NINETY-NINE NIGHTS
Microsoft, Xbox 360, $49.99
Released exclusively in Japan earlier this year, Ninety-Nine Nights carried hopes of currying favor with Japanese gamers, who so far have not given a snow monkey’s ass about the 360. Turns out they still don’t. Regardless, the talented duo of Tetsuo Mizuguchi (Lumines) and Sang Youn Lee (Kingdom Under Fire), have created an incredibly spirited, if not altogether innovative, arcade-style button-masher. Anyone familiar with Dynasty Warriors will instantly get the basics: Hack, slash, magic, hack. But what this game lacks in depth it makes up for with wild visuals and intense fighting combos reminiscent of, and occasionally surpassing, Devil May Cry. Choose between seven over-consonantly named characters (Aspharr?), each with unique attacks and interlocking stories, and sample 100-plus weapons (many so large that no human, cosplayers aside, could possibly wield them). The power of the 360 really helps define the game’s visual presentation, breathing life into tremendous, effect-drenched landscapes filled with hundreds of enemies at once. Enemy A.I. provides a decent challenge, but you don’t want to spend forever fighting one orc when 87 more are standing behind you; allied forces, which you have a limited command over, help you fight. In the end, Ninety-Nine Nights is extremely pretty and gets a lot of mileage out of hackin’ n’ slashin’ but don’t expect much more. Ryan Rayhill
www.xbox.com

Love: Intense, large-scale battles, amazing environments
Hate: Repetitive gameplay
Final Word: Alright for fighting