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The Buzz quiz games have been staple competition on Sony consoles since the end of the Playstation 2 era, but before Quiz World I had yet to try them. After spending only a few hours over this snowy holiday weekend I can safely say that I have been missing out. Buzz has an impressive mix of questions across various categories and the right set of features to make this new PSP version as portable and accessible as a board game.

The single player mode offers the most basic type of gameplay: pick a tournament, work your way through various rounds and game types, then eventually play a final round to unlock a special character and a trophy. There are four game types, each explained when you begin a round, which can also be skipped by pressing the “X” button and the host quickly moves into the questions with a sarcastic quip. The questions themselves are so spread out that they range from relatively easy (ie: what’s 11 x 11?) to difficult (ie: which of these African cities has the largest population?). To be fair, the fact that the questions are so diverse can also sway how difficult you find them and rest assured that both pop culture gurus and historians are on a relatively level playing field.

There are certain game types, like diffuse, where you are forced to answer a string of questions without missing one, which can make the pace slow and become very frustrating. This is a minor flaw in my eyes, especially when you consider that the game will often let you bypass certain rounds or just choose to bypass the type of quiz altogether. As a single player endeavor this was extremely satisfying for use on busses or in waiting rooms, but I could see this being a way to play some quiz gaming without taking up the main television. I had very few instances where I saw the same question twice, but it did happen on occasion, despite the game having 4,000 questions.

Multiplayer is where Buzz Quiz World really shines and expands the experience to one that both gamers and non-gamers can enjoy. The fact that the buttons are the only thing you use to buzz in and that the PSP can be easily passed means that you don’t have to be familiar with the system to play. Even better, unlike most quiz video games, you don’t need to make sure that the house you’re playing at has the console you need (in fact, you don’t even need a TV).

The simplest mode is a “pass the PSP” mode, where 2-6 players compete, each one passing the PSP along after answering a question. This is probably the best way the developers could come up with to play a six-person competition, but it leaves the players not playing with nothing to do in the meantime. Normally in a game like this the other players can see the questions being asked or at least look over the game board, but in Quiz World they are left completely out in the cold. This breaks immersion and annoys non-gamers who wanted something to spend their time doing as a group. I tried hooking the PSP up to my television with the output cables, but then passing the PSP became a trick of how close you can get to the TV without disconnecting the cable.

On the plus side, the developers have also included an obscure mode that ended up being the best way to play this game with friends: quiz host. In “quiz host” mode, one person is in charge of the PSP and handles all aspects of the game from asking the questions to scoring the round. Each player sets up their name and avatar, which was pointless considering they’ll spend very little time with the PSP, and then it’s passed to the host to lead the game. As the host you will ask the questions, give the options for the answer and score the winner. At times there will be multimedia questions with sound, video, or music, at which point you may be directed to turn the PSP for the players to view. At then end of the round the scores will be calculated and a winner will be declared. Think of it as a speed round version of Trivial Pursuit – and with various friends and family that may not prefer handling the PSP – this can easily be your best option.

Online has definitely not been forgotten for those hardcore gamers as well as those who have no problem with a PSP. If you are at home with no one who wants to play a quiz game, you have the option of going online to a decent catalog of user-generated quizzes and put yourself to test with downloadable question packs. On the other hand if competition is what you seek you can go online with your PSP and play against other online players. There weren’t a large number of players online, but it didn’t take long for me to get into a game and start testing my knowledge against others.

Another cool feature is the ability to play against others in ad hoc mode (PSP-to-PSP wireless connection) with only one copy of the game. Since most games require both gamers to have a copy, I was impressed to see this feature. It took a little time to set up the connection and prepare the program, but after that the game was smooth as silk. The Nintendo DS/DSi has offered features like this for a long time within its games, but they’ve never been as extensive as what Buzz Quiz World offers and I hope to see features like this in future PSP titles.

The graphics are par for the course, not impressive but decent for a PSP title. The sound design is crisp and fluid. The host’s ability to interact with the player and make comments and announcements that you would expect from an actual game show host are amusing, but too often are the different responses reused and it all feels more like a computer’s humor.

I never expected to say this, but for PSP quiz games, Buzz Quiz World is probably the best and most versatile out there. If you’re looking for a great on-the-go quiz game, Buzz Quiz World has just about everything you need.

Graphics: 8.0

Sound: 9.0

Campaign: 7.5

Replay Value: 8.5

Multiplayer: 7.5

Gameplay: 8.0



Overall: 8.00