N+

"There Will Be Blood!"

Metanet's sequel to the PC game N, is finally available to the masses through Xbox Live, and like the original, is a textbook example of simplistic design and innovative platforming. It's a game that you can pick up and play for a few minutes, or a few hours. But sadly with all of this glowing praise, there are a few things keeping this game from being the total package.

As far as platforming, many games miss the physics. Either people float, fall to fast, or can't land precisely. N+ not only get it, but they took it out to dinner, bought flowers, and played classical music for it into the morning. From when you jump, to when you land, you feel like you have total control. This is great for a game where control and precision is an essential.
Control: 10/10

Pulling you into the game is the aesthetic. A toned down art design style, that makes identifying enemies easy, and a great soundtrack keep you satisfied. Not going for photo realistic, more of a simplicity is a nice change. Add in the non-abrasive techno soundtrack, and you have the perfect audio/visual match. Not everything needs hyper detailed textures and an orchestral score. It does get repetitive after a while. But still a great look.
Aesthetic: 9/10

The single player is massive. 200+ levels, a challenging difficulty, and isn't congested with lots of buttons or menus. Only downside is a learning curve that is gentle, but will randomly leap up (I.E 'Control Master') with a random level. Then gets easier afterwards in an amazing contrast. A very balanced game, but spikes in difficulty without any warning.
Gameplay: 9/10

Then after all this good news, here is the punch in the gut you know you'll get, because no game is perfect. The online is broken. You can go on, find a group of three people, and have one of the funnest experiences in a long time (It's up there with Halo and Goldeneye, No, I'm not kidding, it is). Problem is, you're gonna lag. It's hard to imagine such a non visual game, could lag, but it does. Normal it's only your teammates lagging, but every now and then, they will come close to a mine, and it goes off, but will stay. No one dies, but if you are falling, and expecting a blank place to land, this could be a big problem. Some enemies register weird, and missiles sometimes won't follow a normal path. Only redeeming thing, is there are a ton of options (race, survival, co-op), and the multiplayer is only ONE patch away from a possible fix. If you play a small game with only one, two people tops, it's great. But becomes hard when four people are involved.
Multi: 6/10

Overall this is a great game. You can't dock a game mush for a broken multiplayer, when it's only partially messed up, and that usually games are a single player experience, with the online just for fun.
Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/08

Game Release: N+ (US, 02/20/08)