The
video game world is about to get a lot more interesting and socially
interactive for average and casual gamers. Yesterday, members of the
international video game press were given a first hand preview of the
upcoming live
online 1
vs. 100 Live and
1
vs. 100 Extended Play gaming
experience. Developed by Microsoft Game Studios and launching,
exclusively for Xbox Live Gold members to download, 1
vs. 100 Live will
be a live, weekly two-hour “show” with hundreds, and possibly thousands,
of players competing online, simultaneously, for the chance to win
real prizes.

Tap the Y button and you'll taunt or rile up your opponents and friends.
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As in the 1 vs. 100
television game show upon which this game is based, someone will be
chosen to be The One and have the chance to answer trivia questions
for points. The only catch, aside from losing the game if you answer
incorrectly, is that The One only accumulates those points by
eliminating the members of the “Mob” of 100 other players, who
are only eliminated if they answer the questions incorrectly
themselves! The only difference in this version is that players are
competing for prize points instead of cash. Oh, and spectators
actually get the chance to play along, as part of The Crowd, for
their own prize points and an opportunity to become one of The Mob or
The One themselves. Yes, there's no need to scream answers at the TV
anymore, because you can play along too, whether you're part of the
game or just watching from the sidelines. Better yet, you'll be able
to use your own Xbox Live avatar in the game, so if you end up as one
of The Mob or as The One, everyone will get to see your personal
style for themselves.
1
vs. 100 Live
will be run on a seasonal schedule, hosted live by Emmy award-winning
Chris Cashman every Friday and Saturday evening. Cashman will host
the games via a live audio stream and give overall game commentary,
including game status, rules, etc., as well as send shout outs to
players who are playing particularly well. What if you don't have an
Xbox Live Gold membership? Well, since the game can be played with up
to four players at home, as long of one of the four players has a
Gold membership, the other three can join in the fun (though they
won't be eligible for prizes). This Friday will see the launch of the
game's Canadian beta, which will, hopefully, help Microsoft Game
Studios work out any remaining kinks in the game. Players who
participate won't be able to win any of the regular skill-based
prizes that will be made available during the season, but they will
be eligible (as long as they are eligible
Gold members)
to win Canadian Beta 1 vs. 100 Sweepstakes prizes.

The Mob is seeing red after a major elimination.
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During
the season, and available any day of the week, players can hone their
trivia skills in the 1
vs. 100 Extended Play.
You can see how you stack up against your friends as you and
thousands of others play as The Mob for top score. In 1
vs. 100 Extended Play you
don't have a chance to play as the one, and there is no live host.
There are still prizes to be won however, making it all the more
worthwhile to play. Extended
Play
will also include different themes and fresh questions every
weeknight, with various topics, including Player Written Questions,
Battle of the Sexes and Super Hard.

One of the consoles is sitting, ready to play.
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When
I, as well as a number of others from the Toronto-area video game
press, got a chance to see the game for myself yesterday, I was quite
impressed. I had my doubts and concerns as to how Microsoft Game
Studios would go about making a Live Arcade game on such a large
scale, but it seems those concerns were quite unjustified, not to
mention minimal, as I had only expected the game to be a 101 player
trivia match
up,
not a full blown game show massively multiplayer online game with the
potential of hosting thousands upon thousands of people, as Microsoft
is suggesting it will be.
From Toronto, we joined a
Canadian beta game hosted live from Microsoft's Redmond, Seattle
studio, with Cashman hosting over a slightly time delayed video (the
video portion won't be happening during the beta or final launched
product, it was just used to show that the game is actually live) and
some of the game's developers playing as part of The Mob (and a
couple times as The One). Cashman welcomed us all to the game and we
logged in and got things going. From there, the room became a mess of
noise, announcing and laughter. Everybody around was having a great
time, shouting out answers joking about how easy some of the
questions were (the early ones) or how odd some of them were.

Chris Cashman logs in and welcomes the players to the game.
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More
interesting though, were a few short moments showing how unique the
game is and, when the beta goes live this Friday, will be. During one
of the breaks in play, Cashman was making some basic commentary and
somehow ended up mentioning former U.S. President “George Clinton”.
Oops. Well, live is live. While he was on time delay, Cashman was not
being censored in any way (though he likely will be during the beta
and after launch). He also made shout outs to various players in the
Toronto group and even took a call from Sun Media's own Steve
Tilley,
though Tilley had to hand his controller over to someone else while
he was on the phone (thus showing that live calls with active players
may not be a great idea, even if it is a really cool one).
Overall,
the game was a lot of fun. I spent some extra time, after some of the
other journalists had left, to play a bit of Extended
Play.
It's not quite as fun when the questions are less varied and there is
no one to compete against (there wasn't really anyone else around or
online on the beta by that point), but I expect it will be
considerably more enjoyable once the beta is live and more people are
playing with you.

Cashman starts introducing the game while the players go through the game's launch screen.
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The Canadian beta
actually includes a decent amount of Canadian content, even stuff
about curling and the Queen (crazy, I know). Unfortunately, you won't
see many questions like those outside the beta, because once the game
goes live in late spring/early summer, Canadians will be playing
together with Americans. Any Canadian specific content that does
appear during the season will end up being more accessible, general
knowledge.
Either
way, I highly suggest that you download the beta when it becomes
available and get playing. All you need is an Xbox 360 with a hard
drive and an Xbox Live Gold membership. You can make your own party
online, or stay connected with a regular party and continue talking
with them. It's a lot of fun and, best of all, an, overall, family
friendly game (it's rated T
for Teen,
but if you let your kids watch the show, you likely won't mind them
playing the game). The
Canadian beta for 1
vs. 100 Live and
1
vs. 100 Extended Play will
launch Friday, May 8th, going live at 7pm Pacific Standard Time, and
conclude on Sunday, May 24th. For complete details, go to
http://www.xbox.com/en-CA/live/1vs100/.