N+: A Retrospective
It seems that the old school arcade-type games still have a place in this World. On the console platform this is mainly due to the Xbox LIVE Arcade: A place for Indie developers to sell their games at virtual bargain bin prices. A lot of these games are remakes of classics everyone is familiar with like DOOM, Street Fighter and Worms. However quite often we see something pop in that brings us a bit of old school with an entirely new twist, and a while ago this was N+.
N+ is a 2D platform run-and-jump game by Slick Entertainment Inc. It is the sequel of the game N, available for free download on the computer.
The first thing I noticed about N+ is that it is a very minimalistic game, and this is where its beauty lies. Everything from your Ninja to the turret that's trying to mow you down looks like it just came out of a bedroom developers first time game. No need for complex environments or gimmicks. Just a few obstacles between you and your goal.
Gold Fever
As far as the goal of N+ goes the developers also kept it very simple: All you need to do is get your Ninja - a simple stick figure with a headband - to the exit. You go about this by activating a switch which opens the door, walking towards it and you're done. This may all sound very simple, but there are tonnes of obstacles like electrical fences, locked gates and trigger happy enemies that wouldn't think twice about turning your Ninja into a limp bunch of sticks bleeding out on the floor. If that wasn't enough, your Ninja is also living on borrowed time. There is a timer at the top of the screen, and if this runs empty, you're dead. You can refill your timer by collecting little gold bricks scattered through the levels. This adds an extra little challenge for people who are set on collecting every gold piece, as well as people who want to try and finish the level with their timer as full as possible, which is achieved by a combination of speed and collecting all of the gold.
Do this five times and you have completed an episode, getting just one baby step closer to completing the campaign.
How's Tricks?
The controls the developers gave you to manoeuvre through the levels are near perfect. The movement controls (left analogue stick to move, A-button/right/left trigger to jump will help you pull off some pretty impressive moves.
There is also a button you can press to kill yourself if you get stuck or become aggravated. Ironically this is X.
The only complaint I sometimes have is my Ninja is jumping ahead instead of up even though I specifically gave him the command. Other than that it's all fine.
Let's Get Physical
The impressive moves your Ninja can pull off are further supported by the physics engine the developers put in. Your Ninja will need to build up enough momentum to make a series of wall jumps high enough so you can clear a mine pit, or speed up just to abruptly come to a halt because you need to turn all your forward momentum into upward momentum.
Clever Pun
The overall level design is highly original. Every level has its own title which is either an inside joke, an internet meme or a pun on the shape of the level. The levels themselves always have an increasing difficulty progressing through the game's 400 levels. A lot of them are fun and challenging, others are just controller snappingly horrid. It is impossible to run through some of these levels in one go. They have to be tackled over and over and over again. Which brings me to my next point, and probably the biggest flaw this game has:
It will eat you up.
Press X To Die
Some of the levels are just so hard that you will have the urge to stomp your controller into bits and force it into your Xbox's disc tray. The timing, momentum and skill required to complete some of these stages is ridiculous. The game will often put you in a situation wherein you will have to retry a level again and again, always attempting some slightly different technique, so you might be able to avoid that Ninja-seeking rocket for once and activate that door switch, only to plunge right into a bed of landmines afterwards, forcing you to try yet again. It was enough to make my blood boil out of my pores, until I was wondering why the hell I'm not just quitting. Then I realised that this game - butt rape aside - is actually fun.
Sure, a large portion of the levels bent me over and showed no mercy but when I finally did make it I felt like I actually accomplished something. There is something about finally being fast enough to avoid that turret bullet and making a break for the exit that got my heart pumping faster than when I was battling a Deathclaw with a 10mm in Fallout 3. The sense of victory was worth the countless attempts, and I marched through episode after episode finishing every one of them with mixed feelings of love and hatred for this game.
Keep Your Friends Close, Then Kick Them In The Shins
There is also a multiplayer campaign for those amongst us who didn't have enough reasons to scorn our friends yet. It doesn't bring much new to the table other than different levels which require even more cooperative timing, precision and skill. At least in the single player campaign you could do things at your own pace. Now you have a buddy to watch out for too.
DIY
Another great feature N+ has is the level designer. It allows you to design your own sadistic obstacle course and share it with your friends. Sadly there is no online database on XBL from where you can download user made content.
Bottom Line: If you're a fan of 2D-style, trial and error platform games which are challenging and don't mind dying a lot to get where you want to be this game is certainly for you. Unfortunately this game is a little hard on the casual gamer who usually frequents the Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Advice: Buy it. It may be a little hard on the nerves at times but it will certainly bring back a little of the old school platforming games genre into the current generation.
