‘Ninja Blade” has garnered an unsavory reputation for its dependency on quick-time events — those instances in which a game has you complete some amazing stunt by following a series of onscreen button prompts that bear no resemblance whatsoever.

The rap checks out because “Blade” indeed employs the technique like perhaps no game ever has. Rarely do five minutes pass where you aren’t interrupted by some bland recitation of prompts that allow your onscreen likeness to do something significantly more exciting than what you’re doing.

To a point, it’s understandable: “Blade’s” cut-scenes are nonsensically, hilariously over the top, and replicating these excessively choreographed maneuvers is more than today’s controllers can handle without cheating.

It would have been nice, though, if these instances carried any consequence at all. There’s no discernable penalty for following prompts sloppily instead of perfectly, and if you miss one entirely, the game simply asks you to do it again until the scene plays out. Before long, you’ll feel more like a tool of “Blade’s” entertainment than the beneficiary — as if the developers designed the game to be enjoyed by non-playing bystanders while you do the work.

Distressingly, the rest of the game — which alternates between “God of War”-like third-person swordplay and a surprisingly high number of on-rails shooting segments — does little to alleviate the oppressive linearity. “Blade’s” increasingly incoherent storyline impatiently whisks you from scene to scene, and the vast majority of the action feels like a slog from A to B. As long as you hold down, mash or press buttons like the game asks, you’ll inevitably power your way to the end of the level, your brainpower no more taxed by the end than it was when you began.

Almost as if to compensate, “Blade” postpones these inevitabilities though a slew of irritating tactics, including overlong boss fights and cheap attacks that don’t challenge or imperil you so much as slow things down for no discernable reason. The tedium ramps up as the story falls apart, and an inability to save your game at mid-mission checkpoints makes for some play sessions that drag on well past their freshness date. If you plan on giving “Blade” a shot, be sure to clear your immediate schedule.

Additionally, make sure you rent rather than buy. In addition to overstaying its welcome the first time through, “Blade” offers no worthwhile reason to own it, nor does it feature any multiplayer content beyond leaderboard support.

“Ninja Blade”

Microsoft for Xbox 360

ESRB rating: Mature (blood, violence)

No star rating provided.

New Game Releases

The following games are scheduled for release this week, according to GameSpot.com:

May 4:

• “Donkey Kong Jungle Beat (New Play Control!)” (Wii, genre: 2-D, rated E10+)

• Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper (PC, genre: general, rating unavailable)

May 5:

• “Patapon 2” (PSP, genre: general, rated E)

• “Fallout 3: Broken Steel” (X360, genre: general, rating unavailable)

• “Crysis: Maximum Edition” (PC, genre: compilation, rating unavailable)

• “Plants vs. Zombies” (PC, genre: general, rating unavailable)

• “Magician’s Quest: Mysterious Times” (DS, genre: virtual life, rated E10+)

• “Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust” (PS3, genre: modern, rated M)

• “The Destiny of Zorro” (Wii, genre: general, rated E10+)

• “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” (X360, Wii and DS; genre: general, rated E10+ on all consoles except DS, which is rated E)

• “Klonoa” (Wii, genre: general, rated E10+)

• “Jagged Alliance” (DS, genre: modern, rated T)

• Puzzle Kingdoms (DS, genre: general, rated E10+)

May 6:

• “Imagine: Music Fest” (DS, genre: music maker, rated E)

— McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Top SALES

The Top 10 games sold for the week of April 26.

1. “Mario Super Sluggers” (Wii)

2. “Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock” (PS2)

3. “Major League Baseball 2K8” (X360)

4. “Wario Land: Shake It!” (Wii)

5. “Dark Sector” (X360)

6. “Army of Two” (X360)

7. “Super Mario Galaxy” (Wii)

8. “Sega Superstars Tennis” (Wii)

9. “Wonderworld Amusement Park” (Wii)

10. “Major League Baseball 2K8” (PS3) Blockbuster via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.

Top RENTALS

The Top 10 games rented for the week of April 26.

1. “Resident Evil 5” (X360)

2. “Call of Duty: World at War” (X360)

3. “Resident Evil 5” (PS3)

4. “Wanted: Weapons of Fate” (X360)

5. “MLB 2K9” (X360)

6. “Fallout 3” (X360)

7. “Halo Wars” (X360)

8. “Gears of War 2” (X360)

9. “Killzone 2” (PS3)

10. “Guitar Hero Metallica” (X360) Blockbuster via McClatchy-Tribune News Service