First off, I played the demo and rented it back when it first came out, but I just picked it up at FYE for 20 bucks ($10 after my $10 gift card), so I couldn't resist, if for nothing else than the 1000 gamerpoints it's capable of.
First off, when you pop it in, you'll think you just bought/rented a poor knockoff of Dynasty Warriors. Well...you kinda did, but hey, give it a chance! I'm a big fan of Dynasty Warriors, which is probably why I enjoy N3 a bit.
The game handles almost exactly like DW, so if you like the control set-up in DW, then you're golden; if you don't like DW controls, then you're SOL. I personally like the controls, I don't think they're too bad, if a bit simplistic. Sometimes you get hit with a bad camera angle, but the right stick allows 360 degree camera rotation, so it's not much of an issue.
I've got to say, the graphics are beautiful on my CRT HDTV; really detailed environments and character models. One great thing that N3 does really well is the vast amount of characters on the screen at one time: I've seen over 1000 enemies on the screen at one time (Needless to say things can get a bit hektic). It makes great use of the 360's hardware by not chugging even a bit with all the characters on the screen. One thing I couldn't stand is playing DW and having characters that were invisible appear, hit you, and disappear when you turn to attack them.
Unfortunatley, the game is a bit short; each characters storyline lasting an average of around 7-9 levels. Another downside is that there is only 7 characters to choose from (starting off with 2, more unlock as you complete other character's storylines). It could've used more characters, or longer missions, but what are you gonna do?
All in all, I'd have to give N3 a B-. On the plus side, the environments are great, and it has the potential to have a ton of enemies on screen at one time without a problem. On the downside, it is a bit short, and only limited to 7 characters. A great weekend rental to boost up the ol' gamerscore, as completing each characters mission will give you around 50-100 gamerpoints.
Well, that's it for my glorious return. OfficeSpace is on Comedy Central's midnight stash, and I can never get tired of this movie