Feature: 1 vs. 100 Beta (360)

Starting off is very simple. Just download a small file, then as the game is about to begin enter the lobby system to download another update and before you know it you find yourself either in the crowd (the majority will be) or if you're lucky as part of the 100 mob or if you're even luckier, as the 1. The concept is very simple, as the name suggests it's 1 vs. 100. As each question appears you get the choice of three options, if the 1 gets it right then they survive to the next question, and as each member of the 100 mob gets it wrong they add to a points system, in turn adding up to the Microsoft points the 1 is able to win if he chooses to take the money and run. This carries on until the 1 is eliminated or wins the maximum 10,000 Microsoft points.

Yes, when we say Microsoft points we mean actual points that can be spent in the marketplace. This is what's available to win at the moment, but once the beta ends then Microsoft have promised other, real prizes to be won. People who can win the points, apart from the 1, are the mob (who split it between them if the 1 gets the question wrong) and the top three people in the crowd, who win a chosen Xbox Live Arcade game (in the first game it was Worms).

The whole presentation is quite good. Xbox Live Avatars are used to represent everyone, including the hosts, and it has a distinct game show feel. The only problem being the woman hosts rather grating voice, unusually the other host in the studio moves his mouth but never spoke a word, something we guess will be fixed during the beta. The adverts have split a few people. Though at the moment they're only adverts for Xbox 360, we're sure other companies will jump on the bandwagon. It's understandable really that MS would open up advertising space, after all, how else would they be able to give away free prizes without some sort of money income.

Aside from the prize show there are others throughout the week. These are played purely for fun and are really used primarily to help boost your chances of becoming the 1 or a member of the mob for the real show. After all, the deciding factor for you being chosen is the speed of your answers and how many questions you get correct. Though in all honesty with the amount of people watching, if we ever became the 1 then there's a good chance we'd just disconnect. Because we're cowards. We wouldn't want to embarrass ourselves like the majority of people seemed to be doing. Apparently over twenty think that Get Carter also starred Ulrika Johnssen and Sven Goran Erikkson. We had quite a confused expression when they wheeled out a Wii Sports question. That's not that you'd expect at all.

While we came in with only a passing interest, it's turned out now that we may very well manage our life around 1 vs. 100. There's something about it that is engrossing that no matter how many ad breaks they threw at us we didn't think twice about leaving. With a reported 77,000 people tuning in for its debut show then Microsoft may very well be on to a winner.

Words by Adam Gulliver