Last November Matt reviewed Buzz! Quiz World on the PS3 and was highly impressed – which was in contrast with my views on 2008’s Buzz! Master Quiz, so I was thrilled to give the PSP version a try when it was released in December. On the day I downloaded Buzz! Quiz World from the PSN store, my wife and I sat down to play together on my PSPgo and had a blast. But did it last? Read on and find out!

As I said, my wife and I played that first night and the hours just melted away as we played. We played together in single-player, then tried “pass & play” multiplayer, and quickly moved back to single player as it was more fun as a shared experience. More on the multiplayer options later. The initial impressions were very good – the game was bright and cheery with an engaging presentation comprised of solid voice-overs, visuals and music. The gameplay options got us going right away, and although I couldn’t understand why I had to choose a preset name that was never used afterward, it was nice to just get straight to the quizzes.

Buzz! Quiz World consists of several types of quizzes on several subjects. The quiz modes are Points Builder, Quick Fire, Mystery, Snapshot, High Stakes, and Time Challenge. With Points Builder, you get points for answering correctly, more points for answering quickly, but lose points for an incorrect response. Quick Fire is all about answering as quickly as possible; Time Challenge is similar but in that mode the goal is to get as many correct answers as possible before time expires. High Stakes is interesting as it allows you to bet points against answering the next question correctly: get it right and you earn points, incorrect and you lose points. Snapshot pairs up answering questions correctly with uncovering a hidden image and guessing what it is based on seeing a section – and the fewer sections you uncover before guessing, the more points you amass. Mystery assigns you a random quiz type.

The topics are pretty standard quiz show fare: sports, history, trivia, TV, movies, music, and so on. The questions are not overly hard, but naturally some require existing knowledge of certain shows or movies or music types. Questions are given with four possible answers, each mapped to a face button, so accuracy is as important as speed. There is always one answer that is obviously incorrect and more than one that is possibly true, which makes narrowing your answer easier but actually getting the correct choice trickier.

There are several possible ways to play Buzz! Quiz World. First there is a simple single player mode, where you try to work your way through the entire puzzle game one quiz at a time. Alternately you can play with others via infrastructure, ad-hoc or “pass & play: modes. “Pass & play” is the obvious method of playing against someone by handing them your PSP. It seems like a great way to play with someone sitting next to you, but in reality it sucks all of the fun out of this sort of game – you really want to be either cooperating or competing, not watching and waiting.

Infrastructure mode allows you to play against anyone in the world who also has a copy of the game. During my time playing, I never found an online game – so if you do buy this I would assume you will never find a game with anyone online … that way if you do it will be a pleasant surprise! Ad-hoc mode involves playing against someone locally, and let me just give developer Relentless a STANDING OVATION for including ‘game sharing’. Game Sharing allows you to play a limited copy of the game against others locally who don’t own their own game. It is an excellent way to get the feel for the game, and I had fun playing with my kids this way.

Buzz! Quiz World also features a mode called ‘MyBuzz’ that lets you play from quiz-lists uploaded by other users. There are different categories you can choose from or just select a random quiz from the main menu. After playing you can rate it for others to see and even report any inappropriate materials. In general it is a nice feature, though none of the quizzes I saw were nearly on par with the bundled game quizzes. Another complaint is that the quizzes can only be accessed online – there is no way to download them for playing on the go.

I really wanted to love Buzz! Quiz World on the PSP the same way Matt did on the PS3, and the same way my wife and I did when we first started playing, but alas I didn’t stay enamored for long. It is clearly a better game than Buzz! Master Quiz, and if you are a big fan of that game type you owe it to yourself to give this a shot. That said, I also have a fundamental issue with playing what is essentially a party game on what is primarily a single-user platform. No matter what you do, the experience will always pale compared to playing on a console or a TV surrounded by friends.

Pros:
+ Nicely done graphics
+ Exciting voice-overs put you ‘in the game show’
+ Plenty of quiz modes and content
+ MyBuzz is a great concept
+ Support for game sharing!

