Bundles are a difficult thing to review. You’re often torn on score because one title might be brilliant, while another doesn’t deliver. Luckily, Jackbox Games Party Volume 2 does have that problem. While I can’t say each of the five titles are great, there’s less of a disparity in quality between the titles, which speaks ‘volumes’ for the quality output of Jackbox Games. No more puns.
In Volume 2, you’ll get Fibbage 2, Quiplash XL, Bidiots, Bomb Corp. and Earwax, all of which can be played across multiple devices, including mobile, tablet or a PC. It’s all browser based, so as long as you’re using a recently updated browser, everything should be fine and work without a hitch. Connection issues are rare, which for a game like this is imperative – and when it works, the experience is seamless, and it does 99% of the time. So the technology is sound, but what about the games?
First off, there’s Fibbage 2, a sequel and very much in the vein of Cards against Humanity in its main gameplay mechanic, in that you’re filling in blanks by choosing the most believable lie. It makes you wonder why there isn’t a digital version of the title available, but Fibbage offers a more than satisfying alternative, that with the right friends is great fun.
Quiplash excel offers similar presentation, but this time you’re given questions and answers to chose from, with each player choosing their favourite, with players scoring points for securing votes for their answer. There are some risqué answers, is so much that they’re not for the eyes of children (if they understand them), but again, with the right friends, it really is a hoot.
If you’re sensing a theme here, then good, because the party atmosphere is what this collection is designed to exploit. The laughs that accompany each round of the above games are welcome, and you’ll find time passing with ease, because you’re having fun. Those who play board games will immediately feel at home, and bringing this room-based multiplayer to console with its unique device based gameplay is the stand-out feature, over and above games or gameplay. If you want to have fun with friends, this is a game as good as Rock band or Guitar Hero, albeit without the draw of big names. The ethos behind each of the games reinforces the fun. All games aren’t equal, though, and speaking of which, we’ve got a few more games to talk about.
Bomb Corp would ordinarily be a fun game, to a point, but it lacks the camaraderie element that Fibbage and Quiplash deliver. The premise is that you’re working for a company and there are bombs all over the place, which you each have to defuse. Each player is given different rules by which to play, which makes it interesting, and fun, but it isn’t on par with what we’ve looked at so far.
Earwax is one that doesn’t quite meet the standard set so far. The gameplay mechanics themselves sound great on paper – where you’re given a theme, and have to choose two sound effects for players to guess. It would work, but the library of sounds you’re given is a little limited, and are often not relevant to what you’re trying to describe. Like I said, on paper it sounds great, but on-screen, there’s something missing.
Then there’s Bidiots. A few friends and I had some laughs with this, perhaps inspired by Draw Something, but in a slightly different vein. Your task is to ‘draw something’ based on a theme, and have your friends identified your art against said theme. The themes vary, but do offer moments of magic when someone tries to draw something a little rude. You’ve then got to bid, or try and raise the price of the drawings. It’s different, and a welcome change to the pack – and one that although fails to reach the higher points of this bundle, it will be the alternate title to the two front runners.
So all in all, a good collection, and one that despite one dud in Earwax, offers something fun for friends in a single room. The standard here is quite good, when often bundles through something at you that you’re not really into. Jackbox Volume 2 is aimed at party play, and for that reason, all of the games fit into that genre, with some great times to be had. If Earwax was replaced by another game, we’d be looking at a higher score.
That said, what remains is a bundle that does what it sets out to, and for the most part, is good fun. You wont be busting out the game every weekend, but when you do, it won’t fail to deliver the fun.
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