If you've never picked up a Buzz! title before, it's a pretty basic set-up, and it's going to be instantly familiar to anyone that's played a board game style trivia game, or even some type of pub/tavern trivia in their local town. Buzz! has a variety of topics and quiz types, with variations from the most basic multiple choice question and answer selections, to questions relating to film video clips, or even the Top Rank style questions, that have you putting particular phrases (or other words) in the correct order.

There are a few more trivia variations than just the ones I listed, and for the most part there's enough variety in Buzz! Master Quiz to keep the Buzz! vets entertained. It doesn't feel as feature rich as the home console versions, but I think that's also to be expected, and the formats you do get feel at home on a portable console. The rounds are nice and quick, and you can easily play thru the single player mode in small snippets. This mode lays out a small map of sorts, where you take on three different rounds, then one additional, then three more, and so on. You'll encounter all the variations that Buzz! Master Quiz has along the way, and it's a good way to get yourself primed for the different types you'll encounter in the multiplayer mode. Each round has three trophies associated with it, and you score points based on how well/quick you answer. Ideally you want to gain a gold trophy in each quiz, but you can often get away with a lesser score and still pass along to the next round without any problems.

Multiplayer, for me, is where the Buzz! games really shine. On the consoles you'll typically be using some type of button pressing accessory, which is obviously absent on the PSP. However, the controls here work just fine for a round of games, and there are a solid variety of games available, including some slight variations on what you'll find in the single player mode. While there isn't an infrastructure mode available, there are a few different ways to play the game with a single UMD. You can system share, which allows you to play with up to three other PSP owners, using one disc. This mode seems to work pretty well, and feels the most like the home console multiplayer aspect for me. Then there's the Pass Around mode, wherein you'll play with up to 5 other players, each selecting an on screen avatar, and pass around the PSP to whichever player is selected for each question. This is a solid solution if you want to play with non-PSP owners of course, but it's also not quite as engaging either, and there's definitely a lull in the action when you have to wait a few questions for your turn to pop up. Also, unless you're somewhere where you can crank up the volume on the PSP, it's difficult to even hear the questions being asked unless it's actually your turn. While this mode works well enough, it's hardly the best multiplayer match of Buzz! you're going to get.

Buzz! Master Quiz offers over 3000 questions, with a variety of topics, and I rarely saw the same questions pop up while playing, and when they did they were never remotely close to each other. The game does a great job of randomizing what you'll be asked, and you'll have to play for quite some time before you're able to hear every single question the game has to offer. Needless to say, if you want to go for the gold on every round, Buzz! could last you for quite some time with the single player game alone. However, while the multiplayer might be a bit lackluster compared to the home versions, it's still the best reason for even picking the game up, and it's great if you can get a few people together to play a few rounds of trivia.

So while Buzz! Master Quiz isn't quite my preferred version of the series; it's still a really decent outing, and first attempt, on the PSP. There are a decent variety of quiz types available, along with a great selection of actual questions, and a solid amount of content to keep a player busy for a while. I definitely suggest checking this one out, especially if you've never played a Buzz! title before, as this one serves as a solid primer on the whole franchise in general.