Jackass: The Game
Score: 70% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Red Mile Entertainment Developer: Red Mile Entertainment Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 - 2 Genre: Action/ Party
Graphics & Sound: The only thing odder than the idea of a game based on the TV show Jackass is that it has taken this long for someone to actually make it. Although it lives on in reruns and on the shelf at your local Blockbuster, most of the show's crew members have moved on. Jackass: The Game does a good job at capturing the look and feel of the show, though it comes up short on actual gameplay. The real appeal, at least for fans of the show, is that Jackass: The Game features the likeness and voices of every cast member except for Bam. What you get are reasonably well-done likenesses (at least, as well-done as is possible on the PS2) of each of the cast members with their appropriate voices. The downside is that the voicework isn't that good to begin with and the amount of dialogue does get tiresome -- which ends up being something of a theme for the rest of the game.
Gameplay: Jackass: The Game puts you in the role of the show's director as you produce seven episodes of what is supposed to be the show's fourth season. Each episode of the show consists of five mini-games which are based on stunts from the show. The stunts remain true to what you would expect to see on the show. In addition to the always popular shopping cart races, you also have a stunt involving "Party Boy" or diving into elephant dung. A number of other games are stunts that you know the Jackass crew would love to do, such as a round of golf with hand grenades or a tumble down a cliff, but are something that are only possible in a videogame. At its heart, Jackass is a collection of mini-games, which means it comes with the problems typical of the genre. There are games that you will fall in love with while there are others that you'll try to avoid if possible. One of the real positives about this collection is that there's a healthy amount of games available. At the same time, the idea behind the game is almost always more enjoyable than the actual gameplay. Personally I wasn't impressed by many of the stunts for the same reason I lost interest in the show - once you've seen someone do something crazy a couple of times it loses its appeal. Without better gameplay to back up each stunt, it isn't fun. Once you complete the season, which doesn't take that long unless you're going for 100% completion, you can take on the Challenge and Multiplayer modes. Challenge mode features harder versions of the stunts found in the main game. By completing these stunts, you earn cash which unlocks items like new props and clips from the show. Multiplayer is a bit of letdown and feels a slapped on, taking away some of the appeal of mini-game collections. All of the stunts are just multiplayer versions of the stunts from the season that never gel.
Difficulty: Typical of mini-game collections, Jackass: The Game isn't overly complicated. The real challenge is that you are always doing something new, so you constantly have to learn a new skill. Each game has its own main objective, though each will also have a number of side objectives, adding a slight bit of depth. What is really cool about the extra objectives is that some objectives require completely different approaches - so it is difficult to complete them all unless you play through them multiple times.
Game Mechanics: Despite the lack of instructions on how to play each game, they are typically easy to learn since most are just variations of games found in other mini-game collections. Most games revolve around one or two button presses. For example, in one game you race a shopping cart forward by pressing (X) and then try to stop the cart by pressing (Square) before it goes off the edge of a building. Even the more "complex" stunts, like the rhythm-based "Party Boy" sequences, aren't overly complicated. Even if you like mini-game collections, there isn't anything here that you haven't played already. What makes the game enjoyable is how well the game manages to capture the humor of the show. As a result, Jackass: The Game is something that only fans of the show will dig.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Jackass: The Game NHL 08