N+

"Life of a Ninja is short, especially when he steps on a mine."

N+ is a strange game. It was originally available on the PC, later made its way onto the Xbox 360, and now it made it onto the DS and PSP. The premise of it is very simple, yet it takes skills and lots of patience and determination to master it. It can be addictive and frustrating at the same time, and that is the beauty of the game.

Gameplay

You control a stick figure 'Ninja' (seriously, which part of him looks like a Ninja?) through a room of various sizes. You objective is to activate a switch before heading to the exit. Each set contains five maps. At the end of a set, you might be rewarded with unlockable such as sound tracks, animation or new colour outfit for your Ninja. After you have completed a certain number of sets, new sets will be waiting for your blood.

On paper, it is a simple idea. Switch. Door. But in practice, it is a lot harder than you think. The ninja might be able to wall jump, slide or run at high speed, but waiting for him on each level are ruthless red mines, patrolling robots, lasers, homing missiles among many other death seeking weaponries. They want nothing more than your ninja's demise. Your ability to wall jump can also be a death trap as you wall jump so high that you forget that there is no place for you to land. You can literally jump to your own death.

Anything can bring you to your quick death, even those that are supposed to help you. There are platforms that lift you to higher places, but if you are under one when it comes down, it will crush you. If you don't jump off before it reaches the top, it will also squash you. But if you jump off the platform without a proper landing, you will break your leg and die a horrible death. The lifespan of this ninja is certainly short.

Funny enough, your death may sometimes be a source of entertainment. Being hit by a patrolling robot is like getting hit by a fast moving train. Your helpless body bounced off the robot and get thrown onto the ground. If there is another one coming the other way, you can be rest assured that your lifeless body will take some more beating. Getting blow up by a homing missile is cruel, but hilarious to watch. If you are feeling really nasty, you can send the ninja into a mine field and see him getting blown into several thousand bits.

It might be cruel, but when the developers include a self-destruct button and an option to turn blood on, you have to wonder if a ninja's life is worth living.

Besides the visible threats, there is also a timer that counts down. Collecting gold that is scattered around the stage extends the timer.

The map of the entire stage is displayed on the top screen while the bottom screen displays the action close up. Some players might think that the bigger map is useless. But this is far from the truth. There are times when you will rely on the bigger map to determine where all the traps and robots and missiles are so that you can avoid them.

If you happened to be bored with over 200 stages on offer (can't see how you can, but...), you can create your own map using an extensive level editor. It is as much a challenge to create a challenging map as it is playing one.

There is also a multiplayer mode that allows you to play with a friend either cooperatively or against each other.

The basics are very simple to learn, but hard to master. The placing of traps is so precise that one wrong jump can cause you pain, and a lot of it.

Graphics

As a half inch ninja, N+'s main protagonist is not going to win any award for being the best designed character. But it serves its purpose. The landscape is vast, and it is more than appropriate to make the ninja the way he is, small, versatile, and can jump like crazy.

The 2D environment is very simple. The wall is grey, the gold yellow, the mines and other adversaries in different colour scheme, the ninja can change colour from the option menu, and you are turned into a black pile of dust if you're blown apart. It is nothing flashy, but for what it is worth, it serves its purpose well.

Sound

Sound is also very simple. You can hear the 'ding ding' sound as you collect the gold, or the 'sss' sound when you slide off the wall. But the best sound is when you get blown apart or crushed by robots. The 'splat' sound is so deviously evil.

You can choose music in the option menu if you have unlocked them. Nothing noteworthy, in fact, playing without music is actually quite enjoyable.

Replay value

With so many stages to play, N+ is one game that will ensure longevity. On top of that, there is the multiplayer mode as well as a level editor. It is fun to see other people's demise when they attempt to play your level only to see their helpless body being chased by the robots and then blown up sky high.

Overall

N+ feels very much like a homebrew game, but it is anything but. The graphics might be crude and the sound not exactly top quality, but the simple gameplay is addictive. The animation of the running ninja is smooth. Determination is required on the player's part to endlessly help the half-inch ninja to avoid all obstacles and escape from the room using your most advance ninjitsu skill.

It is probably not a game that you will want to play in one long session, it is best played in short burst. No doubt some players will find this game frustrating almost to the point of breaking the DS as the lone ninja gets blow up for the twelve millionth time trying to reach the door, but it is satisfying when he finally reaches the end in one piece.

Good:

* Simple gameplay
* Easy to learn
* Satisfying to see the ninja finally reaches the exit

Bad:

* Very simple graphics
* Sound (or lack of)
* Can be frustrating for some as the levels get harder

Score (out of 10)

Gameplay: 7
Graphics: 4
Sound: 4
Replay: 7

Overall: 7

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/08

Game Release: N+ (US, 08/26/08)