'Jackass,' 'Dead Head Fred' offer mindless PSP fun

ByABC News
August 31, 2007, 10:34 PM

— -- While the trend today is portable games that can make you smarter spawned by the popularity of Nintendo's Brain Age titles some are designed to turn you into a jackass.

Jackass: The Game, for the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP), is based on the hit MTV show and two movies, and lets players make jackasses out of themselves with outrageously silly competitions.

Also available this week for the PSP platform is Dead Head Fred, a brand new franchise that challenges players to steal others' brains instead of sharpening your own, as with Nintendo's games.

If these kinds of games are up your alley, here's a closer look at each. Both titles are $29.99 and are rated "Mature" for players 17 years of age or older.

'Jackass: The Game' (Red Mile Entertainment; www.jackassthegame.com; 3 stars (out of 5))

It's all about silly stunts in Jackass: The Game.

Not unlike the Jackass television show and feature films, this PSP action game lets you choose to be one of their favorite Jackass characters such as Steve-O, Ryan Dunn and Johnny Knoxville, each of whom resemble their real-life counterparts and compete in ridiculous events.

For example, you can race a shopping cart against an opponent to see which player can reach the finish line first but you're on top of a skyscraper, so if you don't stop the cart fast enough you'll end up over the edge, plunging to your death.

In a Dance Dance Revolution -like rhythm game, you must press the correct button on the PSP at the right time in order to rack up points. Sounds familiar, right? Well, you're wearing a jock strap and are dancing in a retail store, before the clerk kicks you out.

What about using an umbrella to prevent getting hit with animal dung, sprayed out of a house? You get the idea.

One of the more fun exercises, however, was driving a golf cart through a course, and your goal is to inflict as much damage as you can within the time limit. This involves driving over flags and other property, as well as keeping away from the security personnel who hang onto your cart, affecting its performance. A similar mission has you careening through a suburban area on top of a garbage can, while holding a rope attached to a speeding car. If you slam into parked cars you might break a few bones, but don't worry, you'll get an "abrasion bonus."