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N+: The Screens of the Ninja
Having previously only seen three screenshots ever of Atari's new DS version of Metanet's platformer N+, we're extremely grateful for any updates we get about the game. Especially when they include screens, and especially when those screens are really cool-looking.One of the most interesting aspects of N is the variety possible in the level designs, both official and fan-made. Some levels are about precise jumps, some about avoiding enemies, and others hinge on moving in one specific path without deviation. Using a very simple set of elements, all kinds of crazy stages can be made.Check out the variety of stages on display in these latest screens. Every level pretty much looks completely unlike any of the others.
N+ greenlighted for Xbox Live Arcade, includes multiplayer
News about the Xbox Live Arcade adaptation of N, the popular freeware platformer featuring everyone's favorite pint-sized, treasure hungry ninja, has been slim as of late. Though news of a cancellation or delay of the title would not surprise our bitter, jaded hearts, we were pleased to learn that N+ was recently approved by the XBLA gatekeepers, and should be showing up in the marketplace before too much longer.Of course, you could always download the full PC version of the game for free, however, you'll be missing out on the upgraded features and visuals of the XBLA title, not to mention the recently announced multiplayer modes. With frantic, four-player ninja-on-ninja-on-ninja-on-ninja action, we're sure the game will be a big hit -- we just hope this will allow developer Slick Entertainment to afford a longer title for their next creation.
N+ passes cert, online multiplayer confirmed
It's been a while since we heard much about N+ -- a fact we pointed out during the latest edition of Ask X3F. The last we heard of the puzzle-platformer, it was set to release sometime during either December or January. That gives us just two more weeks before the game slips into the black hole of "to be announced." We do know he game has passed certification though, so it shouldn't be too long before it's released. Whenever the game does come out, we are happy to report that the multiplayer modes the developers hinted at way back when the game was announced have been confirmed. The revelation comes by way Achieve360Points which has posted the list of achievements for the game. The achievements confirm that there will be both co-op and ranked online play, though it's unclear if co-op will online, local, or both. Either way, it's good news and a reason for fans of N to be excited.[Thanks, DjDatz]Read -- N+ finished Certification!Read -- Achieve360Points.com -- N+ -- Xbox 360 Achievemens
Ask X3F: yet more questions edition
And the Ask X3F questions keep coming. It's okay though. We're here for you, gentle fanboys. This week we take a look at the nefarious problem with using your premium content (i.e. Xbox Live Arcade games) on a replacement 360. We also chat about missing Marketplace ads, N+, MSN Alerts, and how the find bloggers of Xbox 360 Fanboy landed such a sweet gig. Continue on to reload your mental weapon with bullets ... of knowledge.If you've got a question or just something you'd like to share with the Xbox 360 Fanboy community, send it to: ask [at] xbox360fanboy [dawt] com.
PSP Fanboy hands-on: N+
N+ is one of the most stressful games ever made. Its simple exterior hides some of the most gruesome platforming challenges we've ever had to face. There are so many ways to die: fall from to far a height, you die. Get hit by lasers, homing rockets, bombs, mines, flying orbs -- you name it, and it will kill you. Even the most skilled gamer will find themselves getting completely destroyed by each of the game's 200 (!) levels.While there were clear moments where we felt like simply throwing our PSP systems on the ground, we couldn't help but continue trekking onward. Strangely, you do feel like a ninja while playing the game, and when you're able to successfully complete an episode (which contains multiple levels), you feel truly accomplished. Like any good ninja, your character will be able to make some truly spectacular jumps. Over time, you'll learn how to exploit the wall jump and fly long distances like a pro.%Gallery-12730%
Ninja moves aplenty in new N+ trailer
Coming soon for both DS and PSP, N+ from Atari has you busting out some elaborate ninja moves to survive a deadly 2D world of ... death. Based on a popular Flash game, we're pretty excited by the intensity of the action on display. It may look visually bland, but at least it looks like character movement is quite smooth.
N+ boxart wall-jumps out, collects gold
A rather final-looking boxart has shown up on Amazon for N+, Atari's upgraded remake of Metanet Software's brilliant freeware platformer N. It lacks the final ESRB rating, and contains some kind of "FPO" code, but it looks otherwise ready for stores. It features the two most important elements of N+: jumping and gold, and keeps it simple otherwise. The image also appears on Atari's page for the game, so it's probably safe to look for that picture when you go to buy it.But when can you do that? Amazon and Atari both say March 18th, while Gamestop says February 26th. We're guessing that the later date is the real one, because that's pretty much how it works. That gives us just ... not nearly enough time to finish all the official single-player levels in N.
