Trivia computer gamers through the late 1990s and 2000s have likely come across the You Don't Know Jack series in one way or another, whether it be through the old disc-based releases, or via the online episodic series launched in 2007. But for the first time in more than a decade, YDKJ has returned to consoles.

Stripping the name back to the core You Don't Know Jack after countless sequels and subtitles, Chicago's Jellyvision is giving the trivia series its first go-'round on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and DS, as well as PC, with THQ at the helm of publishing duties. The box boasts a "fresh new scent," but it's mostly the same "irreverent trivia party game" we've all come to know and love over the years, and that's for the best.

For those unfamiliar with the You Don't Know Jack pedigree, "irreverent" is an understatement. Instead of the high-brow trivia fare of game shows, YDKJ combines the intellectual nature of trivia with pop culture references and cleverly worded scenarios that make gamers think about the questions in a round-about way, rather than simply asking them outright. That's what has made the series unique through the years.

And that style and wacky sense of humor are intact with Cookie Masterson on hosting duties. In terms of presentation, gamers will find all of the classic elements they remember. There is a 30-second static lead-in to each episode, during which players can get instructions, producer-selected names if they didn't pick their own or just skip it and move onto the game. At the end of every episode, as per tradition, are audio skits rolling through the credits that make sticking around worthwhile.

The gameplay this time around is relegated to 10-question games, plus the Jack Attack (no choices of long or short game). The first five questions comprise the first round, the second five the second, and the Jack Attack wraps things up in matches designed for up to four players to go at it simultaneously.

Most questions are multiple choice, with four choices available, and gamers simply select one of the face buttons to choose which choice they think is the correct answer. The faster a player answers as the time counts down, the more money he has the opportunity to earn. But a wrong fast answer will lose just as much, while not answering yields no penalty. So there risk and reward play a heavy role.

Players are each given a screw to try to "screw" their opponents by forcing them to answer a question it seems they don't know. If the chosen recipient of the screw gets it wrong, he loses the cash. But if he gets it right, the player who attempted to do the screwing becomes the screw-ee, and loses the same amount of money as the competitor gains.

"Dis or Dat" features also appear once a game, giving the player with the least amount of cash the opportunity to catch up, with seven quick-fire choices to determine if the clue corresponds with one category, another, or sometimes both. The finale Jack Attack round remains the same, with an overriding clue guiding players to buzz in when two words on screen match. The first to buzz correctly for any given pair nets $4,000 in the game's fictional currency, but buzzing in wrong will lose players the same.

A new addition to this version is the "Wrong Answer of the Game." Every episode, of which the game features 73, has a fictional sponsor. That sponsor is actually a clue to a wrong answer somewhere in the game, which while not right will yield the players who select it $4,000 in the first round or $8,000 if it appears in the second round, as well as a virtual prize. Not only does this add an interesting element of players trying to keep an eye out for something connected to the sponsor in an already fast-paced and zany affair, but gives them something to go back for to find all of the prizes.

Bottom line - You Don't Know Jack is as good as it has ever been. Not much has changed, but the formula is already so much fun, especially for a group of friends (online or off), that it doesn't need to tweak much but the pop-culture references. As a $29.99 budget-release price, with 73 episodes worth of fun and the ability to expand via paid downloadable episode packs, You Don't Know Jack is a must buy for the trivia fans with an off-kilter sense of humor.

Final Score: A