You Don't Know Jack Volume 4: The Ride

"A departure from the previous games, it brings with it a more unusual sense of humor."

You Don't Know Jack: The Ride is the latest installment of the popular trivia series from Berkeley Systems and Jellyvision. However, if you are a fan of the previous Jack games, be prepared for more than a few surprises.

And surprise is, in many ways, the name of the game. The instruction manual that comes with the game DOES NOT include any information on the game at all. Much of the humor included comes up randomly or is based on certain elements as well. (For instance, if you are playing a three player game, you'll be lucky if every person playing actually gets to type in his or her own name.)

The game, rather than pulling from a large number of questions, is based on an episode system. The episode is chosen through the means of a "Moral Dilemma", which is a frequently irrelevant ethical question that appears at the beginning of each game. As a result, the questions are in a set order per episode, so you don't get to choose your category. Instead, you must press your buzzer at the right time to choose the VALUE of the question. The values are no longer round numbers, either. Oh, and games can no longer be chosen as long or short, either.

The game sports a different graphical look from the previous games as well. From the elevator riding scenes that play as you make game decisions, to the "tried and convicted" look of many game question types, nothing looks the same as before. Also, the maturity level of the game has risen heavily. Despite still being far from blatant, this game is far less enjoyable for children than the other ones. And, as one of the game's major selling points, you don't just get one sarcastic host. You get EVERY SINGLE sarcastic host from the rest of the series. That's right, that's Nate, Guy, Buzz, Schmitty, and Cookie, all in the same game. They "rotate" positions after every so often, and the conversations that occur are frequently humorous.

Now, on to the question types:

Normal questions: These are handled in the same way as previous games. The question is posed, and you have four possible selections (or occasionally a blank to fill). If you buzz in and get it right, you get the points. If you buzz in and get it wrong, you lose the points. Screws still exist in this game, but they work in a different manner. Rather than just pressing 'S' after buzzing in to force an opponent to answer, you WAIL on the 'S' key and cover up the entire screen with screws. THEN they get to answer. Heh. Also, if you buzz in too early, you no longer have to type in your answer. Rather, you get to choose from four wrong answers. Yay.

Gibberish questions: Yes, they're still around, and the rules are the same as before. You get a starting value that slowly decreases as you try to figure out what the phrase that the host gives you rhymes with. Some people love this mode, others hate it.

Dis or Dat questions: Another Jack standby, you have two topics, each assigned to a key. Seven answers come up, and you have to match them to their correct topics. Not much different from before.

Roadkill: This is an interesting new mode that steals much of its idea from Jack Attack. For each of seven answers, two descriptions come up, and multiple answers pass the screen. You have to buzz in when the answer that matches both descriptions is on the screen. And, once all seven have been answered, a number of categories show up. Buzz in on the category that goes with all seven terms (no, you don't get to see them) to get a large bonus.

Jack Bingo: My favorite mode, it starts out with a humorous ditty as the five-letter word of the game shows up on the screen. Short questions appear on the screen, and the letters of the five-letter word light up one by one. If you buzz in on the letter that starts the correct answer, you claim points and the letter. Claim all five letters to get a bonus.

Jack Attack: The standard game ender still applies here. A category comes up, and then seven terms. For each term, you must buzz in when the correct "categorical match" shows up on the screen.

After each game, you find out who wins (without a large conversation) and have an opportunity to enter your name on a high score list. And once all of the games on the CD have been played, you get a surprising (and possibly long-awaited) ending sequence. Without spoiling it for you, let's just say that you get your choice of ending.

The You Don't Know Jack series has been a very popular party game in the past, and this one is no different. However, those who are used to the series may be thrown off by the numerous changes to the game. This is definitely not more of the same.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 11/30/01