Buzz - The Mega Quiz
Reviewer Rating
User Rating
Buzz has been with us now for what seems like an eternity but is in fact only since 2005. The launch game was very well received and introduced the PS2 to a whole new market. Since that time, the Wii has done a major job in broadening gaming appeal even further but Sony continues to provide a fun alternative through the Buzz, Singstar and EyeToy franchises.
After the first Buzz came the Sports Quiz, the Music Quiz, the Big Quiz and some children's game which shamelessly ripped off the Buzz name. None of these managed to better nor even match the success of the first version. Sony soon realised that they couldn't possibly surpass the original without some revolutionary thinking. And so it was that they chanced upon the perfect concept. Buzz, The Mega Quiz. Could it get any bigger?
In case you are not aware, the instant visual catch of Buzz is the inclusion of big bright buzzers with the game. This time around you can play with up to 8 players which makes for a spectacular climax. You can still choose your character and select your own particular buzzer noise as before.
Sony have obviously looked at the games that they rushed out and realised what worked and what didn't. Mega Quiz takes the best of what went before and adds a few nice touches. They have kept the Point Stealer and Fastest Finger rounds but practically everything else is new or slightly reworked. Jason Donovan plays the role of Buzz and his beautiful co-host Rose still acts as your info guide.
Some of the new games that she gets to introduce include Winner Stays On, Pie Fight and Globetrotter for example. The final round has also been changed and succeeds in ensuring that everyone has a chance right till the end.
Your score gets converted to time and the player that still has time remaining at the end of this round is the winner (You lose time by getting answers wrong).
The studio setting for the quiz has been updated but this game was never about visuals or graphics and this remains the case today. The sound similarly does not extend much beyond the selection of buzzer noises to be honest. Everything else is as we have come to expect, especially the corny dialogue from our host. It's almost so bad it's funny, but not quite.
This game will always be about multiplayer. It's a party game or family game or whatever you want to call it. Its appeal lies in testing yourself against your nearest and dearest. Or alternatively you can play against your sworn enemies! It will never be a single player game even though that option is offered.
There are over 5000 new questions to test your general knowledge and you can reduce the amount of repitition of questions if you use a memory card. One novelty feature that has been added is the Quiz Master mode. In this, one player takes the role of the quiz master and they can just use any quiz book they like and mark up the scores as appropriate. There's nothing very flash in that, but it's a neat touch if you run out of Buzz questions.
In summation, Buzz The Mega Quiz is a return to form for Sony. The game will always only have limited timespan and is best kept for when a gang of mates or all the family are around. Under these conditions though, there really isn't many better games to get everyone involved. Buzz may just bee the answer on these long, cold, wet summer nights.
Steve Curran
