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N+ Hands-On Preview

By Kris Erickson | Posted on Jul 23, 2008

We recently got our hands on some preview code for Atari's upcoming ninja-themed platformer, N+. We will have a full review as we get closer to the game’s official release on August 12, but in the meantime we have decided to present our early impressions of the games so fans can get an idea of what to expect when it arrives. Here to bring you his thoughts on N+ is Kris Erickson, Senior Editor at GameFlavor.

When the preview code for N+ arrived, I eagerly tore open the envelope and dug out my trusty PSP phat from its place of neglect in my office drawer. After the cult hits Loco Roco and Patapon, my PSP had stopped getting its regular workouts. I was excited about N+, because it promises much of what made those other games so great: quirky, addictive gameplay wrapped in a stylish, portable package.

My early impression of N+ is that it does not disappoint on any of those counts. The developers have clearly paid attention to style, with a top notch soundtrack by beatmaker 5limbs to guide players through the minimalist but snappy-looking stages. The music also changes intensity, depending on the gravity of the situation, which is a nice touch reminiscent of games like Every Extend Extra and Lumines. N+ contains both the original and updated artwork, and a quick comparison reveals that the new look is much more intuitive and easy on the eyes. The game runs smoothly with fluid animation, and does not appear to suffer from the “ghosting” effect sometimes seen on the PSP.

Ninjas, lasers and coins, oh my!

I keep coming up against what appear to be insurmountable walls of difficulty, and then surpassing them. A few times during my short (4 hour) playtime, I found myself thinking “There’s no way I can make that jump,” only to land it a few minutes later. The individual missions are broken up into “episodes” and beating a series of them opens up a bunch more. This is a nice touch, because difficult stages can be bypassed in favor of a different kind of challenge. The steep difficulty curve is one of the game’s many charms, but one that will assuredly only appeal to the hardest of the hard core. Am I hard core enough to make it through all 200 single-player levels to bring you my full review on July 29? We shall see.