South Park: The Fractured But Whole

I'm a fan of the show South Park and I really loved the game "The Stick of Truth" and it was once again a dream come true they made a sequel. This sequel is of course based on the superhero arc from the show, which I felt was a logical step as it was another one of the shows big arcs but also is fitting for the times with the Marvel and DC Comics movies and TV show trend constantly on the rise.

The plot line is good as it's the usual South Park absurdist nature and as you go on it just gets more and more twisted, crazy, and funny, which will make you say what the frak. Though the plot line really isn't that important it's more a guiding line by its nature. This game is most concerned about the characters and what they do which I feel is true in most RPG's and most episodes of the show. Music is great there are plenty of memorable tracks, which is also true to the show as it's also most memorable for it's music; some of these tracks I could listen to on my iPod.

I really love the fact they changed the combat to grid based combat which makes the sequel feel fresh and slightly different, but personally I always liked this type of combat in RPGs more, there's a bit more too it, there's is a good amount of strategy involved as you think more about offence and defense, much like in Chess it depends on the positioning and how many spaces you character can occupy and cover. Each of the battles are always different which keep thinks fresh but cause you to adjust your thinking and change your strategy. You have the ability to change your skill set depending on what you think works best for the particular battle which I thought was cool as that creates variety in your abilities and strategy. You get to play as a lot more of the South Park characters, it's hard to say which ones I liked playing the most, each of them has different abilities, strengths and weaknesses. When you go into battle you can change up your character roster, depending on who works best in whatever battle you in.

Call Girl/Wendy she's a parody on "Batgirl" or "Huntress" she can strike at a distance from summoning a phone destroyer program on the enemies' phone. And for her super move create a flash mob. I always like hearing the romantic banter between both Call Girl/Wendy and Toolshed/Stan which is funny and sweet.

Toolshed/Stan he's a parody on "Nightwing" or "Batman" just like those two we see he has a utility/tool belt and a lot of tools that he gets to use hence his name. Really like his use of the drill but I really like how he's useful in taking guys out in flanking positions which means covering more ground.

Tupperware/Token is a parody on "Iron Man' makes sense since his character is a person of science. Really like summoning his super power where he gets into a mech suit which is obviously a parody on "The Hulk buster", with it you deliver an aerial assault as you launch rockets that land on several opponents and deal shock and slow down.

Mysteron/Kenny is awesome as usual as he's a parody on "Batman" his abilities are more physical as you utilize his martial arts skills and even when he dies (no surprise since he's Kenny) you become a ghost and can still be useful by using supernatural powers to slow opponents down on their tracks. Even like the opponents you get to fight which consist of most of the colorful members of "South Park" like Thong whom runs a discount Foot Clan" it's just funny whenever he keeps referring himself and the others as s.... ninjas (I know he meant City) which I agree they are. And there are some opponents that had it coming for a long time mainly Mr. Starch whom is a character I hate to the core of my being as much as Robbie from "Gravity Falls" It was so gratifying giving the guy the ass kicking he rightfully deserved and for once grounding him.

But of course, where this show really excels is in it's humor and as always with "South Park" it's at its crudest and clever best. There are a lot of memorable lines and jokes for example the origin story Cartman always gives for your tutorials in the different classes you pick, their all the same with the same so called tragic ending; it's funny because it once again displays Cartman's laziness in creativity (back to the comic book store for him) let alone a dumb ass as usual.

How there is this rivalry with both "Coon and Friends" (I know lame super team title once again Cartman's ego and laziness) and the "Freedom Pals" determining which of their proposed film and TV franchises is the best and should go out first but most of all which leader and team should be in charge of it. This is obviously a parody on the DC and Marvel franchise rivalry and how ridiculous it's gotten just has both have gotten ridiculously big. I really love the amount of in jokes, parodies on all the clenches you would see in the comics and even the comic book films and TV shows, even reference jokes there are on both companies but also just seeing the characters at their best (or worst depending on how you look at it) in their interactions with each other and rivalry which as you go on turns into something more. Heck even the nameless character you play actually has an ongoing plotline throughout the game where it's constantly hinting your character is something more; it's easy to guess what it is and if you remember the comic book arc in the show and the twist in the end you easily know what to expect, but I still found it humor and even a little intriguing all the same.

Over all I love this game I love it about the same as the first entry both I feel are good in their own way and hopefully we'll get a third entry somewhere along the line, the possibilities for that one just like a good comic book series are just about endless. So, if you're a South Park fan or if you even a fan of RPGs or comics and some of the movies and TV shows going on for them then this is a game worth playing. It's a super hero epic, well sort of.

Rating: 4 stars

This game was absolutely brilliant. I have to say this is the best South Park game ever created in South Park history. Although, the game ended in a really unexpected twist. I really hope Trey Parker makes a sequel to this, because I'm really getting into this.

That's really awesome game, many opportunities and funny moments

So after The Stick Of Truth was released to much skepticism, but then miraculously turned out to actually be really good, suddenly there were expectations for the sequel. Including from me, I also really liked Stick Of Truth, and after playing this one...it is better...and it also isn't.

If we're talking gameplay, it has certainly improved the combat system. Not that there was anything wrong with the more traditional turn-based combat of the last game, but it's evolved a lot this time. You can move around and need to be in the right space for attacks to land, you need to make sure that your party isn't being blocked by anyone, you can knock enemies into each other or your teammates for extra damage, and in general it's a lot more enjoyable than it was last time. However, I still think the game is far too easy on normal difficulty, and the only times I felt even slightly challenged was some late-game boss fights.

The town is still a lot of fun to explore and find all its secrets, and they did fix one of my biggest complaints from the last game, that being that you could walk around almost the entire town at the start of the first game and discover nearly all the side quests at once. This time, there's a lot more stuff blocking your path that can't be traversed until you have some later-game powers, which is nice to see. The interactions with all the different characters are still funny as ever, as are the collectables.

The main thing that rubs me the wrong way about the gameplay is that in some ways, it's even more shallow than Stick Of Truth, which was already mostly summed up by "equip the thing with the highest number" item management. This time, you don't get different equipable weapons or perks, instead, every class has three designated moves and an ultimate, and that's it. Sure, the game's still fun like that, but it would have been nice to see the weapons system from Stick Of Truth be improved rather than just done away with.

The presentation is still as 100% authentic as it was in Stick Of Truth, so I'll spare you all the time of going on about how perfect it is and just get to the story, which is...good...but for some reason I don't find it quite as memorable or as funny as Stick Of Truth, and I don't quite know why that is. Maybe it's as simple as the novelty of playing an episode of the show has worn off a bit after the first game, but regardless, something about it didn't click with me quite as well.

I can't decide whether I prefer this game or Stick Of Truth, but if you liked the first one, you'll almost certainly like this as well despite its shortcomings. That's as much as I can say at the end of the day.

This game ohh my god best thing ever!!! The gameplay and the mechanical will make you wet and the graphics will make you even more wet this game is pure genius good job Trey and Matt.