N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights
Score: 58% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Konami Developer: Q Entertainment Media: DVD/1 Players: 1; 2 (Online) Genre: Action
Graphics & Sound: N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights is a pure hack-n-slash game in the vein of Dynasty Warriors. In fact, you could replace the muscle-bound fighters, demons and elves that populate the game's battlefields with samurai and probably not tell the difference between the two games. I tend to like this sort of game. They're not the most complicated game or robust of games, but they're usually good for an hour of two of pointless fun. Unfortunately, N3II doesn't do much to try and push beyond its basic premise. I always worry when a company touts some visual feature over gameplay. With N3II, it was the number of enemies on screen at once. I think the number was close to a million. It's an exciting idea, but putting that many enemies onscreen at once comes with the unfortunate side effect of less detail and variety. Yeah, you'll see a lot of guys on screen, but they all look exactly the same. I sort of expected this going into the game, but when I began to repeatedly mistake allies as enemies... well, that was a problem. Unlike the original, N3II falls victim to the "grey skies, grit and blood" school of visuals. I really liked how the original game looked. Characters were bright and really unique. Here, it's the same armor-clad, big sword warrior we've seen before. It's the fantasy equivalent to bald space marines. There's nothing engaging about any of the characters or really anything worth looking at. I'd happily trade N3II multi-tiered forts for Ninety-Nine Nights' lush fields and unique environments. Music and voice acting get the job done. It's goofy, but I like the overacting just for the sense of personality it injects into an otherwise bland presentation. I only wish other elements were as playful.
Gameplay: You can skip through N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights's story sequences and not miss a beat. The story is bland and overly predictable. There's an evil guy with an evil army at his command who is trying to take over the kingdom. You are the hero who needs to lead an army to stop him. Well, not really... you have an army but they're just window dressing. Your lone fighter is the one who actually does all the heavy lifting, while the others stand around and watch. The goal in every area is simple; make it from Point A to Point B while slashing through an army of similar-looking enemies. Every once in a while, you'll have to face off against an unfairly hard boss soldier, but otherwise you're locked in an endless cycle of button-mashing and running around. Battles look impressive, but then you notice the massive throngs of enemies spend a lot of time standing around waiting for their turn to attack. It looks great, but that's about it. Yes, I understand that's the point behind this sort of game, and as much as I like the concept, I also think the genre hit its high mark with Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. While it stuck to the one vs. hundreds slash-fest, it also aspired to something higher. It wasn't just about slashing; there was real strategy involved. Troops mattered and you had to use their abilities to help your on-field situation. The execution wasn't flawless, but it at least tried something different. N3II makes no such attempt. It's the same game, just with a different look. When you're not fighting through the Story Campaign, you can visit the Coliseum. This is fun if you still want to whittle down armies, though there's no point to the area beyond personal satisfaction. I originally though it would at least provide me with some experience to level characters, but that's not the case. There is two-player co-op via Xbox Live, but even with a friend, the experience isn't much different. You're really just carving up groups of enemies with no real goal beyond survival. The lone exception is "Maze," a play variant where partners take turns solving puzzles and fighting in order to progress to the next part of a labyrinth. I'm confused as to why there's no local multiplayer option. N3II is the type of game (particularly Maze) that would be fun with someone sitting next to you playing. It's a big loss.
Difficulty: N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights places a high premium on health. Enemies don't do much damage, but a few small chips quickly add up. Health refills are a rare sight, and the few times you can manage to find one it is usually followed by an unnaturally difficult section guaranteed to make your newly restored health plummet. It's not uncommon to ricochet between enemy attacks. Then there's the knockdown attacks, which are spaced just enough to keep you on the ground for a few minutes. In the event you manage to drag your way to the end of a level, you'll more than likely find out your character isn't powerful enough to defeat the end boss. This usually means backing out of the area and replaying it for more experience. If I have to grind character levels, at least give me another venue (like an arena maybe??) rather than a forcing me to replay levels I just beat. At least N3II includes checkpoints, though these are spaced out a little too far. When combined with other issues, namely the lack of health items, it creates an incredibly frustrating experience. Its concept might be great for blowing off some steam, but the difficulty is just as likely to rile you up more than wind you down.
Game Mechanics: N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights revolves primarily around mashing buttons and slashing through hordes of enemies. That's it. There are a few combos to dial-in for extra power and a few crowd-clearing special attacks, but really everything devolves into monotonous button-mashing. Sure, it's great to see ungodly high kill counts and combo numbers, but "3000" might as well be "3" considering how easy it is to accumulate kills and hits. Hacking your way through groups of enemies is relatively simple, but that doesn't mean N3II is an easy game. Enemies pose little threat. Even though you're sometimes facing close to 100 enemies per group, attacks hit such a wide area it's hard to not hit large groups with one swing. Still, the distance between checkpoints is so vast and health items are so rare, it's almost as if the game is going out of it's way to add some sort of challenge. Alas, this isn't challenging, it's just a cheap and easy way to ramp up difficulty without actually balancing anything. As you progress through battles, you'll encounter new playable characters with their own campaigns. The new characters feel different, but like most other elements, any differences are just a smoke screen. Attacks look different, but you're still just pounding away at buttons. The differing styles offer some relief at first, but it doesn't last long enough to carry you through another hours-long campaign. As much as I like the concept behind N3II: Ninety-Nine Nights and wanted to like it, I didn't. It's fun for a few minutes, but then the initial rush wears off. There's little effort to push beyond the simple "kill a bunch of guys" concept. If you're dying for a new hack-n-slash experience, you're better off looking for a copy of the first game or a Dynasty Warriors game.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Related Links: Game Vortex's Review of Ninety-Nine Nights on Xbox 360 Game Vortex's Review of Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires on Xbox 360 Game Vortex's Review of Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders on Xbox
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