South Park: Tenorman's Revenge

  • Online Co-Op: 4 Players
  • Couch Co-Op: 4 Players
  • + Co-Op Campaign
South Park Tenorman's Revenge Co-Op Review
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South Park Tenorman's Revenge Co-Op Review

This time, revenge is a dish best not served at all

Before I get too far into this review, I want to put out a disclaimer of sorts. I am not a huge South Park fan. I've watched only a handful of episodes in the many years the show has been around. Personally, I find the potty-mouth element distasteful, and that mars the humor for me. That said, this is a video game review, and I certainly enjoyed the South Park tower defense game quite a bit, so I did my best to approach this title with an open mind. South Park lovers may disagree, but coming from a non-fan's perspective, I believe Tenorman's Revenge is a below average game at best.

I have a long list of negatives and complaints, but there are a few things that the developers did right. Perhaps most important was using the voices from the show; creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone contributed their talents. The cut scenes that deliver the story are top notch, looking exactly like an episode of the show. In a bit of meta humor, the titular antagonist, Tenorman, has stolen the hard drive to Cartman's Xbox 360. The four buddies must chase Tenorman through time in order to recover the precious device. (I guess Cartman doesn't use cloud saves.)

Other than the voice actors, and the presentation of the story, the other major highlight is the continuity of the art style. Even in the gameplay sections, the primitive animations that give the series part of its charm are in evidence. The boys walk, jump, climb, and crawl just like they would in the show. The environments and enemies wouldn't look out of place on Comedy Central. Even the game elements and icons share a similar style. It all comes together aesthetically quite nicely.

Unfortunately, the rest of Tenorman's Revenge ranges from merely boring to outright excruciating. Perhaps the most easily noticable problem is the imprecision of the controls. There are some very challenging platforming sections, where multiple exact movements are required. Trying to complete these areas with a mushy control scheme is very difficult. Difficulty on its own is not a bad thing, but when the game is hard because the controls are working against you, it just feels unfair. 




 

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