1 vs. 100 Beta

So I finally got to play the 1 vs. 100 Beta tonight. I played for the entire two hour long show. Overall, I like it.

It's a little confusing at first. There were over 100,000 people playing and at first I thought I was in the Mob. But I was actually in the Crowd (which is where most people play).

In the Crowd, you can have a party of four or the game will assign you into a party of four total. This way you have a little competition within your group and it's not too overwhelming.

I actually found most of the questions pretty easy, sometimes ridiculously so. I never got to be the One or the Mob tonight, but I hear it's based on weekly stats of how much you play, your response time and percent of correct answers. Playing the Extended Play shows during the week is supposed to help increase your chance of being the One or the Mob. It seemed to me that the One was usually in the Mob right before being chosen.

For the most part, only the One or the Mob can actually win prizes(although no prizes are being awarded during the Beta(even though it looks like they are because they need to test all that stuff too)). The Crowd plays for fun and prestige.

Once Beta is over, there are supposed to be restrictions - you can only be the One once per season, you can only be in the Mob once per episode.

If you are in the Mob, you get eliminated when you answer a question incorrectly. You still answer until the end of the game but you are ineligible for any prizes.

As the One, your prizes increase for every ten Mob members eliminated. You can then at certain points choose to walk away with your prize(microsoft points) or keep playing. If you answer a question wrong, the prize gets split amongst all remaining Mob members.

The top three players in the whole game (Crowd and Mob) also get prizes.

This game is free to play for all Xbox Live Gold Members.

My PS3 Experience

Okay, so I finally got a PS3 a few weeks ago(I had planned on getting one when inFamous came out). I've been playing it since then - first Uncharted and then inFamous(I'm doing my second playthrough on evil). Overall, I enjoy it. Here are some of the things I've seen and you can tell me if I'm right or missing something.

First, the graphics and sound are great. Which was expected.

Other than a small adjustment to the different controller(I kept pressing the square when it told me to press X and the bumpers/triggers took an adjustment), the gameplay has been smooth. The controllers are smaller and lighter than the Xbox 360's. Although the recharge cord that comes with the controller is pretty freaking short. What's up with that?

I like having a system that's been out for a while. There are a lot of games I can pick up for fairly cheap.

The Blu-Ray player is nice. Of course, I don't plan on replacing my DVD collection or even buying a lot of Blu-Ray DVDs, but it's good to have.

The Wi-Fi connection is great. I haven't noticed any lag (although I've only played the Uncharted 2 beta multiplayer). And not paying for PSN is wonderful.

Things I don't like or am misunderstanding:

Not all games(especially older ones) have trophies. That's disappointing. I know some trophies were added in for some games later(like Uncharted) but other games still have no trophies (like Haze).

Playstation Home seems boring. What am I doing? Just running around, looking at things?

My PS3 didn't come with a headset so if I want to actually talk to anyone on PSN I need to buy a headset.

The Playstation website is horrible compared to xbox.com. I can't look at my friends' trophies or send them an instant message. Navigation on the site is not as quick or simple.

Overall, I like the PS3. However, I will be sticking mainly with the 360. I mean, my gamerscore on the 360 is ridiculous. And I have a lot more friends on Xbox Live. But I'll stick use the PS3 for some sweet PS3 exclusives.

Project Natal - The Next Big Thing?

Microsoft unveiled Project Natal at E3 this week. It is a set of motion sensor cameras used for the 360 to detect the gamer's movements, controlling actions in the game. There's a lot of excitement surrounding this innovation.

Personally, I think it's a good thing. I've been waiting for something like this ever since I first played a motion sensing boxing arcade game(MoCap Boxing) years ago. A few more arcade games came out using the same technology(I remember a cop game), but overall it didn't seem to take off like I had hoped it would.

I can tell you one thing - those games were tiring. The boxing game made you sweat and the cop game hurt my legs from crouching so much. But I really liked the games and didn't mind the physical toil(in fact it's a nice workout).

