
	Platform Playstation 2 Genre Action Publisher Red Mile Entertainment Developer Sidhe Interactive ESRB M (Mature) Released September 25, 2007

- Full support of actual Jackass cast - Warped sense of humor - Diverse challenges throughout - Kickass soundtrack

- Not for the prudish or faint of heart - Replay value seems limited - Slightly blocky character models

Review: Escape from Monkey Island (PS2) Review: The Godfather (PS2) Review: The Italian Job (PS2)
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Jackass: The Game

Score: 7.5 / 10

First, a disclaimer, oft repeated on MTV's Jackass, and even repeated on the box of Jackass: The Game. The stunts featured in this game were performed by (motion captured) professionals. Neither you nor your dumb little buddies should ever, under any circumstances, attempt to perform any of the stunts found in this game. You have been warned.

Apparently, Johnny Knoxville and the rest of the crew from Jackass just couldn't quite resist the pull of making a video game. Especially with stunts that I'm reasonably certain could not possibly be performed in real life without major safety preparations and a battalion-strength group of medical staff on hand. And that is the charm in Jackass: The Game. You know that no human being could possibly survive stunts like Trashcan Lid Wakeboarding or diving off a 80-story

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building into a giant mass of elephant dung while mugging for the camera all the way down. Since you know it's absurd, even fatally impossible, you find yourself getting into the spirit of abusing the digital bodies of Knoxville , Steve-O, Ryan Dunn, and other members of the Jackass cast, are easily recognizable even if they're a little blocky.

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The format of the game revolves around the idea of directing a new season's worth of Jackass episodes for MTV. Each episode has a collection of stunts which share a theme of some sort. Succeed in enough goals, you'll make money for the suits at MTV and you'll unlock all sorts of things like new cast members, new costumes, props, etc. (Not to mention that you'll be able to go on to direct the next episode.)

Each stunt has it's own unique gameplay controls. While it may be a little confusing at first, you'll pick up pretty quickly. And since there's no limit to how many times you can try a stunt, perfectionist gamers who just have to succeed at everything will have plenty of opportunity to complete all the goals of a stunt and unlock everything. Should you get bored, you can always play a friend and have twice as much fun racking up injuries amongst the Jackasses. The only downside is that it's something that's best taken in short bursts. Playing all the way through might take less than 10 hours, and the game's Challenge Mode may not be enough of an inducement to repeat the stunts again, even if the difficulty has been ramped up.

The soundtrack may be probably the second best reason to buy this game. With a wide selection of punk, metal, and thrash, you can be head-banging while you're breaking the virtual bones of the Jackasses. The sound effects are very well done, and wince worthy, especially when you've racked up a truly impressive laundry list of injuries for your current stuntman. Additional kudos go out to the whole cast of Jackass who not only stood around in mo-cap undies for Weta Digital, but who also provided dialog for the game's short cutscenes introducing a new stunt, as well as the cries of agony for various injuries, and the encouragements that could make only one's dumb little buddies do even more mind-blowingly stupid stunts.

Jackass: The Game is by no means high art. It's not something that you get into for the deep storylines or intriguing characters. It panders to the lowest common denominator who takes an absolutely perverse pleasure in watching other people not only act like complete morons but suffer horrifically for their stupidity. It promotes gratuitous nudity, reckless disregard for life and limb, vulgar language, crass behavior, and careless attitudes towards the destruction of personal property. And yeah, it's fun.

- Axel Cushing

(December 7, 2007)