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Quiz
games are a strange lot. They can never really be that bad provided
they are finished, but they can never really be anything more than a
Quiz game. A board-quiz game might have an RRP of about fifteen
pounds, whereas a videogame might retail at around forty pounds; so
they also have to offer something that a board-quiz game does not.
The major thing that a
videogame can do that a board game struggles
with is interactivity. Although not as extensively exploited as the
First Person Shooter or 3D Adventure genres, there have been several
Quiz games released over the years, titles such as You Don’t
Know Jack for the PC and Chef’s Luv Shack on the
Nintendo64, which have, while never being outstanding, delivered
enjoyable gaming experiences. Joining Singstar 80’s in this
year’s new range of party games from SONY is Buzz!: The Music
Quiz. Buzz!: The Music Quiz is set to break the mould of
Quiz games being merely automated board games by giving the player a
virtual, interactive game show environment, complete with Buzzers
and a ridiculously over the top host.
Buzz!:
The Music Quiz is primarily multiplayer in nature - the
multiplayer game is structured as a game show would be. There are
several different Rounds depending on which game length is chosen at
the start and  Points can be won or lost depending on how you answer
the questions. The actual Rounds are quite varied and would not seem
out of place on an actual quiz show. Some involve winning
Points for yourself and some more devious Rounds involve losing
other players their Points. The winner of the game receives a
fictional prize, such as a car or a selection of kitchen utensils.
The Single-Player game is quite different, it only comprises of two
Rounds. The first involves answering questions as quickly as
possible in order to earn time for the second Round, which is a quiz
where points are earned in the style of The Weakest Link;
answering questions successfully pushes a marker up a ladder which
earns the player an increasing amount of Points, however, answering
a question incorrectly causes you to lose your position on the
ladder and, consequentially, lose the Points. The Single-Player quiz
is quite fun, however does become tired after a while due to the
limited options available.
The
first thing you notice about Buzz!: The Music Quiz is that
each player does not use the PlayStation2 controller. Buzz!: The
Music Quiz is sold with four Buzzers that connect to one of the
PlayStation2’s USB ports. Each Buzzer has five buttons, four basic
coloured buttons - blue, orange, green and yellow - that are used
for answering multiple choice questions, and a larger illuminated
red button used for rounds where Points are awarded to the first
person to “buzz in”. The Buzzers are also used for nearly every
other part of the game, such as Menu navigation and character
selection and make this game very simple, even for players not
familiar with console controllers - perhaps influenced by
Nintendo’s recent push for games appealing to non-gamers. Whatever
the reasons, this Buzzer system makes the game a lot more fun than
if the standard controllers were used, it keeps the game simple and
makes it easier for non gamers to play as well as keeping with the
style of the title.
As
you might expect, Buzz!: The Music Quiz does not boast
pioneering graphics, however, they are perfectly serviceable for the
game. The player character models, parodies of actual music stars
such as Liam Gallagher and Bob Marley, are drawn and animated well,
as is the host Buzz and his glamorous assistant Rose. The entirety
of the playable game is staged as a game show complete with flashing
lights and big screens, which again are all designed and animated
well. Since this is music quiz, sound is probably the most important
aspect of the game. The voice acting is top notch with the host Buzz
giving some genuinely funny moments. The playable characters also
have a selection of phrases that can be activated by pressing the
controller buttons between Rounds, which again, are quite funny and
provides an amusing distraction. Buzz!: The Music Quiz also
allows players to choose their own Buzzer Noise from an expansive
list including “awooga”, sheep noises, belches and many more.
The tracks played during the game are not the original versions,
instead being replaced with cover versions much the same as in Donkey
Konga, and on some occasions, are not as clear as they could be,
or possibly even should be which is a shame considering the
considerable quantity of music that SONY publish. However, most
of the time the music is good enough to answer the questions without
too many problems.
As
is to be expected from hardware developers’ first-party
productions, presentation is of a high quality. There do not seem to
be any graphical or scripting errors and the game has that
first-party glossy feel. All the Menus are set out well with an
emphasis on making the game feel like a game-show; starting a
game involves answering questions from backstage staff. The host
seems to have a large amount of available speech which gives the
game a decent amount of variety. There are over five thousand
questions so do not expect to regularly see the same questions. The
game also incorporates a Custom Mode which allows players to make
and ask their own questions and use the Buzz!: The Music Quiz
scoring system. This does add quite a bit of replayability to the
title since it could be used with any question and answer board game
or book.
All
in all Buzz!: The Music Quiz is an excellent party game.
However, do not expect a fulfilling solo experience as that is not
what this title was made for. With a few friends round and a few
alcoholic beverages, Buzz!: The Music Quiz is a great
experience and will no doubt go down well at the Christmas party.
There are also more Buzz titles to be released in the future
such as Buzz: The Movie Quiz and the ominously named Buzz:
The Uber Quiz which should offer the same level of interest as
the first title whilst still using the great Buzzer control system. Buzz!:
The Music Quiz appears to have achieved everything it set out
for, a simple but enjoyable multiplayer experience. So if you and
your friends or family are bored of watching television game shows,
why not take part in one instead, you will not be disappointed.
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