I don't know if Project Natal games will be as tiring. But I think that if the games are fun people will play them. We already know from Wii Fit that gamers will buy games that give them a workout. It's a little less sure if gamers will keep playing them.

Project Natal will be included in all Xbox 360 bundles in the near future and Microsoft will be selling Project Natal seperately as well for all of us who already have an Xbox 360.

We're Back!

Sorry for the lack of updates last month, but we've been dealing with a lot of issues lately - both professional and personal. We also used the time to clean up the interface some. You should experience less delay and faster load times.

In some personal news, Josh and I are in final talks to do some work for CW17 in Jacksonville. If all goes as plan, we will start producing monthly video game review videos. We plan on starting with one a month and grow from there.

In other news, I finally bought a PS3 and am enjoying it overall. (And my Wii apparently died like six months ago but it took months before I found out since I never play it.)

June Game Releases

Summer is upon us at last. The students are getting out for the summer and family’s are taking vacations. Did the game developers finally listen to my many letters demanding that they should treat summer as a big gaming season just like the Hollywood studios do? Let’s find out.

 

DS Titles
June 2
• Knights in the Nightmare

June 8
• The Legendary Starfy

June 9
• Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits
• Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
• LEGO Battles!
• Miami Law

June 15
• Sushi Academy

June 16
• Animal Paradise Wild
• Anno: Create a New World
• C.O.R.E.
• Flower, Sun and Rain
• Ghostbusters
• Hurry Up Hedgehog!
• Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward
• Roogoo: Attack

June 17
• Dawn of Discovery

June 18
• Blood Bowl

June 19
• My Sims Racing

June 23
• Little League World Series Baseball 2009
• Overlord: Minions
• Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
• Sudoku Ball – Detective

June 30
• My Dress Up
• My Make-Up
• Treasure World

PC Titles
June 2
• The Sims 3

June 4
• Light of Altair

June 9
• Prototype

June 16
• Ghostbusters

June 17
• America’s Army 3.0
• Luna Online

June 23
• ArmA 2
• Fuel
• Overlord II
• Spore: Galactic Adventures
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 30
• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
• CID the Dummy
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
• The Orb and the Oracle
• Street Fighter IV

PS2 Titles
June 8
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

June 9
• Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings

June 16
• Ghostbusters
• Guitar Hero: Smash Hits

June 23
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 30
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

PS3 Titles
June 2
• Fuel
• Red Faction: Guerrilla
• Virtua Tennis 2009

June 4
• Star Trek: D.A.C.

June 8
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

June 9
• Prototype

June 16
• Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires
• Ghostbusters
• Guitar Hero: Smash Hits

June 23
• Overlord II
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 29
• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

June 30
• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
• Fight Night Round 4
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

PSP
June 8
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

June 9
• Class of Heroes
• Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
• Rock Band Unplugged

June 15
• Mytran Wars

June 23
• Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 26
• Pangya: Fantasy Golf

June 30
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
• Steambot Chronicles Battle Tournament

Wii
June 1
• Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

June 2
• Virtua Tennis 2009

June 8
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

June 9
• Go Play Circus Star
• Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings
• Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream

June 16
• Anno: Create a New World
• EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis
• Ghostbusters
• Guitar Hero: Smash Hits
• Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward
• Let’s Tap
• Roogoo Twisted Towers

June 17
• Dawn of Discovery

June 19
• My Sims Racing

June 23
• The Conduit
• Little King’s Story
• Little League World Series Baseball 2009
• Resident Evil: Archives
• Sudoku Ball – Detective

June 26
• Overlord: Dark Legend

June 30
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Xbox 360
June 2
• Fuel
• Red Faction: Guerrilla
• Virtua Tennis 2009

June 8
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

June 9
• Prototype

June 16
• Dynasty Warriors 6 Empires
• Ghostbusters
• Guitar Hero: Smash Hits

June 23
• Overlord II
• Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

June 29
• Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

June 30
• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
• Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
• Fight Night Round 4
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
• Infernal: Hells Vengeance
• PDC World Championship Darts 2008