HarryJr's Full Review: You Don't Know Jack 5th Dementia for Windows
This game combines the great YDKJ format of smart-ass comedy and trivia with the new world of online gaming. With this volume, you not only have the normal format of questions, but two new types of questions, a fresh new look, and the ability to match wits with people over the internet.
I have long been a fan of the You Don't Know Jack (YDKJ) series, and even if a couple of these games were a little less than perfect, I've had fun with each one. My problem up to this point is that I am not exactly the most sociable person in the world, and have, thus far, just played the game by myself to see how high a score I can get. Enter the 5th Dementia.
When I looked at the boxed, I noticed it talking about online play. This was something worth checking out. I immediately purchased a copy, and took it home to play. First piece of bad news: it requires a lot of DirectX capability, which means quite a bit of data to be installed, including a restart. Also (and I don't know if this was YDKJ's fault) I got a couple of "windows protection error"s every time I restarted the computer. However, after uninstalling and reinstalling the game, I seem to be working well.
The online play with this game is pretty good, as far as online gaming goes. Most online gamers know that there is bound to be problems regarding slow connections and connection time-outs, which means some games will have these problems. However, overall I find the online play to be quite satisfactory. They appear to have set up a "calibration" system which enables them to determine who TRULY buzzed in first, and who gets the points. So far this seems to be working well. Also, you have the ability to chat with your opponents, however limited it might be. It also includes some funny comments and sounds effects previously written and accessible via the function keys.
The two new questions, the Bug Out and Anagram questions, are nice new additions to the solid YDKJ formula. The Bug Out involves speed, buzzing in when an answer that does NOT fit the category appears. It also adds incentives for right answers, since your points are deducted if someone else gets an answer right. As for the Anagram question, it's quite hard, since the letters are all mixed up. A nice challege for any Jack veteran.
Other notes: the announcer for this game is Schmitty, whom some Jack players remember. He's not exactly my favorite, but it's not that big of a deal. The humor has lost a bit of its shine, but the smart-assery is still present. The creators of the YDKJ series seem to have an endless supply of good humorous ideas, to the point of creating odd "commercials" to listen to while you await online gamers.
All in all, this is a great Jack game to get, especially for its online play. I don't think you should buy it if you have anything less than a 28.8K modem, but if you have the speed, you will enjoy this.
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