PS3 Fanboy

Fancy some more Buzz! Quiz TV content? You've got it. Simply load up the game and you'll be prompted to update to version 1.10. This free update weighs in at 345MB and adds a number of new features to the game. There are now four new characters to choose from and new costumes for all the original characters found on the disc. There are also new buzzer noises to select from.

Not only that, but you can now completely customize your question categories in the options menu. Specific question types within each category can be removed completely and you can organize and download question packs from within the game. Finally, Buzz! will now take photos while you play the game using the PlayStation Eye. These photos are then placed in albums for you to view later. Phew. That's a lot of content for a free update. Will this make the long slog towards the "Lonesome And Loving It Gold" trophy that little bit easier for you?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Ignore the already disheartening news that Buzz! Quiz TV will need a patch in order to activate trophies within the game, despite press releases announcing firmware 2.40 failing to mention it. Buzz! fans are now also up in arms about the evolution (or rather devolution) of one of their favorite franchises. Despite the official trailer showing off "Sofa-vs-Sofa" gameplay, allowing two people on one PS3 to play against another two people online, this feature is not actually available within the game. Playing online is restricted to one-person per console.

Not only that, but online play is considered very short and many game modes and customization features are now missing, having been removed since earlier Buzz! titles on the PS3. Also, despite MyBuzzQuiz.com being a potentially awesome method of creating and playing free user-generated DLC, questions from the service are not playable in the main-game and must be used separately. The forums are abuzz (pardon the pun) with criticisms and people are very much looking forward to a response from Relentless.

[Thanks Zed]

Board games come and go, but there's something about interactive trivia games that are timeless, ageless, and always entertaining with a group of friends. IGN interviewed Buzz! creator David Amor on the new PS3 iteration of the franchise and we're going to outline the entertaining bits below.

• Relentless Software isn't exactly a technology company, so programming for the PS3 hasn't been as big an obstacle as other devs. They're focused more on the game itself, which they want to make as social as possible. Keep the PS3 in the big family den, you know?
• The game will be a Blu-ray release, not downloadable. However, like with Singstar, there will be a ton of downloadable content for quiz-enthusiasts. The plan is to have a hefty amount of stuff available from day one of the game's launch.
• There are currently about 5,000 questions on the disc itself in a multitude of categories. Interestingly, these aren't created solely by Relentless Software. A very large portion of the questions are outsourced to a company called Sleepy Dog, then fact-checked for accuracy. Sony has even approached National Geographic for making their own category of questions.
• In fact, there could be a lot of companies in the future giving categories for download. Heck, we will probably be able to up our own categories of questions for people to check out, give ratings as to their value, etc. This service will be in the game and will be free, whereas company question packs would get upped on the PS Store for an acceptable price.
  
• Online matches sound fun -- person vs. person, team vs. team, et cetera. Nothing ground breaking, but feeling like you're on a quiz show is good enough.

There's a lot more discussed, especially the details about creating your own question packs, playable characters, and keeping track of the stuff people could potentially upload (copyrighted images and such are out of the question, for now). The controller for the PS3 Buzz! is the same as the PS2 version, so you quiz experts won't have to adjust to a new steering wheel, so to speak. The game is due out in Spring of 2008.