Jackass: The Game Review (PSP)

10/14/07

The idea of controlling a couple of jackasses into certain doom seems like a ridiculous concept, but don't tell that to the producers who have created one of the most loved and hated series in Music Television history. Overall, I didn't have too many high expectations of a game developed specifically for previous gen systems. While there are a few humorous moments and inventive game modes, Jackass: The Game quickly becomes stale, like a good joke grandpa keeps repeating at Thanksgiving.

The game pits you as the show's replacement director because the current director gets severely injured in one of the show's stupid stunts. As the director of the show you gain the ability to control the various jackasses through a series of seven episodes. Each episode has five stunts giving the player a total of 35 levels ranging from golf cart destruction to shopping cart racing. In a move to possibly appeal to the portable gaming audience all of the stunts are relatively easy to pickup and offer very little challenge; however, there is a lot of humorous moments within the levels and you'll definitely be pressed to move forward.

Thankfully, because the levels are so easy there isn't a lot of replaying the same joke over and over. Some highlights are the Party Boy levels that utilize Boom Boom Rocket like gameplay where you must push a sequence of buttons in order of appearance. Another great stunt is pushing Steve-O off a cliff and deliver as much damage to his body as possible before plummeting into the lake. There are a few great sight gags thrown in here and there, but for the most part it gets old after a few play throughs.

For a game that seems as disposable as Jackass there are plenty of items to unlock from new characters to behind the scenes footage. Every character from the franchise makes an appearance with the exception of Bam Margera. In addition, The PSP version of the game comes with an interesting video editor that lets you take clips of your replays and put together actual episodes. You can even detach the camera and set up angles and then upload your creation online for others to see. Its interesting to see such a deep system implemented in a portable game.

Jackass: The Game isn't the worst game we've ever played; there is a lot of fun to be had the first time you play through the various stunts. We wont lie to you, we laughed out loud a couple of times, but like any joke that gets retold a thousand times the humor quickly becomes stale and you're left wanting something more. At most, this game is a solid rental. If you're a fan of the show and want nothing more than a quick laugh and easy gameplay, then Jackass will definitely not disappoint.

Overall: 5.5
A good laugh the first time through, but there's little to no replay value other than an interesting replay editor and an impressive number of unlockables.

-- J. Thomas

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