It seems that the old school arcade-type games still have a place in this World. On the console platform this is mainly due to the Xbox LIVE Arcade: A place for Indie developers to sell their games at virtual bargain bin prices. A lot of these games are remakes of classics everyone is familiar with like DOOM, Street Fighter and Worms. However quite often we see something pop in that brings us a bit of old school with an entirely new twist, and a while ago this was N+.
N+ is a 2D platform run-and-jump game by Slick Entertainment Inc. It is the sequel of the game N, available for free download on the computer.
The first thing I noticed about N+ is that it is a very minimalistic game, and this is where its beauty lies. Everything from your Ninja to the turret that's trying to mow you down looks like it just came out of a bedroom developers first time game. No need for complex environments or gimmicks. Just a few obstacles between you and your goal.
Gold Fever
As far as the goal of N+ goes the developers also kept it very simple: All you need to do is get your Ninja - a simple stick figure with a headband - to the exit. You go about this by activating a switch which opens the door, walking towards it and you're done. This may all sound very simple, but there are tonnes of obstacles like electrical fences, locked gates and trigger happy enemies that wouldn't think twice about turning your Ninja into a limp bunch of sticks bleeding out on the floor. If that wasn't enough, your Ninja is also living on borrowed time. There is a timer at the top of the screen, and if this runs empty, you're dead. You can refill your timer by collecting little gold bricks scattered through the levels. This adds an extra little challenge for people who are set on collecting every gold piece, as well as people who want to try and finish the level with their timer as full as possible, which is achieved by a combination of speed and collecting all of the gold.
Do this five times and you have completed an episode, getting just one baby step closer to completing the campaign.
How's Tricks?
The controls the developers gave you to manoeuvre through the levels are near perfect. The movement controls (left analogue stick to move, A-button/right/left trigger to jump will help you pull off some pretty impressive moves.
There is also a button you can press to kill yourself if you get stuck or become aggravated. Ironically this is X.
The only complaint I sometimes have is my Ninja is jumping ahead instead of up even though I specifically gave him the command. Other than that it's all fine.
Let's Get Physical
The impressive moves your Ninja can pull off are further supported by the physics engine the developers put in. Your Ninja will need to build up enough momentum to make a series of wall jumps high enough so you can clear a mine pit, or speed up just to abruptly come to a halt because you need to turn all your forward momentum into upward momentum.
Clever Pun
The overall level design is highly original. Every level has its own title which is either an inside joke, an internet meme or a pun on the shape of the level. The levels themselves always have an increasing difficulty progressing through the game's 400 levels. A lot of them are fun and challenging, others are just controller snappingly horrid. It is impossible to run through some of these levels in one go. They have to be tackled over and over and over again. Which brings me to my next point, and probably the biggest flaw this game has:
It will eat you up.
Press X To Die
Some of the levels are just so hard that you will have the urge to stomp your controller into bits and force it into your Xbox's disc tray. The timing, momentum and skill required to complete some of these stages is ridiculous. The game will often put you in a situation wherein you will have to retry a level again and again, always attempting some slightly different technique, so you might be able to avoid that Ninja-seeking rocket for once and activate that door switch, only to plunge right into a bed of landmines afterwards, forcing you to try yet again. It was enough to make my blood boil out of my pores, until I was wondering why the hell I'm not just quitting. Then I realised that this game - butt rape aside - is actually fun.
Sure, a large portion of the levels bent me over and showed no mercy but when I finally did make it I felt like I actually accomplished something. There is something about finally being fast enough to avoid that turret bullet and making a break for the exit that got my heart pumping faster than when I was battling a Deathclaw with a 10mm in Fallout 3. The sense of victory was worth the countless attempts, and I marched through episode after episode finishing every one of them with mixed feelings of love and hatred for this game.
Keep Your Friends Close, Then Kick Them In The Shins
There is also a multiplayer campaign for those amongst us who didn't have enough reasons to scorn our friends yet. It doesn't bring much new to the table other than different levels which require even more cooperative timing, precision and skill. At least in the single player campaign you could do things at your own pace. Now you have a buddy to watch out for too.
DIY
Another great feature N+ has is the level designer. It allows you to design your own sadistic obstacle course and share it with your friends. Sadly there is no online database on XBL from where you can download user made content.
Bottom Line: If you're a fan of 2D-style, trial and error platform games which are challenging and don't mind dying a lot to get where you want to be this game is certainly for you. Unfortunately this game is a little hard on the casual gamer who usually frequents the Xbox LIVE Arcade.
Advice: Buy it. It may be a little hard on the nerves at times but it will certainly bring back a little of the old school platforming games genre into the current generation.
