N2O: Nitrous Oxide

"A Great (and strangely underrated) Rail Shooter"

N2O fell through the cracks in 1998 due to what seemed to be a giant marketing misfire. Due to it’s Crystal Method score, and bright psychedelic colors, the game was promoted as a “rave on your PSX.” Well, without the capability to pump the substance that shares it’s moniker out of your television, or to have attractive young ladies with baggy pants and glowsticks grinding up against you in a ecstasy induced bliss, those looking for a little club life in their homes were a bit disappointed.

Perhaps N2O would have been more successful promoting itself for what it really was, a great white knuckle rail shooter. That successfully combines elements of Panzer Dragoon, Radiant Silvergun, and Tempest 2000 (which also sported a decidedly techno theme but chose not to make it it’s main selling point). Drop those three references to any shooter fan, and you’ll find them running to store before you can finish your sentence. Alas, most shooter fans know N2O as the “rave game,” but I think it’s due time for a second look.

If you read the goofy explanation in the instruction booklet, you’ll see some nonsense about the game taking place in the birth canal of a monster alien insect ready to unleash it’s spawn across the universe. Or, um, something like that. Basically, you have a ship that flies along a circular tube. The view is very similar to Tempest 2000, except you are flying down the tube on rails but still have the freedom to move 360 degrees around the circumference. Nasty insects infest the tubes, and you, well, you know what you have to do. The insects can be blasted randomly at will, or if you’re feeling tough enough, you can pick them off using color selection racking up huge chain bonuses (ala Radiant Silvergun or Ikaruga). There is also a plethora of weapon powerups, super weapons, and other assorted bonuses scattered about the level. After the tube has been cleared, you face the obligatory boss, maybe hit a bonus level, and then it’s off to the next tube. Simple? Yes. Fun? You bet.

Actually, N2O is a lot of fun. It’s simply just a fast, well designed shooter. And, even though all the levels follow the same template. The game is constantly throwing you new creatures to negotiate. So every level feels different, even though it’s basically the same. Also, N2O has a very nice difficultly ramp. One of the biggest design snafus of a lot of shooters is that one level will be a breeze and the next would be impossible. N2O does a super job of slightly upping the challenge each level. You can almost feel the noose tightening as the action gets more and more intense. The game is also long and challenging enough, that even the most hardcore shooter fans are going to put more than few hours completing the levels, and much more going for the big scores.

Graphically N2O is pretty top notch. The tubes are colorful and seem to have an organic “breathing” quality to them. It’s quite trippy, but almost to a fault. Upon my first play, I had to quit after about ten minutes due getting some pretty severe motion sickness. I mean, your speeding down a brightly colored tube while spinning around the breathing walls. That’s a lot to take. Thankfully, I got used to it soon enough. A few cool lighting effects are thrown into to mix, and the character models, while less than spectacular, get the job done. All in all, a very solid effort.

Sound is rather basic lasers and explosions. The music as mentioned before, is a top notch Crystal Method soundtrack. If you like late ‘90s techno. The soundtrack gives you a lot to love. However, within the soundtrack also lies two of the coolest features of the game. The first, is that if you pop the game disc in to a CD player, guess what? You just bought a Crystal Method record. The entire soundtrack plays independently from the game. Which leads us to the second coolest feature. Say you hate the Crystal Method, or techno in general, or you’re just sick of the soundtrack. No problem. After the game loads, you can pop out the game disc from the PSX, and put in any CD you want. You can have a Dr. Dre soundtrack, or Black Flag, or the Scissor Girls, or Wagner, or George Jones. And, since the entire game loads at once, you’ll never have to switch the discs back. Remember upon the release of the Xbox that this was a big selling point for them? N20 was doing this four years earlier on the PSX. Strangely enough, this seeming superfluous feature really improves the overall gameplay. Somehow listing to whatever you’re in the mood for, dramatically helps you get into “the zone.”

So what else can I say? A solid, full-featured shooter than you can pick up for less than a value meal at Wendy’s. You don’t need baggy trousers, glowsticks, or mild hallucinogens. Just quick reflexes and a love for speed, lasers, and high scores.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/21/03, Updated 01/21/03