South Park - a hilarious show with a very unique feel. Iguana's mission was to convert the TV series into a game. They succeeded... partially. While the game has a lot of things to make it fun, it lacks some vital components.

Graphics: Iguana managed to convert the look of the show into 3D flawlessly, simplistic as it may be. The game makes use of the 4 MB expansion to supply an optional high-res (640x480) mode. The cut scenes are excellent. There a few problems, however. The most major one of these for me was a suffering frame rate in multiplayer. If you are playing a 4 player game in high-res, things start slowing down. Fog was a bit of an issue at times, but not too bad. Another problem was the lack of textures. One gets tired of looking at snow after playing level after level filled with it. I realize that the basic weapon (snowballs) would become obsolete with a lack of snow, but it still would have been nice to see some grass.

Sound: The sound in this game is fantastic. The samples are true to the show, with all the swearing (except for stuff that's beeped out on the show as well). There are plenty of voice samples for you to listen to. Some of the comments will have you rolling on the ground with laughter. This is definitely the high point of this game. The music, however, is nothing fantastic.

Gameplay: There are two parts to this game: the fun part and the boring part. First, the boring part, also known as single player. The single player mode in this game is terrible. The lack of types of enemies makes this mode extremely monotonous. If you buy this game solely for single player, you will begin to doubt the intelligence of your investment once you knock out 50 turkeys in a row with no end in sight. The multiplayer mode, however, makes up for this. You have a large choice of characters (if you use cheats), which is excellent. The only difference between one character and another is size, but that difference is extreme. One of the characters appears as a very small thing on the ground. Another option that adds to the fun is the multi-functionality of the weapons. The Terrence & Phillip dolls, for example, can either explode on contact and release a cloud of fart gas, or be changed into a proximity mine mode (and still release a cloud of fart gas). There is a large number of levels to choose from, but you might still feel as if they are all the same (damn snow). The comments from the characters add great fun to multiplayer, as long as you're not laughing too hard to hear them.

Satisfaction: Good multiplayer is a definite plus, but the lack of a good single player mode may leave you feeling ripped off. In addition, once the comments get old, dust might begin to gather on this game.

Bottom Line: Hard core South Park fans may enjoy this game, but if you're looking for an all around great shooter, look elsewhere.

Chris