Welcome to Modojo, 
N+ Review
Written by Robert Falcon on Friday, August 15, 2008
You can create and share your own levels, co-op gameplay is fun, gameplay is terrific and keeps you on your toes, $20 price tag.
Some levels are very hard, the music is repetitive.
If you want to be a ninja without dressing up in black pajamas, you won't get any closer than Atari's Nintendo DS game N+. This game puts your dexterity to the test as you struggle to complete stage after stage of insurmountable tasks. Sometimes it's just a matter of reaching an open door, while other times you activate a number of switches to get to the door. No matter what the goal is, getting there is more than half the battle.
You control a faceless character that must reach an open door before time runs out. You have the benefit of picking up gold pieces in order to extend your time, but there are other obstacles to deal with. Gravity's against you, so if you take a long fall, you're going to land in a mushy mess. You also have various enemies working against you, including sniper rifles, mounted cannons, sentry robots and missile launchers. On top of that, someone's planted a heaping amount of mines that explode on impact.
The character you play is very nimble. He can slide down walls, leap off walls and run to get enough speed to get some air or clear objects. The gameplay in N+ is just as precise as the XBLA version, as you have complete control over your character. You just have to realize that the mistakes that take place in the game are yours and yours alone. It's a challenging game, to be sure. You're going to run into several levels that make you scream out loud, trying again and again to complete them until, in an unexpected twist, you finally do. It's the kind of frustration you come to embrace.
Presentation-wise, N+ is awesome. The two screen displays come in handy, with one zooming in to show what's happening with your character and the other displaying the entire level you're on. It's great to look at both, so you can see just where you're at and where you need to go. The music, however, needed some sprucing up. Too often you'll run into the same techno beats without the ability to change the soundtrack. It's not grating, but it could be better.
N+ has several other benefits, too. Co-op play is superb, as you can work alongside a friend through multi-cart play to complete levels more effectively. If you're more the creative type, you can create your own levels and share them with your buddies through the Wi-Fi Connection. That gives you an endless amount of challenges to take on, in case you ever get through the hundreds of stages already available. Finally, the game sells for a bargain-basement $20.
There's simply no excuse to not buy N+. It's frustrating and the music isn't everything it could be, but the rest; the graphics, the gameplay, the hundreds of levels and co-op/level creation tools; are stupendous. It tests your dexterity, wits, and skills, and you don't even have to buy rubber ninja stars.
