1 vs. 100

At least we had each other. You can create an Xbox Live Party and play 1 vs. 100 together, or so the theory goes. Dan Pearson and I were able to see each other's avatars on-screen and compare scores, but we were lumped into a group with two other strangers. When Dan Whitehead and GamesIndustry.biz editor Matt Martin came online later we tried to get them into our group, but there didn't seem to be a way to do this. Still, quiz games are always more fun with friends and it's good to be able to trash talk over 360 headsets.

The problem is you end up making small talk too, as there are loads of breaks between rounds. Some of these breaks will eventually be filled with adverts for all manner of stuff, but on Friday they were all just ads for downloading movies from Xbox Live - a service which, if you've managed to download a game beta, you're probably aware of. You might as well try to sell me ovaries, Microsoft.

To be fair ad breaks are a regular feature of TV quiz shows, and they do give you a chance to make a cup of tea and have a slash. But even excluding the adverts there are too many gaps in play. At some points, entire minutes ticked by while nothing but our avatars and the words "Resuming play shortly" were displayed on the screen. Sometimes background cheering could be heard, sometimes nothing. During these gaps you can press Y to make your avatar perform silly gestures. The novelty wears off quickly. There are frequent "stat checks" where Day Today-style graphs appear, showing how many people have answered how many questions correctly. The novelty never even bothers to turn up.

Then there are the gaps where live host James McCourt spaffs on about how exciting it all is, or so it was during the preview. On Friday night, none of us from Eurogamer could hear a word he said, though we could see his avatar's mouth moving. Probably a mercy. At least we could hear pre-recorded host Olivia Lee. "Anyone can be a winner," she reminded us, forgetting to add, "Except the vast majority of people playing."

All this combines to make 1 vs. 100 feel awfully stop-and-start. But it's worth remembering this is a beta, and it's free. There are bound to be bugs which need ironing out. The development team might also want to look at reducing the frequency and length of the gaps in play, however. It's especially irritating when you start to realise all you're waiting for anyway is the chance to answer questions about whether the presenter of You've Been Framed was Jeremy Beadle or Jeremy Beetle.

There is a potential solution in the form of the Extended Play sessions. Like the live shows these take place at specific times, but there's no mucking about with The One or McCourt or ad breaks so the flow is much smoother. Some Extended Play games will focus on questions about football, film and so on, but I fancied the debut "Superhard" show on Monday night.

I wasn't able to connect for some reason, but Eurogamer cameraman James Hills did manage to take part. He described the questions as being "the kind of questions you get on a pub quiz machine when it's not going to pay out", with a strong focus on "random Eastern European gymnastic champions". Sample questions: "How many canals does Venice sit on - 177, 187 or 197?" Then there was, "How many titles did Margaret Court win at the Australian Open?" Or how about, "Who dominated ski jumping in the 1930s?" Anyone?

By the sound of it, then, you need to be a human Wikipedia or just super-lucky to do well in the Superhard games. Here's hoping a happy medium will be reached when it comes to the questions in the live shows. And that they'll iron out the bugs, tighten up the gaps and make the prize structure clearer. Microsoft has promised HDTVs, holidays and even a car will all be on offer, though most winners will walk away with free XBLA titles and Microsoft Points. Or not - there seems to be some confusion over whether Friday's winners will in fact receive anything at all. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification, but had no reply so far.

1 vs. 100 does have the potential to be highly entertaining. The One / Mob Crowd structure provides and interesting dynamic. It's great that you can play with friends and win real prizes. Plus, as it's not disc-based, you'll never have to worry about questions repeating themselves. As a free download, it's well worth giving the game a go.