to shrink down in size and climb up vents to solve puzzles. Oh, and complete with a particularly disturbing animation, your character is equipped with an alien anal probe that pops off your character's behind and detects hidden objects.

OK, so this isn't a game for the easily offended. And the truth is, its crude sense of humor is going to limit its appeal. But if the thought of Craig creating an army of saluting zombie Nazi cats, or Eric Cartman unleashing a one-minute-long fart explosion as a special attack tickles your funny bone, South Park: The Stick of Truth might just be the game you're looking for. Also, farts: LOL.

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