I’ve written about Buzz here before, about how I think the creation of a quiz show game with special controller where the big red “push me” button glows invitingly, and about the PS2 remains a fine family bargain given the Eye Toy and Buzz concepts. Is Buzz Jr. more small-child friendly on the Wii? Yes. Moreso. Here’s why…

Wires. Those nifty Buzz controllers are wired and frankly – I’ve grown spoiled with the Xbox 260, PS3 and especially the Wii. So I’ve got to worry about wires. Henry is 5, Maggie is 7, and Linda has been an adult for quite some time now. I think we’ll manage (but you can see why I’m warning parents about it, right?). Ah, but the controllers are USB! That means I can play this on my first gen, 100% compatible, PS3! But more importantly… it means I don’t have to go to my basement office, dust off the PS2 (which hasn’t done anything since God of War II and Rock the 80’s), climb up and connect it to the TV. Forget it!

Before me I had the Buzz games Sony had sent. Buzz: The Mega Quiz, Buzz: The Hollywood Quiz, Buzz Jr. Jungle Party and Buzz Jr. Robo Jam (also in stores are Dino Den and Monster Rumble).

Henry chose “The one with the wobots.”

And then he and his sister began bickering over who got what color. And then we started it up. All the Buzz Jr. games feature cartoony characters competing in clever minigames that make full use of the unique controllers buttons. Pillow Fight has you smacking a robot in front of you with the right color. Some games use only the RED button. Unlike the Wii, the minigames never go out of control. Even 3-year olds can play. The main skills your kids would have to learn here are speed (hitting the right button quickly enough), rhthym (hitting it at exactly the right time), and memory (hitting the right color without looking down).

Every one of those are necessary skills for gaming – and they aren’t bad for life either.

But the main thing Buzz Jr. – all of them, and each has repeated games as well as a new ones- is how it will make your family laugh. Laughing together, after a long day at the office, doesn’t that sound right? If so, STEP RIGHT UP AND PRESS THE RED BUTTON!

Kid Factor:

Maggie (7) even won a round or two, Henry (5) came close, Linda did well too. I had to step up my game with this one, I have a reputation to protect.

The game comes with the controller – or you can get a cheaper version without the controller. You’ll need one of the Buzz controllers to play – each supports 4 players.

In Brief: Buzz Junior is the best reason yet for parents to keep the PlayStation 2 as their family gaming machine!

Ability:

7+

Content

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Tags: Game Reviews