Buzz! Brain of the UK review

We review Buzz! Brain of the UK, a mobile quiz with more than its fair share of sparkle

Published on Sep 3, 2009

If you don't own a Sony Playstation, you may not be all that familiar with the quipping and quiff'd quiz host Buzz, but he's the star of one of console's very best social gaming franchises. Buzz! Brain of the UK is a quiz game with the slick bells and whistles- or boxes and buzzers, to be more accurate- of a TV show.

In this second mobile Buzz vehicle, the questions have been localised for a UK audience. There are other European versions available, but since we can't speak Spanish, we'll stick to home ground.

The Quiz Challenge is Buzz! Brain of the UK's main mode. Within it are nine stages based on a whopping eight different types of quiz rounds. Not all of them are available from the beginning though, and you'll need to earn medals in stages already unlocked to make it to the final Top Rank Challenge.

The variety in the round types is Brain of the UK's trump card, pushing it beyond what your average mobile quiz offers. There are simply too many to explain them all here, but they involve spinning category boards, Deal or No Deal-style box picking and even throwing pies.

Apart from one of the final rounds where you're putting a list of things in order, they all involve simply answering questions when you get down to it, but the fun structures that surround them do add to the experience hugely.

Thankfully, the questions are strong too. There are 1000 in total based on everything from entertainment to science, while the UK-centric tilt is subtle enough to add character to the game without asking you to decipher cockney rhyming slang.

It's just a pity that the Quiz Challenge doesn't last a little longer. There's loads of content in it, sure enough, but once you've won the gold medal in each round there's not quite enough structure to keep you hooked in. It'll still last a good few hours though, and the additional multiplayer pass-the-handset and Quick Fire modes are great for a bit more casual quizzing.

In spite of the minor quibble about longevity, Buzz! Brain of the UK is quite simply one of the slickest, most enjoyable quiz games on mobile. And almost certainly the best UK-flavoured one.