"Jack is Back differently, but still great"

Mario, Link, Lara Croft, and now, Jack. All of the names stated in the previous sentence has made a huge impact on the gaming world. Sure Jack hasn’t made as huge of an impact as Mario, but the impact is significant none the less. The faceless Jack has been the main character of a popular line of trivia games known only as the You Don’t Know Jack series. I myself is a big fan of the series. It has the rare combination of extreme humor and trivia. Whether you hate him or love him, Jack is back, and he most definitely is better than ever!

First and foremost, a lot of Jack old schoolers will find this game hard to get used to. This game strays a bit away from previous games in the series. First, the most noticeable difference is the method of choosing categories. Before the game gets on it’s way, a basic 2 option multiple choice question is asked such as “what would you like to do with a rope?” Your answer will determine what every question is about in the game. When the actual game starts the category and the value of the question is determined by a roulette. A lot of players find this method a bit hard to adapt to.

The game itself is very easy to understand. The game is very competitive. Though if you do not have anybody to play with, you could play by yourself (it’s not as fun, however). When a question pops up, the gamer(s) try to buzz in. First one to buzz in gets first crack at the answer. Most questions are multiple choice. Then there are special questions and since this is a review and not a faq, I won’t bother going into the types of special questions. But the special questions are all very fun and add variety to the game. They include things such as fill in the blank and other things. Then of course, at the end of every question, the host will throw a joke at you. These jokes are often very funny. Though they may offend some gamers, I don’t think it should be a big problem. Also, you will get taunted if you get a question wrong. However, compared to Volume 3 of You Don’t Know Jack, I find the jokes in Volume 4 really bland and boring. Sierra went in the wrong direction when it comes face to face with humor. Another thing I find that this thing lacked compared to Volume 3 is the feeling that you’re in a game show. In Volume 4, the feeling is almost gone.

There really isn’t all that much to say about the graphics. The very little animation present is excellent however. The background is very well done, with a well-done background when the occasion arises (most of the time, the background is just black). The audio, again, is the best part of the game. This game excels in the voice acting. You could actually feel like somebody is talking to you, reading the questions to you, then taunting you for getting it wrong. The basic sound effects are also well done.

The fun factor, although still extremely high, has gone down slightly from Volume 3. This is because of the new method of category choosing. Some players find it boring to stick with one basic category all game. And frankly, so do I. However, this still makes a great party game. This game is especially fun playing with 3 or more people. The replay value is as high as ever. There are even more questions than ever. And it would be a while until the questions start to repeat.

A bonus item is included with the game. The install disc includes audio on it that can be played on any CD player. This CD has jokes from Volume 4 and previous You Don’t Know Jack games. This CD is extremely humorous with over 40 tracks.

Overall, I would recommend this game to everybody. Though Jack oldschoolers watch out, a change is here. This game proves once and for all that You Don’t Know Jack!

FINAL RANKINGS
Gameplay: 9
Controls: 10
Challenge: 10
Graphics: 10
Audio: 10+
Fun Factor: 9
Replay Value: 10
Overall: 10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/27/01, Updated 05/27/01