Publisher Atari might be going through some hard financial times at the moment, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have their hands in some impressive titles. One of those titles is N+, the quirky Flash game-turned hit Xbox Live Arcade release, now seeing portable versions on both the DS and PSP. For the uninitiated, N+ (formerly known simply as “N” during its humble Flash game beginnings) is a simple – or maybe not so simple – game about a ninja. A ninja who must get through a door. Yep, that’s it.
Well, that’s sort of it. Sometimes, you’ll have to gain access to certain doors by hitting a switch somewhere in one of the over 200 levels. And sometimes you’ll have to avoid obstacles like bombs or droids. Like we said, it sure sounds simple, doesn’t it? But did we mention the often controller-smashing difficulty? N+ is what you might call “old-school”, with its flat visual style (although, some elements of the game, like the enemies, are receiving slight graphical upgrades) and classic difficulty level. While dodging enemies and unlocking doors, you have to collect little golden squares scattered throughout the levels. These fill up your life bar which slowly diminishes as time goes by. Really, time is the only thing that does zap your health, because coming into contact with an enemy doesn’t just deal damage; it kills you instantly, and sends your stick-figure corpse flailing way, ragdoll-style. If there’s one thing on your side through all of this though, it’s that controlling your ninja is very easy and satisfying. N+ seems like a perfect fit for handhelds and gaming-on-the-go, since levels are broken up into “episodes”; you can play a handful at a time and quit after the break between episodes.
In case the 200+ single player, 100 co-op and 50 versus levels aren’t enough content for you, N+ wisely includes a level editor. You can construct your own devious ninja death-trap-filled levels and even show them off to friends and strangers alike online. The game is also promised to have unlockable items and some of them seem very useful. One of the most annoying ways to die in N was falling from too high up. Enter the “crash mats”. They’ll break your fall, however, your ninja will be slowed down a little, which can be very costly when it comes time to evade enemies and their speedy attacks. Another cool unlockable is the force field, which not only can protect you but can also prove very handy in getting you from one end of the level to the other. And yes, you read that right at the top of the paragraph; N+ has full-fledged online modes for play as well. One mode of particular interest is freeze tag. Each player has a timer and when a player is “it”, their timer runs down, so the idea is to keep your opponent “it”. When his clock runs out, he/she loses. This mode could make for some great, frantic ninja action.
Since the game’s arrival is just around the corner, it might be a good idea to get acquainted with its previous versions. The original N can be downloaded for free at the official site, but if you’re some kind of PC-hating console stalwart, fire up your Xbox 360 and head to the Marketplace. You’ll have to actually pay for latter version, but you could always settle for the free trial. Whatever you decide to do, do it soon. N+ is scheduled to be released on August 12.
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