Quiz shows are almost always fun. The excitement of all the contestants celebrating every correctly answered question or sulking for every wrong one is an enjoyable experience. Who wouldn't want to be on a quiz show and share the experience? While you might not be able to win real money, you can experience the excitement at home with Buzz! Quiz TV.

Buzz! Quiz TV is the PlayStation 3 extension of the Buzz Quiz franchise. Your host is of course the comical character Buzz. The experience is enhanced thanks to the Playstation Network inclusion of MyBuzz! which allows for user created quiz questions to extend the game length. The game has thousands of questions in categories like music, movies, and sports, so there are almost limitless possibilities when it comes to what the game will ask its contestants. Luckily if for some reason you run out of quiz questions, you can download extra quiz packs from the PlayStation Store.

Wireless buzz controllers are included with the game. The controllers might appear to be cheap but once you handle them you realize they are quite strong. The buzzer is the same layout as it was for the previous Buzz games. The only downfall to the controller is that it uses AA batteries unlike the lithium batteries used by the SixAxis.

The game is split into three modes: single player, multiplayer, and sofa vs sofa (online). There are nine game types but the All that Apply game type applies only to the sofa vs sofa feature. Each game type has a very different objective. Some make you gain points, others take away, others do both, one allows for a higher score depending on how fast you answer, and another is the Final Countdown which ends a multiplayer round. Each game type and a description is listed below.

• Stop the Clock is featured in both the single player and sofa vs sofa modes. The objective is simple, answer fastest for the highest points possible. There is no penalty for a wrong answer.
• All that Apply is featured only in the sofa vs sofa feature. Select as many answers that apply to the question asked. Correct selections gain 100 points while wrong selects subtract 100.
• High Stakes appears in sofa versus sofa and multiplayer. Gamble on your answer as high or low as you want between selections of 50, 100, 250, and 500.
• Point Builder is only in multiplayer. Answer correctly to gain points. There is no subtraction of points in this round.
• Short Fuse appears only in multiplayer. Answer quickly and correctly. A bomb is being tossed between you and your opponent. When the bomb goes off it takes 300 points from the player who has it.
• Point Stealer is another multiplayer only game type. For every correct answer you can steal points from an opponent.
• Pie Fight is also multiplayer only. Two lives each character. For every correct answer you get to throw a pie. You can hit yourself. If you get hit twice you lose. Winner gets 1000 points.
• Fastest Fingers is the last multiplayer and rounds out the last of the game types that uses points. The gameplay is similar to Stop the Clock.
• Final Countdown is the final game type for the multiplayer game mode. It converts points into seconds. If you run out of time or answer too many questions to drop your podium's time count to zero you lose.

Taking a look over at the technical side of things, the first thing that stands out is the fact that graphically the game isn't very good but that isn't what this game is being purchased for (hint "Quiz game"). The animations are limited for all characters including Buzz, which is a shame as the host of any Quiz show doesn't have a set of preset motions and neither do the contestants. Other than that nothing seems out of place. There are no slowdowns of any sort. The audio is one of the most entertaining parts of the experience. Random and weird buzzer noises and Buzz making jokes about the winner and loser will have you laughing.

The game experience can only be summed up in one word; fun. The constant need to think and react to questions gives almost zero time to think about anything but answering your questions so you can get the highest score possible each round. Competing friends, family, or going head to head with families across the world is a blast. Even single player can be entertaining but it can get lonely playing so make sure you invited a friend over and are just warming up your buzzer finger or aiming to get one of the trophies.

Overall the game is great fun in large groups and random single player games but the game is not designed for only one person to play.

Review by:

Matt Schnackenberg
VGC Corporate Relations Manager
mschnakenberg@vgchartz.com