You Don't Know Jack Reviews

  • JoeCool7835JoeCool7835407,422
    08 Feb 2011
    57 3 11
    Out of the MASSIVE library of games I own dating back to the Atari 2600, the one game I got more playtime and enjoyment from more than any other was You Don't Know Jack (PS1). Not only was it one of the best quiz games ever, it was also one of the best party games ever. (SUCK IT, MARIO PARTY!) Unfortunately, it seemed the series hit a brick wall with its bald head after the three strikes of Mock 2 (PS1), The Ride (PC), and that crappy Paul Reubans-hosted game show. But now, after 11 years, Jack has returned in style!

    For those of you who don't know Jack (BAD PUN ALERT), I'll clue you in. This game is the most outrageous quiz show in existence, "where high culture and pop culture collide" (don't blame me for that line; blame the marketing materials). Each 11 question game will have you answering off-the-wall questions that strangely make sense in context. You could be applying mitosis to the Brady Bunch. You could be sorting things based on if they're medical ailments or James Bond movies. (Hmm, I wonder if Thor suffered from Thunderball...) If you think an opponent doesn't know the answer to a question, SCREW HIM! (That is, force him to answer, you pervert.) All the while, this absolutely hilarious checking of your sanity is hosted by Cookie, a wise-ass host who's not afraid to give your ego a thorough bruising.

    The writing, vocal delivery, and music are absolutely hysterical! There's little in the way of graphics, but you won't miss über-HD visuals (if you want those, play Gears of War again). Fortunately, this game hasn't ignored 11 years worth of progress in gaming technology. You can play on Xbox Live. There are a bunch of Leaderboards. DLC is on the way. You can even use those Big Button Controllers that have been collecting dust since the last Scene It. Then there are the butt-load of Achievements. Some are mundane like racking up lifetime winnings (or losings), and some are as wacky as the game itself, like getting "Social Outcast" for playing single-player games on Friday or Saturday night.

    Here's the bottom line for You Don't Know Jack on the 360:

    If you like quiz games, BUY THIS GAME! If you like playing with friends, BUY THIS GAME! If you like funny games, BUY THIS GAME! If you're a cheap-ass bastard, BUY THIS GAME! (It's only 30 bucks, for crying out loud!) And if you are still trying to come up with a reason not to buy this game, then you REALLY don't know jack!

    clap
    5.0
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    Kitsun3I saw this game on IGN, went out on a limb and bought it, and I fell in love.
    Posted by Kitsun3 on 13 Feb 11 at 19:56
    It looks like the kind of game you should play if you're drunk or high lol. I never played the old ones so I'll at least rent this one.
    Posted on 14 Feb 11 at 20:27
    SamuelC4Great great review! I really wanna try this out now thanks!
    Posted by SamuelC4 on 19 Mar 11 at 23:24
  • RJ LCSWRJ LCSW340,205
    18 Feb 2011
    11 0 1
    Can't say that I'm much of a fan for Trivia games, but as this goes it might be the best available option for 360 owners. Given the limited income many folks have for games, the $30 price point gets you a great value especially if you have multiple players in your home. The host is irreverent and the humor still on point if not departing from the tradition of the series.

    Buyers should be aware of a couple negatives. First the means by which you are presented with questions are not random. Players progress through "Episodes" (just over 70 on disc, and more available as DLC) that always list the same questions in the same order. If you invite your friends over for a party, you can make yourself seem smart by playing an older episode, and jamming on all the questions. This also occurs in online multiplayer mode. It's kind of frustrating starting out on LIVE against folks who have already played the episode and remember all the answers.

    Achievements: I enjoy wacky cheevos and none present themselves as being too difficult. Some unlock with natural progression, another you can obtain by just playing single player on the weekend, but my favorite is obtained by disrespecting America by simply playing on July 4th.

