South Park: The Stick of Truth Preview

Capsule Computers has a brief preview for Obsidian Entertainment and South Park Studios’ South Park: The Stick of Truth, courtesy of a hands-off presentation at EB Games Expo. I’m starting to wonder if we’ll ever get hands-on previews before the December release:

The game plays like a traditional turn-based RPG. You control the (New Kid,) and engage in a series of battles against other kids (there are other enemy types, but only kids were present in the demo). Using traditional RPG mechanics, you select your weapons and do battle, timing your hits for maximum damage. The best comparison to a modern game that I can think of would be the Paper Mario franchise. Timing your hits perfectly deals more damage, and blocking and deflecting are also time based, and keep you on your toes throughout the battle.

During the brief demo, I got to see a variety of different weapons in action. Things like the Vibro-blade (actually a vibrator), the (Staff of Major Boobage,) and the F***ing Ninja Stars all acted very differently to one another, and required different skills and timing to use effectively. This variety in the combat speaks favourably to the game, and should hopefully result in an experience that avoids repetition (which is a common problem in turn-based RPGs). Outside of battle, you have access to small spells to help you traverse the over-world, get to new areas, and even sneak up on enemies. It is surprising how well all of the elements in South Park work together in the RPG setting.