fm_hunter's Full Review: You Don't Know Jack Vol. 4 - The Ride for Windows,...
If you and your friends are anything like my friends, and myself, you revel in competition, be it through physical activities or mental challenges. Playing these games of 'one-ups-manship' is just human nature, especially for us men, who quite simply have way too many hormones pulsing through our veins that constantly requires us to prove that we are smarter and stronger than our fellow man. The You Don't Know Jack series of computer trivia games has always been a favorite among my peers.
I currently own 4 versions of the YDKJ series, and the most recent edition I have purchased is YDKJ: The Ride. The game itself is basically the same incarnation as all previous versions, other than the fact that is has new questions, different mannerisms to deliver the questions, and newer, groovier graphics to adorn the screen.
One element that I really love of 'The Ride' is that they bring back the original emcee from the first YDKJ game, 'Cookie'. He delivers the questions with the most zest, and his wry, sarcastic tone really lends itself to the game. In case you didn't know, YDKJ carries some scathing wit in it's questions and in the frequent off the wall comments made by the emcee. Many of these zingers can cause all 3 of the contestants (us) to be laughing so hard, there is often beer being nasally sprayed onto the monitor.
The game allows from 1 to 3 players to play. Why one person would play a trivia game, I'm not sure, except to get an unfair advantage for future games (I often heard from my friends as I kicked their collective butts, "It's no fair, you already know these questions…", which of course, was a complete lie!) When the ride starts, they pose some ridiculous question that will steer you towards a theme that will encompass the games questions.
One of my favorite features is encountered during the name-entering phase. As the players enter some clever thought out name for their contestant, occasionally the computer will type out names like 'Dipwad' or 'Idiot' regardless of what the person types. The concept of the game is that the players are on an 'elevator' and there is always 13 questions despite the fact that they allow you to choose between a seven and twenty-one question game.
The model of the game is actually quite irrelevant, as it's all just a medium to deliver some cleverly thought out, often very difficult trivia. During the game, there are frequent 'bonus' rounds that allow a single player to get an advantage by playing against the computer only, while the other two players watch. Also included is the familiar to Jack fans, the ability to 'screw' your opponent. In the earlier versions of the game, you would simply press a button to screw an opponent, thereby forcing him to answer a perceived difficult question. In this version however, when you 'screw' an opponent, you continually whack on the 'S' key, which shoots animated screws into the question thus trying to obliterate its readability. Then the person you 'screwed' must answer the question whether they can read it or not.
The last round is always the 'Jack Attack', which is a lightening round and always gives the laggers a decent chance to catch up. This game is really quite a bit of fun, especially for groups and even more so when there are some intoxicating substances around. The main drawback is that there isn't really that many questions, so re-playability is only good for about a month or so, depending on how often you give it a go.
The themes are definitely for mature audiences, although I highly doubt any children under 13 would understand most of the humor. One plus of the game is that it doesn't require an impressive system to run, and it takes up minimal space on your hard drive. There are many different versions of YDKJ, including sports, movie, and television themes. I highly recommend any of these versions, as they all exude an 'in your face' attitude of absurdity and sarcasm, while being difficult enough to be challenging. Enjoy!
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