Cons:
– MyBuzz doesn’t allow off-line play
– Still suffers as a party game on a solo platform

Game Info:
Platform: PSP via PSN download
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Relentless Software
Release Date: 12/17/09
Genre: Trivia
ESRB Rating: Teen
Players: 1-6
Source: Review code provided by publisher

While most of the gaming world froths at the mouth over Infinity Ward’s latest Call of Duty epic, Sony quietly sneaks the next PS3 installment in its popular Buzz! quiz show series onto store shelves today. For obvious reasons, Buzz! Quiz World won’t be getting much attention, and that’s too bad. Shrug the game off as “just another family-friendly casual game” and continue on with your first-person shooting if you must, but let me tell you something right now, you’ll be missing out on one of the more entertaining game experiences to hit the PS3 this year.

As a proper sequel is supposed to do, Buzz! Quiz World builds upon the sturdy foundation laid out by its predecessor — last year’s Buzz! Quiz TV – leaving (almost) everything that worked intact while expanding the experience with more of just about everything and polishing it all off with a glowing presentational finish.

The core Buzz! gameplay is the same as always. You and up to seven other players grab your Buzz! buzzers (a bundle is available for newcomers) and compete against one another in rousing trivia contests playing out like a TV quiz show. Questions across a wide variety of topics (sports, movies, history, lifestyle, etc.) are asked and, using your buzzer controller, you press the colored button matching what you think is the correct answer. Matches span six rounds, always kicking off with Point Builder for everyone to casually score some points to work with and ending with a tense round of Final Countdown as competitors match wits to be the last person standing on their platform, with a variety of other challenges mixed in during the middle rounds. Pie Fight is always fun, with the first correct answer gaining control of a pie to throw at another player, as is the hot potato game of Short Fuse.

In terms of the basic essentials, Quiz World contains all the new content you’d expect from a sequel. Over 5,000 new questions are included to test your knowledge against, with continued support for homemade MyBuzz! quizzes and backwards compatibility with DLC question add-on packs previously released for Quiz TV. A few new characters are also included – being the fantasy geek that I am, the new medieval knight instantly became my character of choice – as are new round types like Over the Edge (answer questions to keep from falling into a pool of green goo) and On the Spot (contestants answer individually while the others determine the point value based on how likely they think you are to come up with the correct answer). The presentation has been jazzed up nicely as well, with the trivia action taking place on a massive new set complete with a rotating stage platform, elaborate lighting effects and a more vocal audience, all combining to bring a heightened sense of drama and tension like a real quiz show. Buzz now even rewards the winning contestant with a silly prize (accompanied by Buzz doing something equally silly with the prize, like getting stuck inside a giant bottle of champagne or launching off a bouncy castle).

Quiz World goes far beyond just adding some new questions, rounds and graphics too, though. Simple as it may seem, the addition of user profiles actually proves to be the most significant new feature. Now, each individual player can save a name, character and buzzer noise to a profile, which, for one thing, cuts down on the intermission time between successive matches since you don’t have to go through the player setup process over and over. What’s more, the profile system finally enables Buzz to be a more personable host. He now calls you out by name and even keeps track of your play history in order to deliver running commentary based on current and past performance – if you’re doing really well he’ll talk you up and sometimes even try to jinx you, or if you are struggling along he’ll give you a hard time for missing so many questions. Unfortunately, if your name is rare or has a unique spelling it probably isn’t included in the provided list of profile names, so you’ll need to compromise. The name list is pretty robust, though, so I think most players will be good to go.

Another great thing about Quiz World is how customizable it is. Creating custom matches with the rounds of your choice was not an option in Quiz TV, which was a glaring omission. Thankfully that option has now returned. But Relentless Software didn’t stop there. Along with custom matches, a whole slew of preset match options have been added so you can jump into different games in a more streamlined fashion. If you just want straight trivia, select the Serious Rounds option and that’s what you’ll get. But if you enjoy the wackier side of Buzz!, choose the Crazy Rounds option and go to town. You can also play 15- or 45-minute quizzes, Standard or Round Select games (losing player gets to choose the question category or round type before each round), games using questions solely from downloaded quiz packs, and new single-player Over the Edge and Stop the Clock challenges for solo trivia whizzes to master. The only thing you can’t do anymore is choose a specific question category for an entire match, and I’m not quite sure why that option was removed.

