Buzz! Brain Bender Hands On

By Morgan Bates

Buzz!: Brain Bender is the second in the Buzz series to hit the PSP and 8th in the main series. Fans of the series may be surprised that this time around Buzz will ditch the series roots in favor of a more puzzling affair. It doesn’t fit into the main series; while Brain Bender keeps the wisecracking host of the previous games, it doesn’t bring back the quizzes, acting more like PlayStation Portable’s answer to Brain Training on DS.

Buzz!: Brain Bender starts you off with a test to see your current level of intelligence – probably ending by telling you you’re an idiot… or not. From here, you can train your brain via a selection of mini-games sorted into these categories: observation, memory, analysis and calculation. Each mini-game has three levels of difficulty – easy, normal and hard – and you play through each to unlock the next, keeping in mind a bronze star is required to move onto the next difficulty.

Once you get started you’ll have to play against the clock, so the quicker you get your response in the more questions you get and more likely you are to get a star. You only need to get a bronze in every training mini-game to unlock the challenges. Although some challenges require getting a star in every game on hard difficulty, while the others will accept one on easy.

When it comes to multiplayer modes Buzz brings it with Brain Battle, pitting you against a friend in a four round match. You can customize each round or play random games from each category. The great thing about this multiplayer mode is that both players take turns on the PSP, eliminating the need for a second handheld or UMD.

Based on the preview code it seems as though Buzz has successfully switched genres for a very complete puzzle title.

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ReplyPosted by Oliver on 7 October 2008, 03:36PM

Lol they already have a new Buzz game for PSP? I know it's different, but the other one (Master Quiz) one only came out a short time back. Master Quiz was great by the way, but far too short, so I'll be trading it in. If Rockstar can fit the whole of Vice City on a UMD, then Sony should be able to fit a lot more quiz.

 

ReplyPosted by Parsnipzilla on 7 October 2008, 05:13PM

This to me makes more sense than an actual Buzz game on PSP, something that is DESIGNED with the platform in mind.
The Buzz liscense seems just a gimmick though...

 

ReplyPosted by gamemastercraig on 7 October 2008, 06:04PM

Looks good, but not sure if I'll get it yet...

 

ReplyPosted by Oliver on 7 October 2008, 06:05PM

I agree. Playing the Buzz: Master Quiz single player game on the PSP does sometimes seem a little odd with nobody to compete against. The multi-player games work awesomely, but I guess the PSP isn't the best for Buzz. And yeah, they're definitely using the popularity of Buzz to sell this one. I think they should make a new character like Nintendo's Dr. Whoever-it-is, and then hype it like hell. PSP games never get hyped.

 

ReplyPosted by Grunt of God on 7 October 2008, 08:31PM

Does it have the cool Buzz....Buzzers?

 

ReplyPosted by Oliver on 7 October 2008, 09:37PM

Master Quiz doesn't so I don't see why this one would cause it's not really a quiz game at all, so no point in having buzzers. And wouldn't it look a bit weird having a massive buzzer hooked up to a PSP?

 

ReplyPosted by Lisa3x3x3 on 11 October 2008, 11:55AM

i rekon the game would be better if it workd wirelessly so u could have up2 4 players (each with their own psp), tht way everyone playing can see it at the same time.. i duno i rekon it would be more user friendly this way too, the pass play feature is still good tho

 

ReplyPosted by Ruptunex on 12 October 2008, 09:23PM

Ad Hoc mode would be cool