Buzz! Quiz TV

Console based family/party games take several forms, the most popular being the recent instalment of music based games such as Guitar Hero or Rock Band. The Wii is also a lead contender in pumping out family games but it is hard to forget one of the Playstation’s classic titles; Buzz! If you are not familiar with the popular quiz series, Buzz is a quiz game that looks and feels just like a gameshow. Buzz: quiz TV is the newest addition to the series and instead of focusing on just one of the question categories like in previous instalments, it combines them all and offers new wireless buzzer remotes to give Buzz its well deserved thrust into next generation gaming.



Buzz is usually played between families and friends locally, each player trying to bag as many points as possible to win the game. There are four ways to play Buzz including a single player mode, local multiplayer mode, online multiplayer mode and a special MyBuzz mode. All of these selected modes have the same type of gameplay, simply answer questions right or answer them quickly to receive either points or a bonus reward depending on which type of round you are playing. When initiating a game of Buzz you jump straight into the gameshow-style playing stage where you are greeted by the charismatic and sometimes disturbing host, Buzz. There are four buzzers included with the game and to enter a game of Buzz you will be required to tap your buzzer, once in the game you have to choose one of the characters to play as including an Elvis impersonator, a superhero, a Darth Vader-style villain and a dozen or so more. Each character has their own taunts and cheesy catchphrases which can be triggered by pressing one of the coloured button on the buzzer in between questions. Each character also comes with three costumes which all look identical but vary in colour which isn’t great but after all, it is a quiz show. Before you start playing you will also be prompted to select a sound effect for your buzzer. This sound will be played whenever you attempt to answer any of the questions. There are quite a few to choose from including kazoos, baby cries, whips and sirens. The sound of your buzzer has no influence on your performance in game but players often get attached to one or two of the buzzer sounds.



Once the game has started the players will all stand in a row behind their buzzers awaiting questions, one of the players will be chosen to select a question topic. Topics include: lifestyle, television & cinema, sports, music and knowledge. Once the topic is selected an announcer will read out a question and four answers will be listed on the screen, each answer is listed with a colour just like the buttons on the buzzer remote. Players then have to select the correct coloured button and wait for other players to do so before being shown the true answer. One thing that Buzz is successful in is providing players with a variety of quirky yet intense round types. The most common example is a round named, “Stop the clock!” In this particular round, the quicker you answer the question, the more points you receive which is a fairly simple round. Another example which is favoured by competitive players is the “Pie Fight!” In this round players have to answer a question, the player who answers the question fastest gets to throw a pie at any of the contestants. A crosshair will cycle through all of the contestants (including the player who earned the pie) and will stop when the player in control of the pie presses their buzzer. If a player is hit with two pies they are knocked out of the round and the last player standing will be awarded 1000 points. There are many other rounds to include in your games which you will have to add manually by going into the options menu.



Online play is just as intense as the offline modes. You can either play with strangers over the net or invite friends who are also online at the same time. You can only control one of the character online so don’t expect to be pairing up with your friend sat next to you. The online versus is called “Sofa Vs. Sofa” meaning that if friends want to help you can all channel your knowledge through a single remote. There is no ranking system online but your wins are tallied up and can even unlock you trophies which are tied to your PSN ID. Another interesting feature of the online content is the MyBuzz section. MyBuzz is a new part of Buzz which allows users to go online and create their own quizzes which can be played by other users. However good this may sound, it is let down a little by a few things. First off, you can only submit eight questions in your quiz which prevents you from created quizzes with much depth to them. Secondly, sometimes there is not enough space to type in long questions or answers which can be a bit annoying but only to those who want to create complex quizzes. Last of all, MyBuzz quizzes can only be played in one round type, Stop the clock. Once a player has completed a user-created quiz they are then prompted to submit a rating for the quiz from 0 to 4 stars.

Apart from all that has been mentioned there is not a lot else to Buzz but with over 5000 questions and MyBuzz quizzes being created by users every hour and if that isn’t enough for you, you can purchase official quiz packs online such as the Sci-Fi quiz pack. Overall Buzz is a great family title but lacks a that tiny bit of depth which makes it a little further from perfect than other family games.