Developer: Relentless Software

Publisher: Sony

Release Date: Sept. 23, 2008

System: PSP

ESRB Rating: E10+

Official Web Site

0:00 As a trivia nut, I was drawn to the PS2 and PS3 Buzz games. I could never get my friends to feel the same way, though. That doesn't matter for this PSP release, which I'm playing alone amidst a bunch of strangers on an airplane. What the designers intended? I doubt it.

0:01 A decent amount of loading precedes an intro movie, with blonde host Buzz sitting in a chair staring down at a PSP. Ghostly images of sports balls, musical instruments, movie props, etc. hover out of the PSP and dance around Buzz's head. Then a bomb hovers out, exploding and leaving Buzz blackened. HA! Quickly on to a simple title screen with sparse electronic music.

0:02 "Are you on your own, or do you have friends?" asks Buzz on the menu screen. Well, I DO have friends ... they're just not here. Buzz also pipes in on the options screen: "Load and savey-type stuff here!" His over-the-top voice is at least half the appeal of these games.

0:03 On to "Solo Quiz Challenge." I can choose from 10 appropriately stereotypical character types. I almost go for my old standby favorite, the Superhero, but I end up with Napoleon because, let's face it, how many games let you be Napoleon. OK, how many games that aren't in the Civilization series. "IT'S NAPOLEON," cries Buzz, apparently very excited.

0:05 "This is my show and it bears my name. This is Buzz, I am Buzz and soon you will be buzzing. Enough! Let's go!" I agree!

0:06 Instead of diving right into the show, I'm given a choice of three different Challenges. First up, I pick the Snapshot Challenge, where I have to guess as many pics as possible in one minute.

0:08 I quickly get a "Speedy Fingers" Trophy for answering a question correctly in under a second. It seems there's no penalty for wrong answers but the little bit of time that comes off the clock, meaning ringing in fast is the order of the day.

0:10 Every correct answer reveals one section of a 12-piece hidden picture. I attempt to solve the puzzle after only three of 12 sections. Going in, I think I'm looking at part of an elephant, but the picture asks what country the pictured statue is in. Well, it kind of looks like Rio's famous Jesus, so I guess Brazil. Correct for 500 points! I've already earned a Bronze medal! Hooray for educated guesses!

0:13 Yikes, my play falls off precipitously to finish the round ... guessing wrong regarding what city is near a rather generic roller coaster picture (San Francisco, apparently). I can't even figure out that polar bears eat seals! I end up with 1,900 points, just short of the Silver. "Welcome to the Bronze Edge. You deserve it," says Buzz. Huh?

0:14 On to the Top 8 Challenge, where I have to ... rank stuff, I guess? We'll see.

0:15 Yeah, so I have to put the four choices in some sort of order: chronological, dance speed, etc. I do badly until it asks me to rank them in "alphabetical order." I'm on the board with 300 points. "I knew it! You're not actually an utter simpleton." Har, har, Buzz. Har, har.

0:16 Why don't I get partial credit for ranking three of the four things in the right order? I ASK YOU!

0:17 Supper comes after dinner? Who knew?! I end up just short of the Silver again. Sigh.

0:18 On to the Quickfire Challenge. Quickfire ... that was my name with the girls back in my school days. I'm pretty sure it was a compliment.

0:19 In this round I get more points for answering more quickly. One of the choices for Minority Report's police department is the "Literary Crime" unit. Well, the book was one...

0:20 Wow ... I'm five for five so far on the movie-centric questions. One even included a short video clip from "Men in Black." Even for the movies I haven't seen, I'm good at guessing the correct answer. I surprise even myself sometimes.

0:23 "Jackpot! Gold! Lovely Gold!" shouts Buzz after I answer 12 of 15 questions correctly. I am quite the movie buff, it seems, especially when it come to Judd Apatow and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," each of which was featured in two of the 15 questions. "Gold, ladies and gentlemen, gold. The biggest bling Buzz can bestow. Gold!" Indeed. GOLD!

