It seems that even after so many years, the creators of South Park still have a few surprises up their sleeves. The seemingly straightforward South Park RPG has received a dose of fiction along with a name change. In the tradition of the fantasy mythology the game seeks to lampoon, Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming Colorado quest-fest shall henceforth be referred to as South Park: The Stick of Truth.

Until now we've had no reason to believe that series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were keeping anything under wraps, but new cover art, a new title and a brief hint at the game's story have suddenly appeared on Xbox.com. The unique character classes made it clear that both Stone and Parker know their RPGs, as did their choice to hand-pick Obsidian for development.

All that fantasy framework needs some fiction to go along with it, and these new details hint at what's in store. Have a look:

The name change has yet to be announced by THQ or Obsidian directly, but the quality of the cover art and typical South Park sensibility is enough evidence to say that this is the real deal. Apparently that wooden staff Cartman has been toting in the previously released screenshots of the game is far more important than we had assumed.

As the 'Stick of Truth' we can only assume that it grants the ability to see some ancient wisdom. At least, as Cartman sees it. If it's the latter, then the odds are good that The Stick of Truth will incite some controversy. According to the new plot summary, the player will be seeking greatness among the Rocky Mountains - look out Skyrim - in an "epic quest to become... cool." Details are obviously being kept scarce, but any fan of South Park has a good idea of what to expect.

We've been looking forward to this South Park game since it was first announced as the direct brainchild of Parker and Stone, and this only goes to reinforce their influence. The best bit of news revealed in this change is the confirmation of 2-player offline co-op, assuaging our fears that this RPG would only be a singleplayer experience.

South Park: The Stick of Truth is expected to release in 2012 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

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Source: Microsoft (via GameInformer)