PSP World

Jackass The Game Review

Jackass is probably best described as 'car crash TV'. A phenomenon that exists with all of us where we know we really shouldn't be looking but we can't help but take a peek at what's going on. For anyone who doesn't have MTV or access to the media for that matter, Jackass is a show where grown men sometimes injure themselves attempting just about every stunt your parents told you not to. Rather than give a full explanation you are probably best catching an episode yourself (or even one of the two movies) or you could just play the game.

Jackass: The Game begins like the 'Missing' series with you taking on directing duties. In reality this is an excuse to squeeze 35 mini-games onto a UMD with a less than inspiring storyline to hold it all together. The games, though rather simplistic by today’s standards, vary from great fun to complete nonsense. This has become the norm in packages of this type. They don't take long to figure out either and by the second or third go you should have entered the high score table. They range from riding a fridge through a snow-covered landscape (with extra points awarded for crashing into other skiers and houses) to racing around the suburbs in golf carts causing a fair bit of damage. Others are less interesting and much shorter with one challenging you to simply trash a car with a baseball bat within the time limit.

The main game is all over very quickly even if you happen to go for all the unlockables. Fortunately there's the Challenge Mode, which allows you to simply dip into the mini-games, without playing through the whole story, at your leisure. Multiplayer fans are also catered for and while this is much more fun than battling it out with AI opponents not all the games are designed for multiple participants which does limit the experience a little. Budding film editors will also get the chance to cut and spice together a variety of recorded clips in order to make their own version of the show. This can then be traded with other users and is probably the closest fans are going to get to a new series.

Visually this looks a lot better than expected with all the cast members lending their likeness (and movements) to the game making for almost perfect digital representations of themselves. The environments are equally impressive and while they're not the greatest in terms of modeling and they suit the style of the TV show perfectly and the 'watered down' backdrops actually help focus the camera on the action. The audio’s not bad either and as the cast also do their own voiceover work and while this pushes the authentic feel of the title even further it can become a little repetitive at times. Elsewhere you'll also be treated to the classic Jackass theme and a range of forgettable incidental music.

While this PSP version of the classic TV series is exceptionally well put together the resulting gameplay is more a collection of mini-games rather than the fully rounded title the developers were no doubt hoping for. It's all here though and there's more than enough variety to allow you to live out all your Jackass fantasies without getting a scratch but you are unlikely to spend any prolonged period with the game. Even worse, it's a little on the short side although the developers have gone some way to address this with the inclusion of the Programme Editor and Multiplayer Modes. Regardless of all this if you are one of the many who still weep at the cancellation of the show then there's more than enough madness to keep you happy and safe.