Buzz! Quiz TV

Overview:

Join an ecstatic host on a game show that puts your knowledge of the world around you to the test.

Gameplay:

Buzz! Quiz TV has two main ways to play: By yourself, or with friends. While both are fun to play, this game was obviously intended to be played with friends, so single-player won’t have the most engaging experience for you. Let’s break it down further shall we?

The single player mode is your basic-- choose the category, answer the questions, get some points-- format. You play a basic game mode entitled “Stop the Clock” where you pick from 4 different categories and answer 6 questions. You do this three times and try to rack up as many points as you can. For players on a quest for trophies, this mode will challenge your reflexes quite a bit if you’re going for the gold.

As I said before, this game was made for friends and family to play together. You start off by selecting your character, their “threads”, buzzer sound, and name. The variety of buzzer sounds are pretty good, so you shouldn’t have a problem finding your favorite beep, buzz, or cow moo to represent you while answering. You then proceed to go through rounds of many styles, from throwing pies at each other to stealing points from your opponents. The game on average lasts a good 20 or 30 minutes, and becomes a party favorite amongst fans.

One very cool feature which many players appreciate about this game is the option to create your own quizzes. “MyBuzz Quizzes” are made online, and once you submit them you can hop on your PS3 and quiz away!

Controls:

Once you enter the game, you drop the PS3 Dualshock (or SixAxis for you vets) and pick up the exclusive Buzz! Buzzers. The game comes packaged with 4, so you’ll be all set for a full game with friends. The wireless buzzers respond very well, and take a long time to drain batteries. My only complaint is that they aren’t capable of Bluetooth connection, so you can’t lose your wireless dongle.

Sound:

The audio in this game is what you’d expect- background music, buzzer sounds, and repetitive voice acting. It is enjoyable when you get questions that involve listening to popular hits, but that’s about as exciting as the audio gets. It’s not bad, it’s nothing heart stopping.

Graphics:

The graphics are pretty shiny, for cartoon characters that is. The animations are smooth for the most part, minus your host talking like the Canadians in South Park. Considering the game is based on goofy principles, I’d say the visuals do their job. Be warned though, if you aren’t playing on an HDTV, it can be difficult at times to read the text.

Replay Value:

With the developers releasing question packs every month since release, there should be enough questions to hold you off for a while. After a lot of playing you’ll start to hit familiar questions, but there are plenty of categories to where this is usually a rare occurrence. Minus the monotonous round introductions and character animations, 3 or 4 witty remarks from Buzz, and lack of round customization, the game does its job by having thousands of questions to keep buzzers buzzing.

Is It Price Worthy?

I’d say so. With the ability to make your own quizzes, play online with other buzz lovers, and a high replay value (with friends), this game is worth the bread. It’s also nice that it comes packaged with 4 remotes, so you can have a party right out of the box.

Score: 7.5/10

Buzz! Quiz TV is one of the better game show titles out there, but the genre itself is very limited by nature. If you love goofy game shows, this should be an automatic purchase. If you’re not a big fan of the genre, this title might end up on the shelf after a few runs.

-Dave