Microsoft Prepares for Ninety-Nine Nights

Ninety-Nine Nights brings action to Xbox 360™ unlike anything yet seen in gaming. This epic adventure revolves around battlefields crammed with hundreds of combatants on screen at a time. Make sure your soldiers are prepared for combat as they wage war with 100 different weapons and fighting styles, and by unleashing powerful spells on the enemy. Phantagram's SangYoun Lee, producer of this breathtaking collaboration between Korean game maker Phantagram and Japanese game maker Q Entertainment, talks about this new Xbox 360 experience.

Xbox 360 next-gen power allows hundreds of combatants on screen at once.

Lee described the game's story, saying there was a time when humans and goblins were living together peacefully. One day, a mysterious crystal called "Orb," which was keeping the balance of the world, was broken. This resulted in growing distrust and hostility between the two races. War then broke out between the humans and the goblins.

"Both sides fight for their own justice and try to prove what they believe in," said Lee, who added that the story of Ninety-Nine Nights is different depending on which hero character a gamer assumes control of. "This story unfolds from different perspectives, which changes the role of who is good and who is evil in the game."

The game's epic battles are unlike anything yet seen in a game.

Choose Your Side
There are seven playable characters and 32 missions to play. The side of the character you choose is the good side, since you are following his or her story. The game's ultimate message is that there is no absolute good or complete evil. Just as in the real world, there are shades of gray between these warring factions. The stories of each of the game's heroes are gathered to form the dramatic overarching story of this game.

"Players can choose either humans of the Light side or warriors from the Dark side," explained Lee. "Each of the heroes has his or her own belief and reasons for fighting in the war. As you play, you will find the pieces of the whole story and the hidden message that awaits you."

Take Charge
Each of the playable heroes possesses a different combat style, plus unique weapons and skills. Lee said that once a hero enters the massive battlefield, players must deal with the large number of enemies by utilizing the Guardian, the group of allied soldiers under your command. Lee said the main gameplay objective is to devastate the tens of thousands of opponents with lots of spectacular moves and kills.

"As you kill more and more enemies, the heroes earn experience that contributes to the character leveling up," said Lee. "Becoming a higher level means learning new sets of moves and skills that are more powerful than the previous ones. Also, there are lots of items you can find and collect while playing and they will add more power and attributes to your characters."

Command the Battlefields
Depending on which hero a player chooses to adventure with, the game spans over 30 hours of action. Lee said that since Phantagram created the PC game, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, the developer has been researching how to put as many characters on the screen at one time as possible. Thanks to next generation technology, it's now possible to combine and blend the gameplay experience with brand new technologies available only from Xbox 360. He called the game a field-type fantasy action game involving epic scale and massive crowds.

"Ninety-Nine Nights gives players a totally new experience of having fun in a brand new genre," said Lee. "The feeling of blowing up the massive numbers of enemy hordes using spectacular moves and special abilities is an original experience for Xbox 360."

Lush, detailed visuals come to life in next generation visuals.

To the Death
The power of Xbox 360 opened up combat to hundreds and hundreds of combatants on one screen. Lee said that along with the large scale action, the details of each character expressed on the screen is unprecedented. On top of that, each of those characters has their own artificial intelligence. Lee said it was previously believed that this scale of individual characters and A.I. was unachievable, but next generation technology opened up the door to more expansive interactive experiences.

While Ninety-Nine Nights is a single-player experience, the game does support Xbox Live® features like Live Aware and Achievements. Lee said this means that Microsoft has the option of adding a multiplayer feature at a later date and the game can be updated with relative ease and with perfection.

Article by John Gaudiosi