Before I go on, let me start off by saying this....
Respect My Authoritah!
Or at least respect the audacity of Trey Parker and Matt
Stone to try to cash in on South Park
with yet another game based on the series.
Since 1997, viewers
have been treated (or in some cases
assaulted) by a weekly dose of satire and dark humor that could range from
clever to just plain gross. Being in the
same age group as the creators I can identify with the sometimes vague
pop-culture references and irreverence about topics others may hold dear. It's what keeps me watching even if I don't
always appreciate the humor. Nothing's
sacred and if you watch long enough you're bound to find at least one episode
that pushes your buttons.
That's what's great about South Park and perhaps in spite of its creator's intentions, the
series has continually functioned as a cultural reality check since its debut.
There's no doubt that South Park's animated nature affords it
the freedom to mercilessly take on popular culture, politics and social taboos. The content can be sometimes raw, visceral
and shocking which is why fans keep coming back for more. Until the rise of the Internet or to be more
direct, YouTube, there was nothing of its kind on any medium that had such a devoted
following and nothing in popular culture so willing to, "Go There"
So after 17 years rabid fans will finally get the chance to
save the world...
....of South Park (not
Warcraft..)
On March 4th the
hotly anticipated (really?) Role
Playing Game, South Park,The Stick of Truth, will find its way on to store shelves both online
and virtual. While there's been at least
3 other South Park themed games of
varying quality this latest installment appears to be the most faithful to the
franchise. It's premise loosely based on
recent South Park storylines allowing fans a kind of enhanced second screen
experience.
There's no doubt that after
its release Southparkstudios.com
will see an uptick in visitors not to mention YouTube versions of the game's
commercials from players looking for clues and Easter eggs.
The game is one of the higher profile survivors of the now
defunct THQ with publishing rights purchased by Ubisoft finally bringing an end
to a 2 year wait that started at its announcement at E3 2012.
Early reviews have been good and pre-orders are open now
through all the popular online outlets including Steam, GameStop, Best Buy and
Amazon.
But....
There's a problem...
As much as I'm a potential customer of this game I think
I'll take a pass, at least until a Steam sale that is.
You see, they're asking $60 for what is in reality nothing
more than another pop-culture game tie-in.
Very few games based on television or popular movies are worth the purchase
price. Remember
Home Improvement: Power Tool Pursuit?
How about The Sopranos: Road to Respect?
Who could forget the classic ET: The Extra Terrestrial that became
infamous for how bad it was. Games based
on popular media are always a roll of the dice.
Undaunted, apparently Ubisoft believes that The Stick of Truth has risen to the
level of the latest Battlefield or Call of Duty franchise. Which if you read my stuff with any
regularity you know how I feel about $60 pre-orders. If not know this, no game is worth that much
no matter what it is...
It seems we're about to be treated to another case of
Overpriced pre-orders with a side of DLC disease. You see, $60 is bad enough but if you're
truly deranged you can pay $80 and get more characters (DLC) and a Cartman doll.
This feels a bit too much like Diablo 3. I wonder if there'll be a marketplace. It is an RPG after all. Perhaps in a year or so there'll be an
MMO! That way we can open our hearts (and our wallets) and show the love over
and over again.
There's not much more to say. If you think it's worth $60-$80 for the Stick of Truth then by all means lighten
your wallet. I'm guessing at some point
you're going to feel buyer's remorse though.
As for me, I think I'll wait for the next Steam Holiday sale. I'm guessing it will drop to around $19.99 by
then.
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