Buzz!: The Ultimate Music Quiz PlayStation 3 review

It’s been a while since the release of the first ever Buzz! game, and it seems as though Relentless Software has decided to come full circle with the latest outing of Jason Donovan’s alter ego. Buzz!: Ultimate Music Quiz is the name, and along with the usual assortment of new questions comes a few new additions, mainly geared towards Sony’s new Move controllers.

Buzz!: Ultimate Music Quiz is, at heart, pretty much more of the same, and, of course, it’s all based around music, with categories ranging from Pop, R&B, Rock, Metal and more, with many choices dealing with specific areas, including albums and band members.

It’s an eclectic collection, and one that contains a plethora of genuinely challenging questions, so much so that, even as someone with a keen interest in music, I did find myself struggling at times, going through entire rounds with nary a point to my name.

There’s certainly something for most music fans here, and enough to challenge even the most hardened audiophile.

Most of the rounds are familiar fare, with the usual pie fight, point builder and fastest finger being present, but there are some new twists, such as the standout Tune Warp round, which plays back music tracks in a distorted fashion, altering tempo and using masking, making it difficult to recognise the track.

Presentation is spot on, as usual, with another stylish rendition of a quiz show studio, although I’m not too keen on the more realistic Buzz. I preferred the more cartoon-like presenter, rather than the new model. It had more character.

Get your move on

Move owners are likely to be interested in the Move-enabled content of Buzz!: Ultimate Music Quiz, but I fear most will find it a bit of a let down. The Move elements are found in a separate mini-game centric quiz mode. These special modes mainly involve the use of the Move controller to select answers, and the PlayStation Eye superimposes your living room on the screen, EyeToy-style.

Themed modes, such as a UFO invasion, display questions and answers, and you use the Move controller to select the answer. It works well, but I couldn’t help shake the feel of early EyeToy games, and in the end, the mode simply feels tacked on.

In fact, the most enjoyable extra-controller antics come from the PlayStation Eye, which can be used to take a picture of your own mug so you can paste it onto one of the game’s avatars, making for an often hilarious digital depiction of yourself in the quiz. You can even use the built-in mic of the Eye to record your own buzzer sounds, which is a cool addition, if one that will, no doubt, see plenty of schoolboy humour, and rightly so.

Other modes return, such as the online mode that allows you to challenge all comers for the quiz kudos, and there’s the usual customisable content that lets you construct your own quizzes. There’s also the expected shop option which will allow you to purchase more questions from the PlayStation Store.

Pop or flop?

Buzz!: Ultimate Music Quiz is a good addition to the series overall, and the core content found here is great. I did find some of the music samples a little poor, though, which can hamper things, especially in the Tune Warp round, and the Move component is little more than a gimmick.

It’s also lacking in anything all that original, and hasn’t evolved the franchise at all. More varied round types would have been welcome, and for a game called Buzz! you very rarely have to actually beat users to the buzzer, which is a little odd.

Still, for a guaranteed Christmas party game hit, this is a winner, and one that’ll certainly give you your money’s worth. Just make sure you brush up on your music knowledge beforehand.

Buzz!: Ultimate Music Quiz is out now and available from the Den Of Geek Store.

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