DESCRIPTION

Nine months after its release on the Nintendo 64 and Windows 95, Acclaim finally invites PlayStation gamers to go on down to South Park and have themselves a time. Assume the roles of your four favorite foul-mouthed third-graders — Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman — as they attempt to save their small Colorado town from the side effects of an evil meteor that has landed nearby.

Through five stages of first-person shooter action (each with three or four sub-levels), prepare to face the likes of malevolent turkeys, snowball-throwing clones, ruthless cows, aliens from another world, killer robots and toys gone bad. In most cases, you'll also have to defeat larger versions of these baddies called "tanks," which not only present the greatest danger to South Park and must be stopped before reaching town, but also generate more small enemies until they are destroyed. The end of each stage features a battle with an extremely powerful boss character.

In order to combat these evil forces, the fearsome foursome can access a myriad of eclectic weapons, most of which may be used in at least two ways. You have a limitless supply of snowballs (which can become more powerful when "yellowed"), but you'll also utilize limited quantities of bouncy dodge balls, rapidly firing sponge darts, powerful plungers, Dr. Mephisto's warpo ray ammo or fart-happy Terrance and Phillip dolls. And don't forget to take advantage of powerful livestock attacks with the super sniper chicken's projectile eggs and the cow launcher!

Also helping you in your fight are power-ups. These include Cheesy Poofs and Snacky Cakes for health, Beefcake for invulnerability, lightning bolts to double your firing rate, Zipp! Cola for a speed burst and football pads for armor. Mr. Hankey even joins the cause by causing "Poo" damage to enemies and shielding you from their fire.

In addition to the single-player Story Mode, two players can face off against one another in Head to Head Mode. At their disposal is the entire array of weapons listed above as well as an alien dancing gizmo to make your opponent dance uncontrollably. Based on your selections, the winner is determined either by a set number of victories (times the opponent's health reached zero) or the most victories within a given amount of time.

Though only the four core characters are available to start out with, up to 20 become available once all have been unlocked by completing a level in Story Mode. These others include the following: Officer Barbrady, Big Gay Al, Terrance, Phillip, Ike, Wendy, Pip, Starvin' Marvin, Mr. Mackey, an alien, Mrs. Cartman, Chef, Ned, Jimbo, Mr. Garrison and Dr. Mephisto.

Fans of the show will be happy to know that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone contributed a variety of voices exclusive to the game in addition to the standard phrases (e.g., "Kick ass!" and "Sweet!") heard throughout gameplay. Also, the game is mostly uncensored, only the words they won't even play on Comedy Central getting the "beep." Still, South Park is suggested for mature audiences and should not be played by anyone under 17 without parental consent. ~ Christopher Michael Baker, All Game Guide