South Park Rally

We've added two new movies and a host of new screens to our preview, in anticipation of Rally's upcoming release ... uhh, South Park Rally, that is. South Park's first Dreamcast game since the Chef sang his song is nearing completion, and the videos below represent what the final game should look like. Enjoy, and look forward to our review shortly.

UPDATE: 12/15/99

You know you've made it in video games when you get yourself a kart racer. Spawned from the groundbreaking 16-bit title Super Mario Kart, games starring oversized characters in miniature vehicles have carved themselves an impressive little niche. Like fellow icons Mario, Crash, Diddy Kong, and the faithful Chocobo, the boys from South Park have earned themselves a stab at the genre. And while Acclaim's South Park Rally won't offer anything mind-blowingly new by way of game play, it could prove to be the most humorous and atmospheric of them all.

Fans of the series will be happy to know that most of the signature characters and locales will be faithfully reproduced and as irreverent as ever. Each South Park personality will have a unique automobile to power their way through the courses at high speed. This isn't your run-of-the-mill transportation either; Cartman pedals over the streets with 'authoritah' in his police-inspired tricycle, Big Gay Al drives a big gay love bug, and the messiah himself, Jesus Christ floats around on a big poofy cloud. Offensive to some, hilarious to others, there's no denying the originality here.

The same could be said for the game's power-ups. Grab Mr. Hanky and use a little poo power to splatter your opponents right off the track. Utilize Chef's chocolate salty balls to uhh... choclify someone, or use the power of the Mexican Staring Frog to freeze your opponent and give your racer the advantage they need. While the entire list of bonuses and their uses have yet to be completely revealed, the demented nature of those we know of are enough to get us all wet and sloppy with anticipation.

The courses promise to be just as diverse. Borrowing locales from all over South Park lore, everywhere from Big Gay Al's Big Gay Animal Sanctuary to downtown South Park are to be faithfully reproduced. Jumps, hairpin turns, and a ton of road forks will be thrown in for good measure, and based on what we have seen of the game in action so far, the pace will be furiously fast. That is a very good thing indeed.

Multiplayer mode is what most kart fans look forward to the most, and South Park Rally is no exception. Not only will the conventional head-to-head option be included, but so too will be Team and Challenge modes. With up to four gamers squaring off at once, the possibility of SPR becoming THE party game for the new year is not that big a stretch.

Lets not forget the famous voices of Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Joined by the Chef himself Isaac Hayes, hundreds upon hundreds of hilariously funny and biting sound snippets have been recorded to keep the South Park spirit alive. Classic lines from the series and movie are set to litter to the disc with hours of entertaining audio. The majority of which cannot be repeated here.

While a comparison to the great Super Mario Kart, or even the not so great Chocobo Racing are somewhat inevitable, a final verdict is still a ways off. Hopes are high for Acclaim's latest effort, however, and with a ton of shortcuts, hidden characters, and special items that are just waiting to be discovered, South Park Rally could jump right to the front of gamers want lists faster than you can say "No Starvin' Marvin, that's my Pumpkin Pie!". Stay Tuned.

-- Jeremy Dunham, Contributor

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