0:24 In a newly unlocked time challenge, I have to answer as many questions as possible in one minute. Luckily the timer is frozen while the question is being read. In an unrelated note, I've been very impressed with the production values so far. I keep forgetting what hi-res graphics and high-quality audio the PSP is capable of.

0:25 Can you identify a picture of a brown bear as a Brown Bear? If so, you'd get 200 points here like I just did.

0:27 A "Pushing Daisies" question? That is 1) a pretty recent show to be drawing questions from and 2) totally awesome on Buzz's part!

0:28 "What might a person put these in to display them?" It's a picture of some red flowers. I HIT THE WRONG BUTTON and choose "Frame" instead of "Vase"! ARGH! Now the game thinks I'm a total idiot.

0:30 As the round ends, I notice that the timer is ticking off a little bit before the question has been fully read. I suppose that's OK ... otherwise it would take forever to get through a minute. Another easy Gold ... pop culture seems to be my strength.

0:31 While I'm good at pop culture, I'm not good at tabloid culture, so I'm not looking forward to the Celebrity Challenge. Buzz introduces this as "15 questions about my peers." Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that.

0:32 "Jack Nicholson's April 22 birthday falls on what global holiday?" If this is what they mean by "Celebrity" questions, I might have a chance.

0:33 I get asked about Cher's real name, Dr. Phil's last name and TomKat's age difference. I'm very proud I don't know any of these answers.

0:35 Zach Braff dated Mandy Moore? Oprah's home is named "The Promised Land"? I didn't know these things, but I was able to guess them from the multiple choices, luckily. Still, I end up with a middling Silver.

0:38 Next up: The Virus Challenge. "Answer quickly to stop the virus eating your score," Buzz explains.

0:39 Quote of the moment: "Jammier than a preserves factory." I wish I knew what that meant.

0:41 Pixilated pictures slowly clear themselves up as the viruses eat my score. Questions are pretty easy if you wait long enough, but then they're not worth much. I pass the Silver medal level twice, then lose it twice to the virus. Guessing quickly seems to be a good strategy, regardless.

0:42 In the Picture This Challenge, "we reveal part of the picture. You have to guess what or who it is!" OK, then.

0:43 Holy crap, these are tough. For example: I see a woman's mouth. They ask in what state she was born. So not only do I have to extrapolate what the woman looks like, I have to know who she is AND where she lives. Sheesh!

0:46 This round got a little easier with simple questions about animals. Still, I end up with just Silver. Next please!

0:47 A two-minute time challenge this time. I'm gonna try to blaze right through this without stopping. See ya!

0:52 OK, I'll stop to share this gem: "The average person blinks how many times a day?" "Twice" is a choice. I want to meet that person!

0:53 The picture shows people running on a bridge. "What are the people on top of?" is the question. Are they serious? "A Couch" is one choice. A COUCH?!?!

0:56 The grab bag of questions in that round mostly skewed pretty easy, though mostly not quite as easy as the ones I listed above. I got the "Ten right in a row! Ten!" special Trophy and the "5,000-point score" Trophy too. A WINNER IS ME!

0:57 Looks like the Quickfire TV Challenge is going to finish out my hour. "Time to cash in on those long hours lounging in front of the box." Indeed!

0:58 For some reason Buzz continually says "And that's Bronze, I like life" almost every time I reach the Bronze threshold. That's like the fifth time in less than an hour! Very annoying.

1:01 After a strong start, I finish with a middling Silver. Some questions were maddeningly specific, referring to a certain episode of "Smallville," for instance. Really? What if I was busy that week?

Would I play this game for more than an hour? Yes.


Why? Great presentation, a good mix of game modes and a decent selection of questions make it an enjoyable-enough time-waster. Plus, I love showing off my random knowledge, even if it's to no one but myself.

Want to know more about Games for Lunch? Check out the FAQ here.

For more Games for Lunch, visit the official GfL blog.