    Overall, this should be a buy for trivia fans, family or group gamers, or folks who are looking to engage a significant other without a great deal of gaming experience.
    4.0
  • Paul Wesley 91Paul Wesley 911,094,086
    13 Apr 2013
    5 1 0
    This review of You Don’t Know Jack is brought to you by: Paul Wesley 91, the guy whose gamertag reads: “Paul Wesley 91”.

    Overview
    Welcome to You Don’t Know Jack, the craziest, zaniest quiz show on the planet. Beginning in 1995, this series of games had its last release in 2003, and has finally been rebooted. This fake (but at one time real) television show has always featured trivia questions with a bit of humor added that never give it to you straight to always keep you guessing. To see what I mean, here are some sample questions:

    "Suppose Jackson Pollock had become a sandwich artist at Subway. What would his supervisor have noted about his performance?"

    "What do a Victoria's Secret model and the mineral feldspar have in common?"

    There is also a version of the game on facebook if you want to get a better feel for how the game plays (www.facebook.com/youdontknowjack).

    Your host will be Cookie Masterson, your guide through 73 episodes of trivia madness. There are no set categories, so be ready to be quizzed on everything and anything.

    Bonus Round(s)
    To break up the various questions, there are also a few special rounds, one of which is dis or dat, a round where you must differentiate between different objects (a simple example, if an animal’s plural name is the same as singular or not). There are also specialty questions: Nocturnal Admissions with Cookie Masterson, Who’s the Dummy? Hosted by Billy O’Brien, Cookie’s ventriloquist dummy, Funky Trash, Cookie’s Fortune Cookie Fortune with Cookie “Fortune Cookie” Masterson, and It’s the put the choices into order then buzz in and see if you are right question.

    At the end of every round, you play a matching game called “Jack Attack” which is worth so many points ($) that you can often win after performing well here and poorly for the rest of the game. Only the first to buzz in gets points, so I hope you have an itchy trigger buzzer finger.

    Multiplayer
    In an time and on a console that is starved for good local multiplayer games, I am so thankful this game exists. This game is a tremendous amount of fun to play with friends, and if you have the remotes included with the scene it games, this makes playing with 4 players all the more easy if you do not have access to 4 Xbox 360 controllers. The game is also easily accessible for your non-gamer friends as well, but if you want to play this game with kids, be warned as they likely won’t get most of the questions or jokes. As a big fan of the party genre (I’m a Mario Party superfan) this ranks as my favorite party game on the 360.

    Online
    Yes, and online mode is included with this game. Yes, it’s a great new way to play with others. No, you will not find many people online anymore and personally I believe this game is much more fun to play with people in the same room anyway.

    DLC/Strategy
    There are 4 DLC packs available for this game, pushing the episode total to 113, and absolute monstrous amount of content. In addition to just playing episodes, you can go to prizes. Every episode has a different sponsor with one wrong answer that relates to the sponsor in one way shape or fashion. Find it and you will obtain a prize for finding the “Wrong Answer of the Game”. This adds a new layer of strategy not seen in most trivia games. Another strategy implemented is multiplayer screws. Each player is given a screw, and you can use it once in each episode to force another player to answer a question they may or may not know – and they only have 5 seconds. Hope your friends don’t anger easily.

    Achievements
    If you want all of the achievements in this game be prepared as you will have to play every episode and find every prize, a very lengthy task but also a very fun one. There are a few other online and cumulative achievements as well. These aren't hard but some can be time-consuming. There are also date-sensitive achievements for playing on the weekends and on the 4th of July. If you are really having a hard time, you can always make the game much less fun and use an answer guide. There are also some avatar awards to unlock as well.

    To Conclude...
    Bottom line, get this game. If you have friends, you won’t regret it, and if you don’t, the single player is still fun too. My one wish is that there was a random episode option for when you have finished playing every episode, but this is a small nitpick. This is a fantastic game, and you should at least try it out on facebook to see how you like it. Here’s hoping for more YDKJ games in the future!
    5.0
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