Buzz! The Mega Quiz features 5000 questions and four stylish buzzers, but is it enough to satisfy the party-gamer? By Glen Atwell
PLAYING video games with friends is the social ideal of modern suburbia. A ritualistic gathering to eat pizza, talk shop and interact with mates, while blasting away bad guys is generally accepted as a socially healthy shindig. But the reality of gaming is different.
Most button-bashers play alone and some even prefer solo over social.
It reflects an inherent foundation of video games, that most are built around a complex single-player objective that requires one person, not two, three or four, to complete.
This quandary has given rise to the “party game” revolution and, to some extent, helps explain the “everyone can participate” success of the Nintendo Wii.
Gamers want to game together and titles such as Singstar (PlayStation 2) and Wii Sports (Wii) have helped fulfil this primal-like desire.
It comes as no surprise then, that the newest addition to the Buzz! quiz series on PlayStation 2, ‘The Mega Quiz’, hits the party game sweet-spot with all buzzers blazing.
Buzz! The Mega Quiz is an entertaining adventure and adds a touch of seriousness to the series.
Despite the forced humour from Buzz, the attitude-laced host, the game features 5000 questions, including 500 images, 20 sporting clips, 50 pop videos and much more.
Memory-card support ensures the same questions are not asked twice – at least for a few months, anyway.
The Mega Quiz is presented as a fully fledged game show. Contestants stand behind podia, questions are read aloud and the host offers more cringe-worthy one-liners than Andrew O’Keefe.
Plenty of different rounds and formats will keep quizmasters coming back for more, from “fastest finger first” and “put the answers in the correct order” to “name this tune”.
The game culminates with Final Countdown, a new final round concept that turns the points a player has accumulated during the show into time.
More points equals more time, extra time is awarded for correct answers and time taken away for wrong or slow answers – last player standing wins.
It’s a new way of doing things but some players will miss the traditional buzz and answer approach that offers a more democratic method of finalising the overall result.
With an extra set of buzzers, up to eight players can participate in a game of Buzz.
Playing Buzz! The Mega Quiz alone is not advised and probably should be warned against, despite the shallow single-player mode included in the game.
Without at least one other “real” person – to taunt and harass – going solo is totally uninspiring and takes the shine off an otherwise impressive title.
But with a group of friends and a hot pizza, Buzz! The Mega Quiz is worthwhile, and demonstrates why the party game revolution is still moving PS2s from shelves to homes.
The $100 price-tag includes the Buzz! game and four stylish buzzers, $60 will get you the game alone.
Pros: Amazing variety and number of questions for both the general knowledge hack and the walking encyclopaedia.
Cons: The Final Countdown round is argument inducing. Friends are not included.
Score: 8/10
