Welcome to 1 vs. 100, hosted by Chris Cashman.

When it was announced at last year’s E3, 1 vs. 100 was to be the launch title for Xbox Live Primetime: A feature of the new Xbox Dashboard (nee Experience) that would allow for massively online multiplayer games. Nearly one year after it’s announcement, 1 vs 100 comes to the United States in Beta form after a brief run in Canada. Does Microsoft deliver the promise of a broadcast-like experience on Live? Hit the jump and find out.

*Please note: This is not “technically” a review. Since this is a beta product, please consider this our impressions until the final release of 1 vs. 100.

First off, if you’ve never seen 1 vs 100 on television, let me give you a brief rundown. One person is selected to play a trivia game against “The Mob”: a group of 100 other players. Questions are asked and given a multiple choice of answers. If the One answers correctly, members of the Mob who answered incorrectly are eliminated.

The goal of the game is for the One to eliminate all members of the Mob. As more members are eliminated, the higher the prizes the One stands to win. If the One answers incorrectly, the Mob splits the prizes the One stood to win amongst themselves. Along the way, the One can walk away with the prizes offered, or spend some of their prospective loot in using helps (similar to lifelines in the Millionaire series).

1 vs 100 on Xbox Live is an interesting concept: Mimic a live boradcast game show experience in the comfort of your home. On a regular basis, the 2-hour show will be hosted by a live host, who will interview players and the crowd, and keep the game moving. The members of the audience will have a chance to play along while watching, and in participating for real between games. Players will connect up via Xbox Live in hopes of joining the Mob or being the One and winning prizes.

The scene outside

It’s an ambitious goal; but can it be pulled off? Last night I plopped down on the couch and fired up Xbox Live to find out. Shortly before 10:30 SHRST (SuperHiResStandardTime), we were let in to the lobby of the game, where we were grouped up with friends and treated to a live introduction. Host Chris Cashman spoke live on the phone with Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, and rapped about E3 for a bit. At 10:30 sharp, we were let into the game.

After a brief intro, the game kicked off with people randomly assigned to the Mob and the One spots. The trivia questions come fast, and you have a short span of time (about 6 seconds) to answer as the crowd or the mob. The one’s answer is then revealed, and incorrect Mob answers are eliminated. Even as a member of the audience, the competition amongst your friends is fierce: Points are tallied and bonus points are given for fast answers and streaks of correct answers in a row. We all had a tight scoring first game, and I was really getting in to the groove when the second game started. And then it happened.

I was in the Mob!

MutterFudder, rockin the Mob

Even with no chance to win any prizes, I was immediately excited to have been picked! The adrenaline kind of pumped up, and I’ll admit: I was jumping around my living room like a fool. I couldn’t help it. The questions came and I remained in  the game! My friends in the crowd could see me in the mob, making faces on my avatar and waving. It was, as far as trivia games go, intense.

In the end, the One in our game ended up busting out, using his “Trust the Crowd” help and the crowd answering incorrectly. This netted me a Free Xbox Live game and 400 Microsoft Points! Of course, the prizes wouldn’t be awarded since this was the beta. But I have to say, the experience was pretty neat, and unlike any other I’d had playing video games.

After that, I was returned to the crowd with my friends for the remainder of the night. We got about another 8 rounds of the game in before signing off. So how did it all work? Fairly well. The trivia is a good mix of general knowledge, pop culture and gaming, so everyone has a good chance of knowing a chunk of questions. The interface was simple and didn’t get in the way of playing the game, which is really all you can ask for from a game like this.

My "Prizes". Woot!

Every couple of questions, the game takes a break to look over the stats of your party as well as the crowd overall. During these parts, there is supposed to be live interludes from the host. Every so often, there wouldn’t be any commentary (including at the end of the night). I’m not sure if there was some kind of technical issue or not, but it was kind of distracting. Outside of these commentary bursts, the game seems to be “on rails”: The computerized co-host takes care of asking questions, eliminating mob members, and keeping the game going. I was somewhat disappointed there weren’t more live segments or hosting, but it’s a minor gripe at best.

Every so often, the game would stop for advertising between questions. During those times, static images or video commercials would be shown for about a minute. In all honesty, I didn’t find it distracting; I thought it added to the experience of being on a game show. They weren’t very frequent or jarring, so it felt right. Kudos to the team for integrating ads so well and seamlessly into the game.

In short, 1 vs 100 is a fun, social trivia game in a massive setting that makes it easy to enjoy in a smaller group. Playing with my friends was akin to having a good old trivia night at a bar or restaurant, except with friends in other locations. It was competitive, fun, and becoming a part of the mob was something that transcended the average gaming experience. If you have Xbox Live Gold, and even a passing interest in trivia, you owe it to yourself to check out 1 vs 100.

Hi Res: Good mix of trivia, Smooth operations, well integrated ads, uncluttered interface

Low Res: Lack of constant live narrator, some very minor technical issues, being part of the mob and not winning prizes

Verdict: The best massive online trivia game I’ve ever played. Which is still a complement even though it’s the only one I’ve ever played.

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