South Park has definitely had a successful run, sporting 16 seasons of crude humor and sayings that have pushed the limits of censorship, a movie that set a Guinness World Record for most swears, and even a few (unremarkable) games. Matt Stone and Trey Parker turn their ideas towards video games yet again in a new direction. This time we will follow the adventures of our favorite fourth graders in a more turn-based fashion.

Even the title has an RPG-ish feel to it.

In the last few years, South Park has made a comeback to the gaming world.  South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! came first, then Tenorman’s Revenge, and now The Stick of Truth will convey even more of the South Park universe of sharp tongues and cardboard cut-outs. Of the South Park games, I have only played Chef’s Luv Shack for Playstation, but I cannot give an accurate review on it because I was a kid at the time, and everything seems better when you do not have defined expectations of just about anything – I played it just for the fun of it. Seeing that The Stick of Truth will combine RPG elements and one of the most acclaimed shows in history, I thought of it as an instant hit. Imagine grinding for levels in a dungeon or talking to the locals in a town…while listening to Cartman verbally abusing someone, (most likely Kyle) or fighting the hilarious misfits from the show, like Manbearpig, the woodland creatures, crab people…the list goes on.

The story is this: YOU are the new kid. All you want is something that most of us wanted as kids – to be cool. It’s a simple, realistic goal. Unbeknownst to you, the forces of good require your skills to combat evildoers, and so you are quickly swept into their ranks. Naturally, the good guys are the foul-mouthed, adventurous quartet of friends we’ve all grown accustomed to. The combat system uses timed button presses to deal more damage or reduce damage, just like in Super Mario RPG, or Paper Mario. Though simple in execution, the system keeps the gameplay from being “just tap x to win without paying attention.”

Having a turn-based RPG come to 360 is definitely a bonus, seeing as they’re rare enough as it is. I think the idea is brilliant – add some of the vulgar humor from South Park to the likes of Final Fantasy or Valkyrie Profile’s epic storylines and boom! Profit. Given that the game is developed properly, we may have a game that challenges the very notion of good RPG’s.