It’s easy to forget, perched on a Balance Board and furiously waving a Wii Remote, that Sony dallied with casual gaming a year before Nintendo, through SingStar in 2004 and Buzz! in 2005. Games for non-gamers, a market that didn’t yet officially exist. Whether it’s Sony’s confidence in its creation or a case of not fixing something that isn’t broken, this PS3 rebirth for the quiz series arrives, at first glance, almost unchanged.

Structurally, it’s identical to previous PS2 installments. You and up to three friends test trivia skills using bespoke (and now wireless) buzzers. The TV show presentation returns, as does the perennially irritating host, whose last-gen design and Muppet-like flapping now looks clumsy and awkward against a suite of beautifully modeled and animated contestants who add much-needed charm. Rounds take a variety of forms: you might have to provide correct answers, win points based on reaction time or bet existing points to win more.

If little has changed it’s still hard to resist the initial appeal. Even the most cynical player is drawn in as rivalries flourish, driven by fluctuating scores. Rounds like Pass The Bomb – where you must answer correctly to pass on an Acme-style explosive before detonation – or a pie-flinging event only raise competitive spirits.

However, it’s a short-lived diversion. Presentation and game-types remain constant, with only question content varying, so two or three games will see all but the most rampant trivia appetites satisfied for the evening. There’s also the frustration of a point-stealing round, a Mario Kart-style reversal that kicks in near the end of a game and sees everyone ganging up on the leader, stripping them of their points and rendering any hard-won lead pointless.

It’s through the internet, however, that Buzz! refreshes its familiar format; strengths and weakness alike. As with Burnout and SingStar, integration is seamless – there’s no discernible difference between on- and offline functionality. Sofa Vs Sofa mode enables you to enter online multiplayer as if your competitors were in the room. It does raise the question of integrity, though. During a match we played, our rivals took quite some time answering certain questions. About as long as it might take to Google the answers, say. Trust issues aside, everything is so well implemented that it’s easy to see less tech-savvy players embracing it fearlessly.

Also well executed is the ability to generate your own questions at MyBuzz.com although, oddly, not through the game itself. Using a simple editor it’s possible to create text-based quizzes on anything. Our testing saw a predominance of gaming content, but beyond demographics the only limit is imagination, though we’re still not sure if the ‘What’s on my desk?’ challenge demonstrated comic genius or a thorough lack of creativity. The eight-question limit seems restrictive until you realize it’s tailored to fit the in-game rounds. These homegrown efforts may lack multimedia components like photos and videos but they’re as available and playable to everyone as any of the developer’s content. What this means for Buzz! Quiz TV depends on the community it fosters. Which is to say, Buzz!’s future is in the hands of the masses.

Verdict: 7/10