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South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a 2017 role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft San Francisco, in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios and published by Ubisoft. The game's story takes place after the conclusion of the events in South Park: The Stick of Truth.[1]
Blurb
COON AND FRIENDS ASSEMBLE!
A dark shadow had spread accross South Park. A new power is rising, and this time, an entire squad of superheroes must stand. Create your own superhero and use your incredible powers to save the town.
Develop your mysterious superhero backstory
Fight epic battles with a new combat system
Recruit other heroes as your buddies
Plot
Spoiler warning! Plot details follow. |
After the events of South Park: The Stick of Truth, the children of South Park become role-playing superheroes. However, a falling-out over Cartman's planned film franchise splinters the boys split into two groups, with some calling for a civil war to make their own franchise.
The Coon's Opening Story
The Coon: "What has become of this city? There used to be laws, justice. Not anymore. Crime is out of control - cats are missing and townspeople are being victimized. We were supposed to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. Now superheroes are torn apart by political differences. We are two sides, at war, but war isn't going to save our city. Time travel is my only hope now. Myths tell of ancient times, when a new king united a kingdom, torn apart by a powerful stick. There is no time to waste. I have to go back, change the present if I can, and find this cat, and in doing so perhaps I can change what has happened...to all of us."
The Coon has traveled back to 'Ancient Zaron' in 627 A.D. The King's soldiers are in a war (the children are role-playing in the street) and their side is losing. The King (portrayed by The New Kid) is missing and has apparently left the battle to sit on the throne (toilet).
The King is called outside to protect his soldiers. After the fight, The Coon shows up and claims to be from the future. He has returned to the past to fix the future and the children agree to play as superheroes. The New Kid finds the Coon Lair and is given a superhero backstory by The Coon. The Coon sends The New Kid out to find clues to locate a missing cat.
- A list with all missions can be found here.
Combat Overview
- Main article: Combat in South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park: The Fractured But Whole uses a turn-based combat system. The player can start a fight by punching the enemy, unless the enemy otherwise attacks the player. If the player attacks the enemy first, the player gains 'combat advantage' where they will get the first turn, but if the enemy attacks the player first, the enemy will get the first turn. When combat starts, the floor area becomes a grid. The turn order is displayed in a timeline at the bottom right corner of the screen. Players can move their character and buddies in specified areas of the grid marked in blue.
Microaggressions first appear in this game, and will sometimes appear during combat. It will occur when an enemy gets a turn and quotes a microaggression, which would allow the player to have a chance to punch the opponent during the enemy's turn.
Different abilities affect different areas of the combat grid. The diagram under a power's icon allows the player to view the ability's range. Pressing the control for the ability will show the affected areas of the grid. Players can end their turn or cancel an ability by using the appropriate control. Combat automatically ends when either the player's team or opposing enemies are defeated.
Players are able to select one of three classes at the beginning of the game: Brutalist, Blaster, or Speedster. Additional classes can be unlocked during gameplay.
Difficulty
There are two types of difficulties in South Park: The Fractured But Whole: five skin-related difficulties and four combat-related difficulties.
Skin Difficulty
When the player creates their character, the difficulty ranges from very easy to difficult. The difficulty also determines the skin colour of the new kid, if the player sets the difficulty to very easy, the lighter the skin color of the new kid. Should the player set the difficulty to very difficult, the New Kid's skin colour becomes darker.
The difficulty setting affects the amount of money the new kid earns and how others treat and speak to him. But it should be noted that this difficulty does not really match the actual treatment, for example, if created as black, the highest difficulty, both Classi and Morgan Freeman will provide the New Kid with an artifact. If the New Kid is dark, Morgan Freeman will never battle with the new kid no matter how many times the New Kid punches him.
Combat Difficulty
There are 4 combat difficulties, which affect battles.
The difficulties range from Casual to Diabolic. The difficulties reflect the AI-controlled players by how much damage they can make and how they play. For example, an AI-controlled opponent who is set to Casual will have their troops carry light damage when they attack the player and their level of intelligence is low. An AI-controlled opponent who is set to Diabolic will have their troops carry very heavy damage when they attack the player and their level of intelligence becomes very wise during their turns in combat.
- Casual - The easiest level of the game. The player gets advantage over the AI-controlled opponent.
- Heroic - Both the player and his AI-controlled opponent share the same amount of advantages.
- Mastermind - The AI-controlled opponent gets advantage over the player.
- Diabolic - The hardest level of the game. The AI-controlled opponent gets extreme advantage over the player.
History
On June 18, 2015, Matt Stone and Trey Parker visited E3 2015 and announced that because of their "new abilities with creating games" a sequel to the Stick of Truth would be released. On June 13, 2016, during E3 2016, Parker and Stone revealed more information on the game, including a revamped combat system, story details, and a release date of December 6.
It was also revealed that anyone who purchases the game will get South Park: The Stick of Truth for free.
The game was delayed on September 15, 2016 in an announcement by Ubisoft's blog, citing the need for additional time for polishing. The game was then slated to be released Q1 2017, which runs from January 2017 to March 2017.[2] On February 9, 2017, the game was delayed yet again to sometime during Ubisoft's fiscal year 2017, which runs from April 2017 to March 2018.[3]
The game was generally well received by critics. Indeed, it was nominated for "Best Role Playing Game" at the 2017 Game Awards, however Persona 5 was the winner of the award.
See Also
References