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| The Jackbox Party Pack 2 poster. |
Okay, now that Jackbox made their second announcement on the 2nd April, this is a good time to be posting this review. The game announced was The Devils and the Details - this was actually meant to be an April Fool's joke but as the trailer got posted a day afterwards, there is the chance that they may make this an actual game on the seventh party pack.
Either way, here's my review of the games from Party Pack 2!
Quiplash.
Alongside Cookie Masterson, Josh "Schmitty" Schmitstinstein (voiced by Phil Ridarelli) has also had a major role as a host in the You Don't Know Jack franchise, starting off with Television and then moving on to many more after that. He may not currently be hosting that particular series for the party packs, but he gets to return to the spotlight in what is definitely the key game of Party Pack 2.
The premise is that you are given a prompt that you must write down an answer to, and your answer will then be pitted up against someone else's. Everyone else then votes on which answer they like the best or they feel is the funniest. You get points based on how many people vote for your answer, but you receive a bonus if you win the most points, and an even bigger one if you "QUIPLASH!" the other player by receiving all of the votes in a game with a large amount of players.
There's a reason why this game is my favourite one of of this party pack. Not only is it an extremely colourful game with really cute characters in it, but this one gets really crazy with the prompts and answers you can receive. Whether's it asking you to come up with an alternative substitute for toilet roll, the secret to a happy life or a terrible name for a 1930s gangster, the only limit to your answers is your imagination. It's all in good fun.
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| ...Well, most of the time anyway. (Note: Screenshot taken from Achievement Hunter's first playthrough of the game, which can be seen here. Somehow, the audience voted for the second option, which explains the orange guy's victory.) |
My favourite part of this game though is the Back Talk achievement. If you write down a particular answer to a question (e.g. answering "Something you'd most love to smash with a wrecking ball" with "Miley Cyrus"), Schmitty always has a witty comment in response, allowing Ridarelli to really show off his acting chops in the process. Just be careful answering "The world's most boring video game" prompt though. He will certainly not be happy if you put down a particular answer there (no spoilers, though!). X)
Fibbage 2.
Cookie Masterson is back for this sequel with the same sardonic humour he had in the first game. I won't delve too much into this game, as it's essentially the same premise. However, I will talk about the new additions. For instance, the art style is even quirkier than before - for example, the player icons are now eyeballs and chameleons pop up on the correct answers. Giving this new aesthetic to the game really matches the game's personality itself.
A new feature is the "deFIBrillator", which allows a player to remove all the answers on their device except for one lie and the true answer. This is particularly useful on an extremely tricky question with similar sounding answers, but the fact that you must still choose between the two remaining options means that it isn't a cheap cop-out. Overall, a satisfying sequel to what was already a fun game - and it finds ways to improve on it too.
Earwax.
A very quirky and fun game that takes a seemingly ridiculous premise and then actually makes it work. In this game, players must find two sounds that match a particular prompt. One person is selected to be the judge for a particular round, and they must choose which sound they like the best in said round. People can vote on the sounds they like the best and whilst it does not actually choose the winner, it could potentially influence the judge's decision. The first person to win three rounds wins.
The host is the robotic-sounding M.O.T.H.E.R. (I didn't see the voice actor's name in the credits, but I know from other Jackbox sources that it was Ryan DiGiorgi), who is mostly very chipper and helps add to the game's wacky tone. Additionally, there are many different sounds to choose from, ranging from "All hail the king!" to explosions, meaning that your choices aren't limited when it's time to pick your two sounds. Pairing the answers up with some interesting prompts, you're bound to get some wild results.
Just a warning though. Most of the voice clips are family-friendly, but a few of of them essentially consist of orgasms that get very intense. Remember to keep that in mind when playing with younger players - hopefully you managed to find a way to censor said options before starting. Otherwise, you're safe to go!
Bidiots.
Now this is an interesting one to discuss. The premise of the game is that you must bid on each other's artwork in hopes of making a profit. On your device, you will be told which pieces of artwork you should be bidding on and the price that you should be aiming for. If you lose money on a bad purchase or sale (or worst of all, somehow buying your own artwork - yes, this can happen), you have an option to take out a predatory loan (which comes with a very catchy theme song everytime). However, said loans will be taken back at the end of the game. Another option is to "screw" someone into bidding on artwork they don't want, making them more likely to lose money on a bad purchase. Overall, the person who makes the most profit wins.
The rounds are pretty much the same, thus making gameplay repetitive (by this, I mean that each round is just bidding on artwork and then taking a loan). Additionally, audience participation is not possible for some reason and the screw function can break the game if you can't find somebody to use it on. Nevertheless, it's still pretty entertaining. The gameplay gets very hectic at times given its nature, which I always enjoy in a party game like this. The noises that the bidders make when trying to win the artwork are also priceless, especially when they occur within seconds of each other. Additionally, there's a fun little easter egg where if you type in your player name at the beginning, you can sometimes get a special place-card associated with said name rather than the regular ones. I won't spoil the results you can get, but definitely try it out.
In particular, I would like to discuss the host of this game, because he is utterly hilarious. He is voiced by Tim Sniffen, who has worked with Jackbox games for a long time and is both a talented voice actor and comedian (he also voices Donny in YJKJ 2011, the green room organiser who loves to use long complicated words that he doesn't understand). The posh voice he puts on is priceless and it's especially funny to hear his exasperation whenever the loan sharks come by. And I never get tired of the way he announces the different prices as well. It cracks me up every time. X)
Bomb Corp.
This is Jackbox's own take on the bomb-defusing game genre, similar to ones such as Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. The premise is that you are working as a bomb-defuser, with your boss Greg (voiced by Matt Young) guiding you through. Most of the gameplay consists of you defusing the bombs that your new company makes, but there are other tasks such as organising folders (that also contain explosives) and clearing out your desk. So overall, not very different from a normal day job. ;)
Personally, I feel that this is the weakest of the Party Pack 2 games. It doesn't really stand out compared to the others and the amount of players that can take part is very limited in comparison to your regular Jackbox game, with audience participation also not being a feature. However, it's still pretty charming and the different tasks it offers you should keep you occupied - it's good that they don't go for the same tasks every time and choose to vary the rounds. Additionally, Greg adds some witty comments throughout gameplay that work well for the situation that you're in. Overall, it's a good game to play if you only want to play a solo game or with one friend.
Drawful 2.
Okay, for some reason this game does not appear to be on the party pack, which is why I placed it last. Like with the Fibbage 2 review, I'll just discuss the new features it brings to the series. The host is now voiced by Elizabeth Archer, but she still has a similar personality to the host from the first game, which is a nice touch. Another new feature is the chance to use not one, but two colours. This will definitely add something new to your pictures which could help out with particular prompts.
Add the new art design that stays faithful to the original game and there you have it - another satisfying sequel. Still confused as to why it isn't on the party pack though.
Overall, this pack has its ups and downs. A couple of the games aren't as memorable as the games on other party packs, but as it is Jackbox we're talking about here, even the weaker games have their charm. Additionally, Quiplash is an absolute joy, the game sequels add a lot to the original games and Earwax is great fun.
As soon as the third game gets announced, I will be posting my review for the third party pack. This one's a real treat, I tell you!
