South Park Oculus Episode

In its nearly 2 decade run on the air South Park has seemingly covered every pop culture or political topic under the sun. They've tackled everything from The Hobbit to alien abductions, Kickstarter to Food Network.

Sometimes the writers at South Park even tackle a gaming-related topic or two, and usually those episodes become instant classics. Who can forget the World of Warcraft episode from season 10?

However, this past two weeks has delivered a series of episodes that are sure to become instant favorites among gamers. This week's episode was of particular interest because it focused on Virtual Reality and the Oculus Rift headset in a story that was trademark South Park.

Those who have yet to check out the South Park episode, titled "Grounded Vindaloop", are highly recommended to head to Comedy Central and hit play. Even those who might not enjoy South Park on a regular basis (if at all) are encouraged to give this one a try. Without giving too much away, let's just say that although VR is the focal point of the episode it functions as a clever piece of comedy writing all on its own.

South Park Freemium Episode

Coincidentally, this is the second week in a row that South Park has tackled a gaming-related topic. Last week's episode, "Freemium isn't Free", provided a satirical look at the free-to-play business model in games, specifically mobile RPGs. Like with the Oculus episode, "Freemium isn't Free" features some inside baseball concepts that only gamers will get, but it still functions as an enjoyable romp for the boys of South Park. Since this season of South Park has been tying together more than in the past, we'd recommend watching that episode first and then moving on to "Grounded Vindaloop".

After Facebook acquired Oculus for $2 billion it became very clear that VR was not the fad that some thought it to be. And now that South Park has incorporated Oculus into one of its episodes, the technology's place in our culture is even further established. In fact, where the "Freemium isn't Free" episode made fun of the free-to-play business model, this most recent episode actually touted VR as an immersive experience. Obviously, it's not THAT immersive, but we wouldn't be surprised to see a few gamers start to lose touch with reality.

What did you think of this week's South Park episode? What other video game-related topics would you like to see the writers parody?

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Source: Comedy Central

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