One of the biggest Japanese videogame injustices has been Microsoft's refusal to release its phenomenal Xbox title, Phantom Dust in America, but all is now right with the world because Majesco has snatched up the U.S. publishing rights, and by March 8 we'll all be blasting apart buildings and leaving giant craters in city streets for the extremely affordable price of $19.99.

In case you've never heard of it, Phantom Dust is this wicked third person battle arena game where you decimate your opponents using all sorts of powers. It's set in a post apocalyptic Earth where an unknown evil has forced us to live underground, and playing as one of the brave souls who refuses to bend to the will of this unknown assailant, you make your way to the surface where you'll fight opponents though the harnessing of Phantom Dust particles that are floating about. The single-player game has over 200 missions, and there will be Xbox Live support that features both co-op and deathmatch options for up to four players. Plus, you'll have a skill inventory that you'll not only use to build up your character offline but on as well, where you'll unlock new skills as well as trade them with others. In all, there will be a whopping 300 skills to collect!

You'll collect skills as you play, and you can assign them to the controller's face buttons, which makes using them extremely easy. There are various types, and some will be used primarily for attacking while others must be used for defense, so you'll be able to throw energy blasts, rain lighting, levitate, perform super human leaps, chuck bombs, as well as cover yourself with a giant shield, while others serve as "level-ups" that are extremely important because supposedly some skills that you encounter later on can only be used if your character's grown accordingly.

In a way, Phantom Dust is sort of like a card battle game in that, because there are so many skills and you can't use them all at once, you'll need to assemble a deck of sorts, an Arsenal, if you will, at the game's Laboratory. While engaged in battle, the game will randomly pull skills that you can use from your "deck" and you can either use them or just wait until another one's pulled. However, the game's not just about chucking fireballs at opponents' heads, as the combat system, while it gives you that freedom, also puts some restraints on your character in the form of an Aura. The Aura is sort of like the equivalent of hit points, and using skills will drain them. Therefore, bolting into an arena and turning yourself into a human fireworks show will probably lead to your butt getting appropriately kicked since you can't do much damage without any Aura "points."

Different skills will consume different amounts of your Aura, so this is where most of the game's strategy comes into play. You'll need to know when it's a good time to use certain skills. Luckily, as you advance through the game, your Aura will increase, allowing you to use a far greater amount of powers.

What really sets this game apart from other 3D arena games is simply how $#&%$^# cool it looks. The game has a very distinct Japanese flavor to it, and its graphics are without question one of its best features. Phantom Dust's frame rate hardly wavers, and its visuals are a wonderful mix of sci-fi locales which include dilapidated buildings as well as high-tech science labs. However, as pretty as the environments are, the game encourages you to rip them to shreds, and this is without a doubt Phantom Dust's greatest feature. Putting your new powers to excellent use, you can obliterate just about everything. Reduce giant pillars to splintering shards, rip through staircases, and pock mark the Earth with craters. It's a thrilling experience, and the effects are top notch and very reminiscent of the dazzling effects in the Matrix films.

Based on what I've played, Phantom Dust is quite an amazing experience. Not only does it look cool, but the frantic gameplay and wanton destruction really puts it over the top, and for the MSRP it should be near the top of your must buy list. Not only is the single-player campaign bursting with missions and skills to try out, but the Xbox Live component offers a unique experience that's quite different from all those first person shooters we've all been playing. Look for Phantom Dust during the second week of March, and my review soon after.