E3 2006 Hands On Preview
First announced when the initial gamut of Xbox
360 games were being announced, Ninety Nine Nights was one of the initial games
that piqued some interest amongst gamers. Created by the mind behind Rez and
Lumines (two musically driven games), Ninety Nine Nights represented somewhat of
a departure for its creator. Initial teasers of the game showcased beautiful
graphics and lavish battlefields with literally hundreds of enemies on the
screen at one time. However, little was said about the game in terms of what it
would be capable of in terms of the overall gameplay. Well, Microsoft has
brought out Ninety Nine Nights in full force, complete with new story details
and a playable build on the E3 show floor. The result is what we could expect,
with loads of enemies on screen at once, and gorgeous graphics.
The story in Ninety Nine Nights follows a young
knight and her brother as they try to piece together an orb that will change the
fate of the world. Once the orb is joined, legend has it that the world will be
launched into ninety-nine days of conflict. On the hundredth day, the chaos will
stop and the person who joined the orb will emerge as the ultimate ruler of the
world.
Anyone who has played Dynasty Warriors will
immediately feel comfortable with Ninety Nine Nights. You begin the battle by
selecting from a series of different military units to cover both your left and
your right flank. The units that you can choose comprise of pikeman, archers,
heavy hitters and so on. Once you’ve done this, then you and your units are good
to go into the fight.
In the battle you run around the field taking out
as many enemies as possible with the aid of your troops. Occasionally, you must
take on enemy generals or other high ranking soldiers, again like Dynasty
Warriors. You can perform a variety of different combos, which you can level up
and gain more abilities as time progresses.
One thing that is very impressive about Ninety
Nine Nights is the sheer amount of enemies on the screen. The first stage of the
demo didn’t really showcase this very well, and was pretty disappointing in that
regard. However, the next level blew me away with literally hundreds of baddies
swarming on my character at once. Plus, the game looks exceptional, with a great
graphical look and art direction.
Ninety Nine Nights is a great looking game that
will tap the Xbox 360’s technological potential with great graphics and a high
body count.
