Serious Sam: The First Encounter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.125692]
Enter the Matrix [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.126948#2682893]
Freeware Series:
Black Shades [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128861]
Avert Fate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.129514]
Enter the Matrix [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.126948#2682893]
Freeware Series:
Black Shades [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128861]
Avert Fate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.129514]
N:
Right, I'm going to review N for two reasons. Firstly because this is one of the best platformers I've seen and secondly because my ongoing quest to illuminate the dark corners of freeware looking for sparkly things has come to its full fruition in N.
Technical Stuff: Graphics are fine, they're stylised so whether you like them or not is really a matter of opinion. The download for this game is small (under 2MB), especially considering the number of hours that you will end up racking up on this.
Warning: Everything in this room is trying to kill you
Story: Nothing to see here, all the story is contained in one small text box in the main menu. You are a ninja who has a short lifetime due to a high metabolism and must escape the laboratory you were created in before your time runs out, along the way you collect swag and master N, the way of the ninja. This is definitely the weakest part of the game, with holes large enough to make windows out of. How does collecting gold extend your life (i.e. your timer)? What do you do once you get out, breath freedom for twenty seconds before you snuff it? Between this, Portal and 'splosion man, is there any platformer that doesn't take place in a laboratory? The story is superfluous, having the dual function of a weak justification and a way to attract people by dropping the word 'ninja'. But who cares, it's fun regardless.
Behind youuuu!
Gameplay: N is a simple platformer. You go from your start to the exit and flick a few switches along the way. Each level is short, a perfect run is never more than two minutes, but the challenges you face range from simple to murderous, preferring to spend most of its time at devious. Once you master the basics, jumping, getting your momentum right and wall riding, you are gradually introduced to more and more ways to die; lasers, rockets launchers and sentinels all stand in your way. Since you can't fight back your only defence is some timely jumps and desperation. The game gets especially panicky when you're forced to dodge enemies which makes the experience really come alive and brings on a smug feeling when you manage to pull it off. Daring the laser's lock-on before attempting a last minute jump is exhilarating when you pull it off and hilarious when you don't. N has ragdoll physics which will propel your corpse around the room, whole or in pieces, and it can be quite fun to watch. It does relieve some of the tension of the failure that has come before and if you're not in the mood for it, it's skippable.
So N is fiendish, and surprisingly they manage to keep it up. There are about fifty levels in the original download and most of them are quite clever and challenging. The large number of levels, as well as user made content and time trials, means that this game has huge replayablity. The game is simply massive, but the problem is that it's difficult to jump to a particular level you like. You can only do the levels in blocks of five, which means that you can;t jump to a single level. However this is a minor complaint since, as I said, most of the levels are pretty fun anyway.
With N covered I think I should make a mention of N+, the console version of N. Unfortunately this one is not free and also charges for additional map packs and I'm not convinced it's worth it. N is good but can the genius of level design stretch across the 400 levels it boasts? Personally I doubt it is worth the extra money unless you have left over points needing used up, which is unlikely since it's 800. After all, the free version is not demanding in terms of hardware so if you have a computer good enough to access this review then you have no excuse for not playing it.
And a brief mention that N+ is also on the ds and psp. Unlike the XBLA version, these may be worth it for the mobility, although they are more expensive than their Xbox counterparts.
Conclusion: This is one of the best platformers I've seen, made better by the fact it's free. Get it, now. If you have some points to burn, get N+ for 360.
Comments: Are the first step down the road to ridding the world of all known diseases. Please post your opinion and recommendations for future reviews.
Download N [http://www.thewayoftheninja.org/n.html]
