While an animation like The Simpsons jumped the shark so long ago, the shark has now died of natural causes, South Park has lost none of its bite.
Having first soiled up the airwaves in 1997, Trey Parker and Matt Stone's crudely animated Gen X icon has blazed a 325-episode trail in anal probes, talking turds and Scientology-bashing.
Yet, like any pop-culture phenom, the franchise has weathered its fair share of shoddy merch, and after only one year on air, gamers were treated to an official N64 game.
Like some low-rent Goldeneye rip-off with added fart noises, our Colorado quartet chucked snowballs at evil turkeys in a grubby cash-in that's even worse than it sounds.
It wasn't until 2014 that fans got the South Park game they deserved, when Trey and Matt personally oversaw development of The Stick of Truth – a glorious turn-based role-player that, along with a sequel that replaced its Tolkien schtick with superheroes, nailed the vibe of the show.
For the next South Park game, though, we're inexplicably going back to 3D snow-based shooting. Announced this week at THQ's annual showcase, South Park: Snow Day is a co-op adventure that sees up to four players – as Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny, naturally – enjoying a frosty day off school, battling through South Park's winter wonderland on a quest to save the world.
In the words of the publisher, "Join Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny, in three-dimensional glory, to celebrate the most magical day in any young child's life: a snow day", as you, "Grab up to three friends and battle your way through the snow-piled streets of South Park on a quest to save the world and enjoy a day without school".
For super cereal fans who member the bad old days, this is not kewl. Given South Park's previous two games were best-in-class – distilling complex role-play mechanics into accessible, interactive cartoons – Snow Day's premise drags the franchise back to '90s quick-buck licenses that were usually steaming piles of Mr Hanky.
While there's no official release date, we'll be able to come on down to South Park and have ourselves a time in 2024 when Snow Day lands on PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch.
As the first 3D South Park game in 23 years (after the terrible South Park: Rally), perhaps the technology is finally here to deliver the gang in three dimensions – but returning to the gameplay of an old N64 game that Trey Parker and Matt Stone publicly despised? Say it ain't snow.
