South Park
South Parkby Acclaim
Platform: PlayStation
ESRB Rating: Mature
ASIN: B00000K1V2
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Editorial Review: Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny hop from the tube to the PlayStation in this mischief-filled game. You'll have the daunting task of saving South Park from a comet heading straight for South Park. In a bit of humor that is typical of the South Park series, the comet is visible only every 666 years. Defense comes via an arsenal of weapons that includes sniper chickens, cow launchers, snowballs (white and yellow), and Mr. Hanky the Christmas poo, who leaves a trail of you-know-what. Among the enemies, which change with each of the game's five episodes, are loud-mouthed turkeys that pop from the butts of larger turkeys, as well as mutant clones.
South Park's five episodes are broken into sublevels and are introduced by familiar characters, such as Chef. Of course, this game is filled with warped and off-color humor. For example, a fart sound denotes toggling between menu choices and a tally for quantity of helpless animals killed. You weren't expecting this game to be politically correct, were you?
Drawbacks include the repetitious music and character voices, as well as the slow onscreen movement, which impedes the game's multiplayer capabilities. The simple graphics used in the television show do not translate as effectively into this format. Lastly, the playing area is too expansive and visibility is often limited due to the white-on-white winter setting. --Kasty Thomas
Pros:
Unique introductory scenes
Warped South Park humor
Cons:
Simplistic graphics
Playing area too expansive, often with limited visibility
Slow movement response
GameSpot Review: Remember that show South Park? Remember how amazingly funny the movie was? Remember that lame first-person shooter that Acclaim put out for the PC and N64? Now that some people have started including the phrase "back when the show was still funny" in their descriptions of South Park, Acclaim has released its already weak South Park 3D shooter on the PlayStation. The game that is not only old (the N64 version was released about ten months ago), but it is also devoid of any fun whatsoever.
Rather than stick with existing voice work, Acclaim produced custom speech with Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Isaac Hayes, so the storyline is properly voiced throughout the game. The speech really goes a long way in making the story (a comet is passing near South Park, wackiness ensues) at least listenable. Each episode is broken up into a few sublevels. The enemies usually remain the same from sublevel to sublevel and change entirely between levels. The first episode forces you to deal with hundreds of insane turkeys, while the second pits you against hundreds of mutant clones. The enemies change, but the game pretty much remains the same. You, playing as one of the four kids, pick up the other three kids. From there, you have a couple levels packed with the enemy du jour as well as with larger versions of enemies called tanks, which generate the smaller monsters. Occasionally, you'll get tossed into a level where you must destroy several tanks very quickly to keep them from destroying South Park. Then you'll face the level's boss, save the town from destruction, listen to Chef talk about how good you are, and move on. The Chef cutscenes are done in prerendered video clips, and they look as though someone had hooked the N64 version of the game up to a VCR, recorded all the clips, and digitized them for the PlayStation version. The game also has two-player multiplayer, but the weapons (dodge balls, dart guns, etc.), level design (way too big), and player movement (eternally sluggish) really don't lend themselves very well to the multiplayer game.
Speaking of level design, it's really quite bad, but given the license, it at least makes sense. You'll spend a good portion of your time in extremely large, open areas, such as the middle of the street, large fields, and the like. This leads to a very close horizon, complete with loads of pop-up. Plus, since the ground and fog are both white, you'll eventually spend some time staring at a completely white screen, hoping that you're actually moving and not just bumping up against a wall of snow. Sure, it's a cold, snowy Colorado town, so visibility is naturally low, but it still gets in the way of the gameplay. So with the fog as bad as it is, you're forced to stare at your radar almost constantly.
South Park (the show) has a pretty basic art style. It's pretty hard to mess it up. But the PlayStation version, with its reduced-poly models and bad video quality, somehow manages to look absolutely terrible. The only thing uglier than the graphics is the in-game sound - 90 percent of it is the repetitive, super-annoying noises made by the monsters. Five minutes of constant turkey gobbling in the first level will be enough to drive some from the game. Also, the kids speak from time to time, usually to announce that you've acquired a weapon or item, but this, too, is extremely limited and repetitive.
Between the abysmal graphics, bad sound, and horrible gameplay, South Park is definitely one of those games that is bound to come up when you start thinking about the worst game you've ever played. It's a real throwback to the days of completely worthless games with decent licenses - the kind Acclaim used to be infamous for back in the days of 8-bit and 16-bit gaming. South Park fans looking for some interactive action would do well to wait for South Park Rally or Chef's Luv Shack. --Jeff Gerstmann
From the Manufacturer: Comedy Central's South Park is under attack! A mysterious comet that approaches once every 666 years is headed toward the town, causing all sorts of mayhem. The turkeys are revolting, Cartman's mom is kidnapped by aliens, and the town cows are going mad! Kyle, Cartman, Stan, and Kenny have to save the day (if Cartman ever wants his mom to make dinner again!), armed with a host of gadgets ranging from cow launchers to fart dolls. Special features include: five episode based one-player adventures that makes players feel like they're in actual South Park episodes! ,hundreds of hilarious soundbytes created specifically for the game, South Park goes full 3-D!, crazy gadgets include a Cow Launcher, an Auto Egger that uses a live sniper chicken, and Mr. Hankey (the Christmas Poo)!, dozens of multiplayer environments set all over the world of South Park!, play as Kyle, Stan, Cartman, or Kenny or any one of your favorite South Park characters!, and a host of classic supporting characters: Terrance & Phillip, Big Gay Al, Mr. Garrison (and Mr. Hat), Mephisto and more!
