She's sexy. She's deadly. And she's tired of sharing the small screen with her Tekken compatriots. So what's a girl to dor Go off on her very own solo adventure, of course -- and that's just what Nina Williams is doing in Death by Degrees. Tekken's blonde bombshell strikes out on her own (like Nomad) for an action-adventure outing that's reminiscent of two of Jet Li's works; in many ways, Death by Degrees is a combination of Li's PlayStation 2 game Rise to Honor and his movie Romeo Must Die. Add Nina's abundant sex appeal into the mix and you have the makings of an incredible game.

Death by Degrees is a blast from Nina's past, taking place before the "King of Iron First" tournaments (the settings for the Tekken series). At this stage of her life, she is an assassin extraordinaire that's currently in the employ of Britain's M16 agency. Her mission is to infiltrate a luxurious ocean liner owned by the mysterious Lana Lei. The M16 already sent an agent in to investigate Lei, but he has disappeared under shadowy circumstances. Not surprisingly, the boat is also the setting for an underground fighting tournament. Nina enters and wins easily, but in doing so raises the suspicions of Lei and her henchman. The game kicks off with Nina soaking up some vitamin D and taking a break from all the havoc she wreaked in the tournament …when suddenly Lei's thugs attack.

Like I mentioned earlier, Death by Degrees is similar to Rise to Honor. The control schemes for the two games are alike in that the left analog stick controls the character's movements, while the right analog stick controls the attacks. A simple flick of the right analog doles out an attack in that particular direction, allowing you to bust out moves on your foes whether you're facing them or not. Though the game is still very early, the combat already feels better than Rise to Honor's. My biggest gripe about that game was that the unusual controls made me feel disconnected from the fighting. The control scheme seems better implemented in Death by Degrees, and while it still doesn't feel as tight as traditional action-adventure controls, there's enough time for the developers to improve the implementation.

Since Nina is a world-class assassin, she has a world-class set of moves at her disposal. Her hand-to-hand techniques include all manner of punches, kicks, submissions, and aerial acrobatics. Naturally, she'll bust out some of the moves you've seen in the Tekken games. Thanks to the unique control scheme, it'll be a snap to execute the coolest of moves. Once you get accustomed to its subtleties, a few flicks of the analogs will have you unleashing deadly spin kicks and avoiding attacks with a deftly times cartwheel.

There are also a great number of weapons for Nina to wield. From katanas, Uzis, grenades, throwing knives, shotguns, pistols, and more, Nina should always have her hands full of ordnance. Each weapon has its own set of contextual moves that further add to Nina's versatility. Don't worry Tekken fans -- Nina's deadly mist weapon is also in the game and you'll see it in all its spewtastic glory.

Now, just because Nina's moves are easy to pull off doesn't mean that the game will be easy. Stringing together combinations is essential to progressing in Death by Degrees. Linking together long combo chains will result in bonus scores. The bigger and better your combos are, the quicker you'll be able to boost Nina's stats.

One of the most stylish aspects of the game is its Critical Strikes. To execute these moves, Nina pinpoints weak spots in a foe and focuses an attack there. The result is a shattered skull, a snapped spine, a busted kneecap, etc. But what's really cool is how these lethal moves are presented. When Nina busts out a Critical Strike, you see the target's skeleton, giving you an insider's view of how fatal your attack really is. It's very similar to the technique used in Romeo Must Die, and it's very effective in making your wicked moves seem that much cooler.

It's still too early to judge Nina's visuals. I was only shown select areas of the ocean cruiser and some CG scenes. There were some dazzling moments in the in-game graphics and the CG, but there were also some uneven portions. I'll take another look at the game at E3 to check on its progress. The developers promise a highly cinematic visual experience with more than an hour of movies (both CG and in game).

There's a lot going on in Death by Degrees. You've got a sexy leading lady. You've got a ton of awesome hand-to-hand moves at your disposal. You've got an impressive set of weapons in your arsenal. And you've got some of the coolest death strikes ever seen in gaming. If the developers at Namco bring it all together with strong level design and graphical splendor, then Death by Degrees will be one of the hottest action-adventure games you'll see this fall.