Game Review: South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!

The Charleston Gazette

When I first heard about "South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!," I was intrigued for a couple of reasons.

First, I've been a big "South Park" fan from Day One and, like so many others, I've waited for a quality video game based on the show. My apologies to anyone who actually liked "South Park" for the Nintendo 64, but I don't have fond memories of that game. Second, I had never played a tower defense game and wanted to see what the fuss was about. I've always enjoyed strategy titles, but the appeal of building towers to stop waves of enemies from advancing from one end of a map to another escaped me.

Perhaps it's my devotion to the show, or maybe it's the allure of a new genre, but I found "South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!" to be a thoroughly entertaining effort that fans of the series shouldn't miss.

The story is pretty bare-bones -- hordes of enemies are attacking South Park and it's up to Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny to restore order to the quiet Colorado town. You'll defend the town from familiar foes like underpants gnomes, hippies, sixth-graders on bikes, old people and ginger kids. There are eight levels in all, with stages taking place in locations like Kenny's house or Hell's Pass Hospital.

I found the tower defense game play to be quite fun. There are a number of different tower types, ranging from the default snowball thrower to the more powerful fireworks stand. Enemies have specific weaknesses to certain types of towers, so knowing which towers to build is key to success. You can also take matters into your own hands by tossing snowballs at bad guys. Holding down the throw button lets you charge your snowball for added power, and throwing balls increases your special power meter. When activated, the character-specific special moves can do increased damage to multiple enemies, heal the town if any bad guys slipped through your defenses, or cause enemies to drop more coins, which are used to build or upgrade your towers.

"South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!" is pretty fun when playing alone, but add three friends to the mix and the game really shines. There are more than a dozen characters to chose from once they've been unlocked, so each player should have no trouble finding their favorite.

Speaking of unlockable characters, there are also a ton of unlockable clips from the show and bios on each character and enemy you'll encounter. This is a great addition for "South Park" fans and I often found myself going back to watch the clips in between levels. Even after all these years, the underpants gnomes still make me laugh.

"South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!" isn't likely to make you rethink the way you look at tower defense games. And it's probably not going to change your opinion of the cartoon either because, let's face it, you either love it or hate it. But for those of us who do love the show, this is a great bit of fan service and a worthwhile way to spend 800 MS Points.

"South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!"

Developer: Doublesix

Publisher: Microsoft

Available for: Xbox Live Arcade (800 Microsoft Points)

Rating: M for mature

Score: 7.6/10

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