Customer Reviews:
this game ROCKS, October 10, 2001
Reviewer: michael h bar from new canaan, connecticut USA
this game kicks ...! it includes your fav charactors and all that .... this 1st person shooter is so sweet it will knock u out. this game is 1 of my favorites, and it all fits neetly into cartmans big fat .... TRUST ME!what else is their 2 ask 4?
South Park by Acclaim, July 3, 2001
Reviewer: Zach from USA
This game really rocks! ...I enjoyed it very much! Cool graphics, cool characters, and I had a blast with the cow-launchers! For those who like South Park, I suggest you buy this game!
This is horrible...., December 20, 2000
Reviewer: rrrrob1 from Farmington Hills, Michigan USA
Being a South Park fan, I was looking forward to this title. However, it is SO repetitive and annoying...the turkey level alone goes on FOREVER. Friends of mine have had the same reaction. It's a first-person shooter (or should we say first-person snowballer) that just has you running around the town of South Park throwing snowballs at turkeys. Yeah, I know, according to the packaging, that the game evolves into some sort of space/zombie creature thing, and you're supposed to save the town, but I never got that far due to the overlong turkey-shooting level...when I saw the average 4-star rating, I knew I had to respond. Perhaps younger people will like this due to the character tie-in, but this 34-year-old was bored and disappointed in this title.
what, i have to give this "game" one star?!, October 22, 2000
Reviewer: darthbrad from brad lamb
People, i wrote this review to warn whatever of you out there want to buy this game.This will make even the most die hard game fans throw their playstations out the window.The games has most of the characters(whoopie...)which are represented with sub bar graphics and pitifull level desighn amoungst other things.the games boring.I rented it and it literally got old after 5 minutes of gameplay.If there is one redemable factor about this game its that you can laugh at how utterly stupid it is.Avoid this nerf dung at all costs.
I don't get it., August 21, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from Sweetville
I just don't get it. I mean, I think this is a pretty good game and that if you don't like it you're only saying that because you can't beat it. The game delivers most of the South Park characters, (where's Kevin?), and all the crosshairs possible, but the bright light scenery is dumb. You almost want to get through levels quick because of the corny music, don't you? Even though there are quite a few cons, the game is somewhat smart and leaves you wanting more out of South Park. the creativity needs help but this is a great game. If you're a real fan, you won't let the cons overcome the pros and you'll find yourself giving this product good ratings on a website like amazon.com.
Boring, Boring and Boring, August 15, 2000
Reviewer: Thomas Søby from Copenhagen, Denmark
I simply find the game ordinary and boring. I really love the TV-show and was very much looking forward to the game.
Man I was dissapointed!
There is nothing new in the game. It is simply an ordinary shoot 'em up including the characters from South Park.
Admitted: There are a few funny features in the game, the cow-shooting gun, Mr. Hanky the christmas Poo but even these things gets quite boring after a very short while.
My advise is: Enjoy the TV-show and use your playstation for something else.
Not bad, but needs lots of improvement, June 10, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from Charlotte, NC
I have to agree with many of the things already expressed by the other reviewers; like them, I expected so much more from this game. The graphics don't translate well at all, and the characters are very fuzzy and blurry in the scenes where you actually see them. The game play moves and looks a lot like "Doom," and for anyone who has motion sickness, you'll play this for 5 minutes and swear you need to throw up. The audio tracks for the turkeys were recorded MUCH louder than that of the characters, and in order to keep from going deaf, you'll turn down the volume and miss what your South Park kid is saying. The white-on-white playing field is a pain to play on and finding your way through each stage isn't easy. There are red arrows here and there to point you where you need to go, but since the scenery is so bland and repetitive, it's easy to get turned around and go in circles. I only gave this game 3 stars because I love how Cartman reacts to being assaulted by the turkeys (play it and hear what I mean). I also thought it was pretty funny that your characters don't necessarily die; they just get ticked off and leave the game. As another reviewer noted, the weapons could have been more creative. I think it might've been funny to have Cartman have a special weapon that shot cranberry sauce at the turkeys. The turkeys aren't easy to destroy, especially if you just have the snowballs. Extra power-ups (in the form of Cheesy Poofs) aren't abundant, so you really have to be cautious of being attacked. It's not a bad game, but I know that once I finish it, I won't be keeping it.
Even the most devoted SP fan couldn't deny that this game just falls short.
Do I sense the words cash in?, May 31, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from Manchester, england
Why did they bother with this? Acclaim said "All South park fans will love this... Captures the show's humour perfectly..." Since when? I have never played such unfunny, unplayable tripe in all my life! Firstly the gameplay, terrible is my view. Foggy vision, humourless weaponry and a terrible idea for a plot!
The characters for the game are even worse! listening to Stan shouting rubbish such as "You mother ......! I kick your ...!" after being hit just gets extremely annoying!
If you are a fan of the show you'll buy a video set and enjoy it. Rather than tarnish the name of a hit comedy by playing this rushed awful package!
Fun, but gets boring quickly, January 7, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from Mississippi
This game is fun when you first play it, but once you see all the things you can do, you get bored with it quickly. The graphics parralell the animated show, but that isn't hard considering the low graphics SP is known for. All in all, it is worth renting for a night, but definitley not worth buying.