Expansion of online functionality is another upgrade to Quiz World. Online “sofa vs. sofa” support has been bumped up from four to eight players (four players locally can play against four players online), and voice chat has been enabled for those who like to trash talk or distract their quiz rivals. MyBuzz quizzes span four rounds now too instead of one, so their implementation feels more integrated than it was in the last game. Sadly, though, you can no longer play MyBuzz quizzes by yourself. I appreciated being able to hop online and pop through a few homemade quizzes on my own in Quiz TV, so I really missed not being able to do the same here.

“Trivia gaming simply doesn’t get any better than this, folks.” That’s what I said in my review of Quiz TV last year, and at the time it was true. But that statement is true no longer thanks to the good people at Relentless Software who continue to top their previous efforts with each new Buzz! installment. Quiz World, despite a couple odd deletions, takes all the great stuff about Quiz TV and just flat out makes it better. Quiz World is trivia gaming at its highest level, and whether you are a Buzz! newbie or series mastermind it is sure to be hit at any family game night or friendly gathering.

Pros:
+ User profiles pep up character selection and get you more personally involved
+ More round customization and preset match options
+ Expanded online functionality
+ Snazzy presentation upgrade
+ Content refresh: new questions, characters, round types, etc.
+ Same great Buzz! trivia gameplay as always

Cons:
– MyBuzz! quizzes no longer support solo play
– Can’t choose question categories pre-match

Game Info:
Platform: PS3 (also coming to PSP)
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Relentless Software
Release Date: 11/10/09
Genre: Trivia
ESRB Rating: Teen
Players: 2-8 (w/ limited single-player support)
Source: Review copy provided by publisher

Looky here! Now I can dress up just like Buzz — everyone’s favorite video game quiz show host — while playing my early copy of Buzz! Quiz World, which ships next week for PS3 and PSP (coverage is embargoed until Monday, so check back then for a review). Pretty snazzy, dontcha think? Too bad it didn’t arrive in time for Halloween, as it would’ve made for an easy costume!

Buzz! is taking over this year. The hit trivia game series will not only be making its PS3 debut, it’ll also be going portable for the first time this fall (or maybe summer, the fact sheet lists both so I’m not sure which it is) with Buzz!: Master Quiz for the PSP. Obviously, the Master Quiz won’t make use of the series’ trademark buzzer peripherals, but adjustments have been made to make things work on the go. The game will feature both a pass around mode for playing with up to six players on one PSP and support for four-player game sharing. Either way, a single copy of the game is all that’ll be needed to enjoy it to its fullest. Sadly, there won’t be any online play like the PS3 version, but the local multiplayer options and the “more robust” single-player mode should surely make for plenty of on-the-go trivia fun.

Screenshots and fact sheet after the break.

BUZZ! Master Quiz FACT SHEET

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: Relentless Software
Platform: PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system
Genre: Social Gaming/Trivia
Players: Single-player, Multi-player up to six players
Launch Date: Fall 2008
Rating: “RP” for Rating Pending

OVERVIEW

This summer, get ready to take the popular game show host BUZZ! on the road with the release of BUZZ! Master Quiz for PSP® (PlayStation®Portable), the handheld entertainment system that offers gaming, web access, movies, music, photos and more.

Packing over 3000 questions on topics including music, celebrities, TV, sport, science, nature, movies and more, BUZZ! Master Quiz puts gamer’s knowledge to the test at home or on the move. With six new round types specifically designed for PSP including the speed-is-of-the-essence ‘Quickfire Challenge’, the picture-puzzler ‘Picture This’ and the mind-boggling ‘Virus Challenge’, each round also comes complete with pictures and videos .

The focus of BUZZ! has always been on social gaming and the PSP version is no different, with three exciting multiplayer modes ideal to play with friends and family. Pass Around is a mode that enables players to use one PSP and pass the system from player to player. Pass Around is a mode that enables players to use one PSP and pass the system from player to player. In this mode, gamers can quiz their friends’ general knowledge wit and choose who to pass the PSP, adding a new tactical edge to gameplay.

