The wildly popular (in the UK) quiz game makes it’s way to Sony’s shiny little handheld.
Did it survive the translation, or did it arrive DOA?
Find out inside.
I like trivia games.
Demon with a buzzer, psychotically competitive, and full of useless information, it’s one of three game types I feel I can comfortably call my own. Unfortunately, this means that nobody else likes playing them WITH me.
I preface this review with that information, not to ‘toot my own horn’, but so that you can take it into account with my impressions of Buzz! on the PSP.
The most important part of any trivia title is the questions; Buzz! has varied topics, tons of different questions, and enough gameplay modes to choke a horse. This part is good (although the developers seem to be having a bro-mance with the writers and producers of ‘Scrubs’.)
If you ‘specialize’ in a particular topic, your opponents… ummm… fellow players… shouldn’t feel too overwhelmed, as the trivia comes from a broad range of subjects and uses a lot of tricks, gimmicks, and gameplay devices to even out the experience.
I thought I would miss the custom buzzers that comes with console versions of the game, but the face buttons on a PSP do a servicable job of handling the action.
Graphically, this game actually look BETTER than the previous PS2 entries, and load times are thankfully short.
Single player games, with ‘special trophy’ awards (like PS3 Trophies that aren’t shareable in a community) are available, but are woefully short. It took me just under two hours to complete the single player experience, gold medaling all events and unlocking 100% of the trophies.
If you’re getting this to play by yourself, you’re overpaying.
Where the game shines is in multiplayer mode. Where trivia titles are generally at their best between friends on a sofa, that’s a little difficult with a portable game. While there IS an option for ‘pass around’ play, the big draw is through game sharing.
Buzz! allows you to temporary send a copy of the game to a friend’s PSP so that you can challenge each other wirelessly.
THIS is the reason you may want the game.
Unless you plan to play against friends who also have a PSP, I can’t really recommend the game. The addition of an internet based challenge, using wifi hotspots, would have been great, but without the feature the game simply has limited appeal.
Matt Says: RENT IT
2 Comments
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Bag Of Mad Bastards 
I really enjoyed playing this game on the PS3! I generally suck at the trivia games, but this one is diverse enough to make it fun for even the trivially challenged. 🙂
i just completed it 100%.. took me ages, and that was with cheating! haha
its great to play with your mates as you only need one psp and one game, just pass it around
theres a range of rounds and there are loads of questions easy-hard
good game i’m glad i bought it 🙂