PS3 Review - Buzz! Quiz TV

Everyone wants to be on a game show. With Buzz! Quiz TV, you can do just that from the comfort of your living room. Buzz! Quiz TV is one of those games that anyone can pick up, play and enjoy. Buzz! comes complete with 4 wireless buzzers that really helps to immerse you in the game show experience.

Buzz! is full of style from its slick presentation, to its high def graphics, even the main menu features Buzz surfing through channels on a Bravia LCD. Once you’ve chosen from one of the many channels the real fun begins. Whether you are playing alone, online, or with friends and family, Buzz! is an incredibly enjoyable game. However, Buzz! really shines when you are playing with friends and family. The game’s interface and buzzer are very easy to use, so easy in fact, someone who doesn’t normally play video games can feel comfortable and have a great time. Choose from a comical cast of characters, as well as the sound effect your buzzer makes, enter your name and get ready to play.

Buzz, your host who is voiced by James Donovan, is there to guide you along, as well as bust your balls.

Buzz! local multiplayer consists of 7 themed rounds:

Points Builder
Short Fuse
Fastest Finger
Points Stealer
Pie Fight
High Stakes
Final Countdown

Short Fuse is my favorite, it’s essentially Hot Potato but the “potato” is a bomb with a lit fuse, and to pass it, you need to answer the question correct. Answer the question wrong, and you are stuck holding the bomb until it explodes in your face!

Whomever ends up with the highest score gets the most time in ‘Final Countdown’. There, your time is represented by a pillar that slowly ticks away while you are trying your best to answer questions as fast as possible. If you are first to get the answer correct, the pillar raises and you get increased time. However if you are incorrect, more time is removed and your pillar eventually hits ground level, losing the match. If your pillar is left standing high, then you win. This really shakes up things at the end of the game, making it so anyone can come out on top.

Buzz! holds its own with single player, allowing you to answer questions from the many categories, in an attempt to get the highest score. Buzz! also supports online play over the PlayStation Network. With its “sofa vs. sofa” mode, up to 4 different living rooms can play at once. Also, though only one player represents your whole living room, all 4 buzzers can buzz in with the answers.

User-generated content has the gaming industry “buzzing”, and Buzz! doesn’t miss the boat. With MyBuzz, you can play user-created quizzes. You can even create your own quiz by signing in with your PSN ID, on mybuzzquiz.com. (Make sure to check out the “PlayStation LifeStyle” quiz that we created for this review!) On the mybuzz site, you can play quizzes, rate them and even create a playlist to play on your PS3 later.

Users can download additional category packs for $5.99 each via the PlayStation Store. Each additional category pack boasts 500 questions more per pack. This, combined with MyBuzz, means the game never gets old.

Buzz! Also supports every PS3 user’s favorite new feature… Trophies. Some of the trophies appear to be very tedious such as the ‘Socialite’ Gold Trophy which requires you to play 50 multiplayer games. However, these trophies will be easily attained within normal use, since Buzz will have you, your family, and friends coming back for more.

Buzz! is a game that appeals to everybody, whether you are a casual or hardcore gamer, or not a gamer at all. Buzz! Quiz TV’s simple premise and easy-to-use buzzers make it accessible to anyone. Buzz! brings out the spirit of competition and that’s what multiplayer gaming is all about. We recommend this game to all PlayStation 3 owners that want a well rounded game library.