Game Review: Buzz! The Mega Quiz
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this game draws inspiration from
television quiz shows and that, much like watching an episode
of
Jeopardy, you may actually learn a thing or two while
playing. However, unlike
Jeopardy's charming Alex Trebek, the host of
Buzz! The Mega Quiz is a bit of a jerk, issuing playful
verbal assaults at trailing contestants. However, so long as
the player has a thick skin for insults hurled by a cheesy
video game character, there is little here to offend. The
difficulty of the questions puts the age at 10 and up.
Families can talk about the difference between trivial knowledge and wisdom, and how one doesn't necessarily lead to the other. Are you afraid to play trivia games because you fear others will judge you based on your performance? Do you feel as though you are stronger at some of the game's categories and challenges than others?
Common Sense Media Review
Video games that try to emulate television game shows have a
tendency to become dull and repetitive rather quickly, but
that's not the case with BUZZ! THE MEGA QUIZ, a trivia game for
the PlayStation 2 that comes bundled with four large-buttoned,
wired controllers and features enough original questions for
about 50 one-hour games.
Hosted by a surprisingly droll, English-accented host who lobs brief, perfectly timed, and eerily accurate jibes at poorly performing players, each game is composed of several short trivia rounds. Some rounds favor accuracy over speed, while others require a quick buzzer thumb to score well. There are times when players need simply answer questions about movies, sports, history, and science, and other times when they participate in more unconventional competitions, like figuring out the identity of an obscured image, arranging groups of objects, events, or people in a certain order, or even throwing pies into the faces of other contestants.
Plus, it's completely customizable. If there are certain rounds you don't like, you can cut them from the roster. If the questions are too hard or too easy, you can adjust their difficulty (though even at the easiest setting we wouldn't recommend the game for kids younger than 10 years of age). If you want a shorter or longer game, you can adjust the number of questions asked each round. And if you use a memory card, the game will track which of its 5000 questions have already been used, ensuring few if any repeats over dozens of competitions.
The point is, unlike other quiz show video games, Buzz! The Mega Quiz is so fast-paced and eclectic that it takes a long time for it to begin feeling old.
The only problem is the final round, which has been fashioned to let distantly trailing players catch up to the leader in a matter of seconds if they answer just a couple of questions quickly and correctly. While the idea of furnishing losing players with hope is noble, it can be aggravating to those out front who may have just spent an hour working to build up a significant lead. Poorly performing players should have a chance to come back, but they ought to have to work at it a little harder.
This one qualm aside, Buzz! The Mega Quiz is still one of the most enjoyable PlayStation 2 exclusives of the year.
If you're looking for more trivia and you own an Xbox 360, give the movie-themed Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action a shot. If Wii games are more your style, try Smarty Pants . And for the PC, you can explore Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
