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The first question you might have for the PSP version of Buzz! is "does it hold up to the former versions of the game?" The answer is "yes, but in its own way" The next question might be, "What about the lack of buzzers?" and the answer is "it doesn’t matter". Honestly, Buzz! Master Quiz on the PSP holds out quite well against its big brothers even without the HD graphics and Buzz! buzzers. This pint-sized edition doesn’t suffer from an inferiority complex, Buzz! Master Quiz actually adds it's own touch to the Buzz! legacy.

Buzz! Master Quiz supports multiplayer and a single player gaming with over 2,000 questions to rack your brain. This is only 3,000 less then the PS3 version which is supported by Blu-ray media. The delivery of the questions still has a talk-show feel, but the method to the madness isn’t laid out the same as the PS3 edition. In Master Quiz you have a list of ambitious questionnaires that rivals the PS3 pie throwing and bomb juggling. For some reason the PSP has received a little more love in this department.

You start out Master Quiz by picking a character, but instead of going into the normal Buzz game show, you simply head into the action. Master Quiz keeps it simple at first with a few timed questions that awards points for the fastest answer. When gathering points you work your way up a meter with three markers marked bronze, silver and gold. Correct answers are vital to making it up the ranks, but you also have to be quick on the button because there is a timer working against you. If you are fast enough and smart enough you will start to run through each quiz with gold medals. Six different challenges are subsume in Buzz! Master Quiz including re-arranging sentences, figuring out blurry pictures, answers questions under a timed meter and more. Compared to the PS3 edition, Master Quiz gives you more questions in a more concentrated game style that is a little more fun if you don’t mind skipping all the game show antics.

All these questionnaires are set up in a branching system where you have to win a section, or a number of sections before you can move on. Besides climbing up the virtual tree of questions you can work towards capturing Master Quiz's built in trophies. The trophies can are addictive and demanding on your time, so luckily playing Master Quiz is a lot of fun. Since Master Quiz is on the PSP it also makes it a great game to pick up and play in short bursts. 2, 000 questions might not seem like a lot, but they actually cover a lot of ground and I doubt you’ll be running into the same question too often. In all my time spent with Buzz! Master Quiz I never ran into a repeating question.

The multiplayer in Buzz! Holds its own on the PSP and thanks to the "Pass Around" feature lets you play with a group of friends in one room. Five profiles are supported in the Pass Around mode which lets you go head-to-head in fast questionnaires with Buzz telling you who’s turn it is to answer the question. Pass it off to your friend and let the fun begin. This is a great addition to the game sharing function that is included that gives you the “Fastest Fingers” mode to battle it out against each other with all the categories from the other versions of the game. Taking things one step further you can have a multiplayer battle with one person acting as Buzz arbitrating the action between the players. All in all, the PSP has a lot of value in its multiplayer and single player modes that give players exactly what the wanted.

Buzz! Has made a splashing debut on both Sony Platforms. Each version has their own unique features that make them worth the purchase. On the PS3, wireless controllers, trophy support, and MyBuzz online makes Quiz TV worth the upgrade on the new platform. On the negative side, Buzz! Quiz TV can be too repetitive with its talk show host loopy chatter and its limited delivery models. This is a minor flaw that will hopefully get some more consideration in the future. As for now Buzz! still provides enough variety in the questions that you won’t mind another bombtastic round of Short Fuse.

Buzz! Master Quiz for the PSP is a delightful surprise in a slightly different direction. Visual bewildering aside, Master Quiz gets down to business with some serious brain straining that can hold your attention. This PSP hand-me-down of sorts comes out shinning as bright as its consoles big brothers which is wonderful for PSP owners. The only downside to Buzz! Master Quiz is that you miss that big “game-show” feel that comes with Quiz TV which is forgivable when you get into the formulated medal gameplay. If that's not enough to peek your interest consider the price point. Buzz! Master Quiz is priced significantly lower than other PSP games at $19.99 CAN. Banker, sounds like a deal to me.

When you merge these two games together it seems like you would have the ultimate version of Buzz! both editions seem to have something the other doesn’t. Depending on what you want out of Buzz, gaming-on-the-go, or HD pizzazz each version has enough value to warrant a purchase. Buzz! Isn’t totally refined just yet, but the new console debuts push the series one step closer to that million dollar product.

Buzz! Quiz TV & Buzz! Master Quiz
Gameplay: 8, Graphics:8, Sound:8, Innovation:8, Mojo:8 Final: 8 / 10

Reviewed by Downtown Jimmy | 09.30.08