So I recently picked this little gem up on the XBL Arcade.  It'll only set you back $10, pretty cheapo considering the quality of the game you'll pick up.

At the moment there's 8 characters to play as - four "balanced" characters with good offense and defense, but slow movement (Spartan, Centurion, Samurai, and Knight), two "guerilla" characters with very good offense and movement speed but low defense (Ninja, Apache), and two "berserker" characters with very good offense and mediocre movement speed but mixed defenses (Viking, Pirate).

There's only five stages to play in, but each stage has semi-interactive elements (obstacles, things you can break, etc).

The gameplay itself is simple.  You enter each fight with essentially four weapons (short-range, medium-range, long-range, and "special" which is used in your unblockable attack), as well as whatever armor your character has available.  The combat system is fully 3-D and is relatively simple - you have a health bar but it's mostly a formality, as you'll only really be able to take 6-7 shots at most, with some fights ending in one blow.  You have three basic melee attacks (high, middle, low) and each has varying effects.  High attacks can decapitate an opponent (outright kill), middle attacks can damage or sever arms (disabling shields, medium-range weapons, and ranged weapons), and low attacks can damage or sever arms (slows down movement considerably).

Severed limbs do damage-over-time due to bleeding, as do two specific ranged weapons that are poisoned.

In short, if you liked the Bushido Blade game series, this game is a very, very natural step in the same direction.  Plays fast, it's fun if not occasionally frustrating, and online game is decently stable if a bit laggy.  Overall, it's definitely worth $10.

That said -

Who wants to play!