I got South Park: The Stick of Truth on Tuesday and I have already beaten it twice (all but 3 achievements). I can definitely see why it was rated M. So how did I like it?
Combat:
On the surface, combat seems ok. It is kind of turn based with button prompts (I could really do without those). I have seen it referred to as like Paper Mario (but since I am not a Nintendo fan, I wouldn't know). So, to me this seems like a slightly worse version of the combat seen in Costume Quest. I think of it as Costume Quest with weapons and bad mini games. It kind of sucks that the enemies seem to level up with you (I hate it when they do that).
Mini-Games:
I kind of detest mini games. There is far too much button mashing, timing button hits, etc in this game for my liking. I especially loathe the abortion mini game (loathe may not be a strong enough word). I really, really, really hate it.
The "fart" mini scenes (where you acquire magic) seem kind of pointless to - as the way you learn it is not typically how you use it in the game after you learn it (you know like school)
Some of the special skills involve button (or more annoyingly) stick prompts to pull them off.
Scenes I Could Do Without:
I have always thought that South Park was better with censors - limiting what Trey Parker and Matt Stone would get away with. Without that check, they seem to go a little over the top.
* The abortion scene: forget for a moment that this plays like crap (who knows how to consistently beat it - it seems so random). I think the abortion scene is a bit over the top (even though you perform it on a guy, poor Randy Marsh).
* Parent sex scene: there is a fight series that takes place where you can see the new kid's parents having sex (somewhat resembling the sex scene in Team America World Police). This wasn't really necessary.
* Annoyingly long explanation scene near the end that you can't skip (hold B to skip usually)
Useless Tips:
* You can sell weapons and still have them in your collection (except for that one achievement)
* Enhance your weapons and armor by hitting the X button in the inventory screen. Status effects like fire, bleeding or gross out are very useful in battles.
* You can use mana potions outside of combat.
* In Canada, spare the Bishop of Banf (you get a friend request out of it and can still buy the weapon)
* Learn the upper level attacks when you can (when you level up) some of them are powerful: like the fighter has one where he jumps up and slams down causing good damage, the Jew has a "plague" attack that is really useful
* Remember to get perks when you have enough "friends" (unless you don't want to)
* Butters is actually a fairly good party member
* Some sections have you use your "buddy's" power. But these are rarely used. Stan 1x, Cartman ? (I don't even know what his power is), Kyle ? (don't think I ever used it), Butters Heals (used most frequently, maybe 3X), Jimmy (1 or 2x depending on faction).
Where are They?
Most of the main characters are here, but I kind of miss Satan and some of the other ancillary characters.
Other:
For an "RPG" this is kind of short - I think my longest playtime was like 17 hours (doing all quests). I kind of wish it would have been longer. A sequel at 1.5-2x the length would be interesting (without stupid abortion mini game). I'm actually tempted to trade this game in. It will probably be $15 on Black Friday anyway.
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