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There's whole raft of new contestants this time around, along with the most popular faces from Buzz!:The Music Quiz. Sports stars, historical figures, celebrities... there are plenty to choose from. Controls are via the bespoke handheld buzzers, with their four coloured buttons and distinctive red "buzzer". Initially, players use their buzzers to select game options - single-player, standard multiplayer or custom multiplayer (which allows you to choose the number and type of rounds). The next step is to pick a contestant - complete with costume change if desired, followed by buzzer sound. Then with typical game show fanfare the quiz commences.

Muppet-mouthed Buzz remains in fine form as game show host, delivering witty one-liners and making encouraging or disparaging comments on each player's progress. Rose introduces each round, outlining the rules and explaining how the buzzers are to be used. Operation couldn't be simpler, with the rounds requiring either the coloured buttons for answering multi-choice questions, or both buzzer and buttons for "first past the post" rounds.

Sadly, there's nothing much to write about when it comes to the single-player game. There are still only two rounds - both of which are all too brief, and the overall experience is unsatisfying. We would've liked to have seen a couple of additional rounds, perhaps featuring AI opponents (with adjustable IQ, of course), or the option to customise your game. As it stands, single player mode might be useful for getting in some practise, but you probably wouldn't want to sit and play it for enjoyment's sake.

The multiplayer game, on the other hand, is a completely different kettle of fish. Buzz!: The BIG Quiz can accommodate up to 8 players, although you will need to invest in an extra set of buzzers in order to take advantage of this feature. The thought of an even bigger snarl of wires may be off-putting to many, although we found the judicious application of velcro ties helped keep everything in order after the credits had rolled.

Questions are more along the lines of a pop trivia quiz than The Weakest Link or Who Wants to be a Millionaire? - although there are elements from both shows in the game, covering four broad categories: Sport, Film, Crazy Academia and Music. There are eight rounds in a standard multiplayer game, although you can customise this somewhat by pre-selecting which rounds you would like to play. With the exception of two new rounds, the basic line-up remains unchanged. The new rounds are as follows:

• Ask a Friend: Choose a player who you think can answer your question. If he gets it right you both score, but if wrong you both lose points.
• Hitman: Everyone begins the round with two lives. The first to answer correctly gets to "shoot" another player and remove a life. Last one standing wins the round.

The EyeToy camera can be used with the game to provide amusing "lounge shots" of the gathered contestants between certain rounds. For folks that don't want to sit through an entire game, there is a Party Games section which features one-round versions of the most popular rounds. The Quiz Master feature remains, allowing you to set your own questions and determine who is right or wrong by using the standard PS2 controller.

There are no region-specific question sets as Kiwi and Aussie quiz contestants are not as likely to know answers to trivia on Tony Blair or European sports and celebrities as their Northern Hemisphere countertparts.

We feel the experience would have been enhanced by following SingStar's example; including some local content in amongst the international stuff. Having said that, all contestants are at least on an equal footing - unless you happen to have recently emigrated from the UK, in which case you'll have an edge over the competition.

The questions are accompanied by video/audio clips, or photos. The picture quality of the latter was occasionally disappointing and we found it difficult to identify personalities from the "face in a crowd" shots we were shown. Also, there were no names or descriptions to identify each photo, so if you don't know who or what you were looking at, you have very little chance of answering correctly.

The questions themselves vary greatly in difficulty, from ridiculously simple to truly mind-boggling, and there is no particular order to them. Instead of a steady progression in the level of challenge, which would sort the (thinking) men from the boys, they are randomly drawn from the pool. Another thing we noticed was that, despite a huge bank of questions to throw at us, after a few games the repetition factor crept in. Coupled with the randomness of difficulty this could be hugely detrimental to gameplay, however the important thing to remember is that this is not a serious game show; it's a party trivia game with the focus on fun and silliness, and to this end Buzz!: The BIG Quiz achieves its objectives. Throw a few rounds of beer into the mix and only the designated drivers will notice the niggly bits.

While Buzz!: The BIG Quiz is a great multiplayer experience, it would have been good to see more emphasis placed on the game's single player mode, which remains all too brief and uninteresting. Also, the majority of questions were too challenging for younger players, who generally needed more time to process the questions and quickly became frustrated. We would've liked to have seen a simpler "kids mode" included to justify the game's 3+ rating.

Negatives aside, the novelty factor remains strong and Buzz!: The BIG Quiz is a good candidate for your next get-together. If you already own the original music quiz, why not rent it first - along with an extra set of buzzers, so you can try before you buy?

E3 Update: word has it that there is a child-friendly title in the pipeline: Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party should be available in time for Christmas.