Jason Bradbury

Tired of planting Claymores and calling in UAV’s? Okay, neither am I – but there is an alternative. 1 vs 100 is definitely worth a bash, if you’re looking for a completely new experience from your Xbox 360.

1 vs 100 is a free to download quiz game from Xbox Live. Unlike most games, it’s organised into scheduled shows but there are a fair amount of quiz event’s to play every night. All planned shows can be found easily in the 1 vs 100 tier on your dashboard and here you can also set reminders.

The format of each show is simple: you have the crowd, which mops up most users and you have the mob, where one-hundred lucky people are selected to take part. And there’s THE CHOSEN ONE! That solitary, blessed user, gets to go up against a whole hundred people in a brain melting fight for fame and prizes. Yes, prizes! The most exciting thing about 1 vs 100 is the fact that you get to win stuff. There are chances to win actual TV’s and even holidays, and there is a whole heap of Microsoft Points to be won, which 360 owners will know can be spent in the market place.

The question and answer structure of a show follows the expected TV quiz show format - you are presented with a question and three answers. Interestingly, It’s not just answering questions correctly that is important, there are bonus points available if you can answer quicker than other players. Indeed, there are numerous ways of earning points, improving your rank and enhancing your chances of eventually joining the 100 or even being the much vaunted 1 in subsequent shows. And there’s something called ‘Amping’, the process open to all players of unlocking groovy dance moves for your avatar to use. As trivial as these pep ups may seem, like the ‘perks’ system in Call of Duty Modern: Modern Warfare 2, they contribute to a gaming experience based around reward and loyalty and are extremely effective at keeping players coming back for more.

1 vs 100 is clearly trying to open up the Xbox Live experience – shows are normally hosted in the evening, so they are accessible to families & working-folk, as well as Live’s usual hardcore online crowd.

One thing is for sure, 1 vs 100 is a bold experiment – a video game that’s more like the Family Fortunes TV show than traditional gaming fare - and if not for any other reason than that, you should give it a go. You never know, you could even end up as the chosen 1!

Written for Jason by Corporal Kitty

I’m taking my Dot Robot books on the road. The first few dates for my 2010 Dot Robot Roadshow are in, so come and get your books signed, see some robots, win some prizes and hear me read from the second book in the Dot Robot series, Atomic Swarm.

Tuesday 2^nd Feb (6.45pm) Bristol. Bristol Grammar School. For info & tickets check out ‘An Evening with Jason Bradbury’ here.

Thursday 18^th Feb (11.30am) London. Imagine Children’s Festival, South Bank Centre, Purcell Room. Billed as ‘the UK’s brightest children’s festival’ I’ll be bouncing around the Purcell Room with robots, readings and gadgets galore. Read about my event and the rest of this exciting children’s festival.

Thursday 18^th Feb (3.30pm) Milton Keynes

Waterstone’s Milton Keynes, Midsummer Place MK9 3GA.

Appearance and book signing.

Friday 19^th Feb (12 noon) Basingstoke

Waterstone’s Basingstoke, Festival Place Shopping Centre RG21 7BE

Appearance and book signing.

Friday 19^th Feb (3.30pm) Reading

Waterstone’s Reading, The Oracle RG1 2AQ

Appearance and book signing.

Saturday 20^th Feb (1pm) Thurrock

Waterstones Lakeside Shopping Centre, West Thurrock, Grays, Essex RM20 2ZG

Appearance and book signing.

More dates coming soon! For more info about Dot Robot and for pics of some of the festivals and schools I’ve already visited with the Dot Robot Roadshow click here.

I find the majority of articles discussing the shape of Apple’s ‘latest creation’, frustrating. What bugs me is their collective lack of commitment and their constant need to apologise for being part of the hype around what will be the world’s first, full-colour digital e-reader. Let me place my neck squarely on the block and predict the most important dimension of the next Wednesday’s launch: it will change publishing, forever. Yep, it’s a multi-touch tablet that will play music and movies and apps and propose an initially frustrating on-screen keyboard solution, which will ultimately prove blissfully easy to use – but the real news, the point that needs making, is that the device, which will certainly not be called iSlate, will lead to a complete overhaul of how most of us read.

This quantum shift in the way we read newspapers, magazines and books won’t happen overnight – just as the music industry didn’t embrace iTunes’ seminal solution to the problem of making money from digital pop - but it will always be perceived as the beginning of reading, post printing press.

I have it on good authority that several major UK newspapers have been approached to format their publications for ‘a tablet device’. And as an author with my own book available in digital format, I can tell you that publishers and authors know that a move to the next phase of publishing is long overdue. But my main reason for focussing on the e-reader part of the new tablet equation, is that as a race of word hungry wretches, we’re all crying out for someone with Apple’s clout to push us to the next and inevitable rung on the reading ladder. Whether we realise it or not, the option to download any book, any newspaper or magazine from any year, month or day, in full colour, in an instant, is as inevitable as the death of the combustion engine.

For some sage commentary on Apple’s latest offering I recommend following @claudineb (Technology Editor for The Telegraph) who will be at the launch in San Francisco next Wednesday.

Bayonetta (Xbox 360) is an epic and fast paced Action game directed by Mr Hideki Kamiya, creator of Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe. It offers a huge leap forward in the genre and the game is packed full of detail and anime gore. Bayonetta is also matched with a cowboy-bebop style sound track, which creates a rhythm to the game and a gives it a catchy charm.

This is a game that assaults the player with its over the top characters and an incredible fighting system; the game will certainly entertain you but will also challenge your combat skills until you shout like a maniac at your TV. There is a short introductory chapter to ease you into gameplay basics but the game overall is very fast-paced so prepare to learn and adapt swiftly. Your progress is marked by chapters and verses - but the object of the game is to proceed through the awesome free-roam chapters, solving puzzles, collecting items, fighting the demonic and angelic monsters, to achieve a high enough score to acquire ever ascending medals.

There is a range of customisation features to explore which relate to Bayonetta’s arm and leg weapon slots. Also, Halo’s need to be collected and can be swapped for a range of upgrades and accessories at a store located at The Gates of Hell. These open up more for you to enjoy in the shape of exuberant fighting techniques and draw you ever deeper into Bayonetta’s universe.

After completion the first time around, you can try Bayonetta on harder difficulties but keep your weapons and items, which is cool. In Normal mode there are a lot more goodies to nab and more secrets to hunt, so many in fact, you’ll end up feeling sickly with Bayonetta stash. I’ve played this game for twenty-four hours now (& I’ve only had it five days) and its own brand of visual style and kinky action are so very addictive, you’d better be prepared to lose a good chunk of your personal life to this the bespectacled temptress.

Not only does Bayonetta deliver an amazing combat experience with insane visuals, it also offers an intriguing storyline. It revolves around two clans who harness the power of light and dark and who are pushed into a devastating war by unfortunate circumstance. The story can be messy at times, which can be confusing, but overall, it’s a masterpiece; even the most psychotic parts of the narrative tie-in with the overall story arc.

This game has been weaved together exquisitely and the stranger elements - music and quirky dialogue - come together perfectly to create a unique and bloody tale. I am a huge anime fan and this game appealed to every side of my fetish.

A nutty storyline and huge amounts of gameplay detail make this an unmissable Action title.

Written for Jason by Corporal Kitty