Game sharing is also supported; where up to four players can connect multiple PSP’s and share just one copy of the game in an effort to determine who can succeed in frenzied ‘Fastest Finger’ play. Additionally, Quiz Host mode enables up to six players to play against each other, with one taking control of the game to select and ask the questions. The Quiz Host runs the whole game, with the power to award (or even deduct) points however they see fit.

Not only does BUZZ! Master Quiz offer innovative multiplayer handheld quiz action; it also has more robust single player mode than previous BUZZ! games. This mode presents players with a series of 15 different quiz challenges designed to test all aspects of general knowledge. In each round, players can earn bronze, silver and gold medals for performance according to how many points they collect from correct answers. There is also a variety of special trophies to collect according to how many correct questions the players has answered in a row, or how fast the players react.

KEY FEATURES

• Three new multiplayer modes, all requiring either just one PSP or one copy of the game to enjoy: Pass Around, Game Share and Quiz Host.
• Enhanced single-payer mode with 15 different quiz challenges designed to test the limits of a player’s knowledge.
• Six all-new single and multiplayer round types specially created for PSP.
• Over 3000 unique questions alongside hundreds of licensed picture assets and videos.
• Eight question categories: Music, TV, Science, Celebrities, Nature, Sport, Movies and General Knowledge.

Slowly but surely, I’m becoming a big fan of Sony’s Buzz! trivia series, and come this fall when the debut PS3 installment — Buzz! Quiz TV — arrives I have a feeling I’m going to officially become a full fledged Buzz! nut. I mean just listen to some of the neat new features the PS3 will be able to introduce to the series: four-player online trivia action (eight-player local), extra downloadable quiz packs containing 500 additional questions each, and the ability to create personalized eight-question “mini-quizzes” to share with family and friends or upload to MyBUZZquiz.com and challenge other trivia fans. Plus, the new PS3 Buzz! controllers will be wireless, so no more hassling with the tangled mess of the PS2 USB controllers. Hallelujah!

Hit the jump for the first screens and official fact sheet.

BUZZ! Quiz TV FACT SHEET

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Developer: Relentless Software
Genre: Social Gaming/Trivia
Players: 1-8 Players
Platform: PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system
Peripherals: BUZZ! wireless buzzers
Launch Date: Fall 2008

OVERVIEW

This fall BUZZ!, the popular quiz show franchise, makes its way for the first time to the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system with BUZZ! Quiz TV. Developed by Relentless Software, BUZZ! Quiz TV comes packed with BUZZ! wireless buzzer peripherals for an easy, pick-up-and-play game show experience. Combining to deliver over 5,000 questions divided into five different genre channels (Music, Movies & TV, Sports, Brainiac and Lifestyle), the new Channel Hopper mode allows players to switch between the different categories of questions in order to play a variety of quizzes that lets all your friends get into the action.

Extending the quiz show network beyond the disc, up to four players from anywhere in the U.S. can team up for trivia showdowns in the online multiplayer mode, Sofa vs. Sofa. New quiz packs will be available to download from the PLAYSTATION®Network, so players will never run out of fresh questions. Also, for trivia fans wanting to see if they can trump others with their own vast library of knowledge, MyBUZZquiz.com will provide a global community for players to create and share their own custom quizzes online and then make available to download onto PS3.

KEY FEATURES

• Features over 5,000 questions divided into five different genre channels (Music, Movies & TV, Sports, Brainiac and Lifestyle).
• New Channel Hopper mode allows players to switch between question genres.
• Includes all-new characters and round types, as well as an all-new studio in high-def.
• Play with up to eight friends and family members live in your living room.
• Four-player Sofa vs. Sofa mode allows for online multiplayer gaming anywhere in the United States.
• Downloadable quiz packs containing 500 questions available on the PLAYSTATION®Network to extend the gameplay experience. Quiz Packs will focus on specialized genres such as Sports, Music, Pop Culture, etc. Once packs have been downloaded, the new content will be integrated into the Channel mix.
• MyBUZZquiz.com extends the trivia experience even further as players can create their own mini-quizzes with up to eight questions, upload them and share with other quiz fans. Players also can download other Buzz fans mini-quizzes, or create personal quizzes to share with family and friends
• Utilizes fun and easy-to-use BUZZ! wireless buzzer peripherals to create an immersive quiz show experience.