Microsoft reveals XBLA games coming in December and January
As anyone who follows the new releases already knows, the quality of retail releases has been dropping precipitously since November. Thankfully, we spotted some help on the horizon when Microsoft recently released a list of XBLA games that will be coming to the 360 this month and next.We already knew that Sensible World of Soccer was coming on Dec. 19, but we also have games to look foward to like N+, Arkadian Warriors, Rez HD, Brain Challenge, Omega Five, GripShift and Poker Smash. So keep up the the faith, even as only The Golden Compass stares up at you from the new release shelf: Fun is on the way.
December and January XBLA games revealed
In a press release announcing the Fall Update's Xbox Live Arcade Hits program, Microsoft also announced the next few months' upcoming Xbox Live Arcade games that are scheduled for release. As things stand right now, the next XBLA games to get released are Arkadian Warriors, Brain Challenge, GripShift, N+, Omega Five, Poker Smash, Rez HD and Sensible World of Soccer. No specific release schedule for each game has been confirmed just yet, but it's always nice to see what's headed down the old XBLA pipeline. And this list also lets us officially get excited for N+ and Rez HD. A big w00t to that!
DS Daily: Born free
There are a lot of games on the DS whose origins are in free online games. Some, like Diner Dash, Nervous Brickdown, and the upcoming N+ and WordJong, are good, or even great. Some are Elf Bowling 1&2. In every case of a free game getting remade as a DS cartridge, money is charged.Do you have any games based on freeware? Do you plan on getting any in the near future? Is compelling gameplay enough to warrant a purchase for a portable console, when the experience can be had for nothing on PC? Or do you require significant expansion and upgrading before you'd even consider it?Our personal view: even if a game costs nothing, that doesn't mean it has no value. We don't want to pay strictly for portability, but we're entirely willing to shell out for new content in a game whose progenitors were once free. Not Elf Bowling 1&2, though.
Joystiq interviews Metanet's Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns
After we played the excellent pre-alpha DS version of N+, we were asked by the game's producer, David Geudelekian, if we wanted to meet Metanet, the creators of the original N. It's sort of a strange feeling, to play a game and then be escorted directly to the people responsible for it, by another person responsible for it. Or, at least, it would have been, had Metanet's Mare Sheppard and Raigan Burns, as well as David, not been so genial. Metanet was at PAX promoting the Xbox Live Arcade N+, which they are developing along with Slick Entertainment.Metanet's N+ booth, hidden behind Atari's in the corner of the exhibition hall, was as indie as the game, featuring a custom-built 360 display unit accessible only after a series of wall jumps and guarded by automated machine gun turrets; Mare and Raigan took a break from challenging convention-goers to multiplayer N+ (victors got t-shirts) to take part in an impromptu chat about the new multiplatform adaptation of their Independent Games Festival Audience Award-winning Flash game, its platforming influences, and even about their mysterious new game, Robotology. The interview continued via email afterward, when we weren't in one of the world's loudest places.
PAX 07 hands-on: N+ (DS)
I was lucky enough to meet with producer David Geudelekian and get a quick run-through of a pre-alpha build of Atari's N+ for the DS, and it's-- well, let's say it's "pre-awesome." It will be awesome. Real platformers on any system are basically a Godsend, and this one is pure platforming. The game is basically N, on the DS, with new levels. That's really all it needs to be -- there are no Touch!! minigames or training exercises. David told me that the physics were all in place with the exception of the ragdoll explosions, but when I died (a bunch of times) I fell into a pile of limbs just fine.
Online level sharing in N+
In a 1up interview, Atari's Tavit Geudelekian described the level-sharing capabilities of the DS and PSP versions of N+: "the DS and PSP [versions] will support a full level editor that will allow players to build their own stages and share them locally via ad hoc connection or upload them through an infrastructure connection to a database of user-created levels online." Unfortunately, because the DS lacks any kind of permanent storage, you'll only be able to download a few levels at a time, and they'll be lost when you turn the system off. We'd love to see the interface for designing levels, but none of the three new screens of the DS version highlight that feature.N+ features a Pure mode, which is a direct port of the PC version, and a Plus mode, with new graphics and enemies. Also new to the handheld remakes: multiplayer, in both cooperative and competitive modes![Via GoNintendo]
Winners of the N+ level design contest announced
After the indie platformer N was announced for Xbox Live Arcade, PSP, and DS (known as N+), a level design competition was launched to tap the collective creativity of the N community. Special versions of the N editor (Ned) were released and levels are specific to each platform, meaning even the biggest N fans would, in theory, have to buy all three versions of N+ to play every single level. Over 80 new levels were chosen from the submissions, and each one is listed with a full screenshot on the SUBLiME web page.And for those of us too cheap/lazy to wait for and buy N+, the original N is still available for free, complete with editor and hundreds of custom levels to play.
User-created content in N+
Metanet just announced the winners of their SUBLIME (Submit Unique and Brilliant Levels to Metanet Event) competition, in which they asked fans to do their work for them design new levels for the DS, PSP, and XBox Live Arcade versions of N+. 29 user-created levels made the cut for the DS version, including "Endless Flight?" seen above. User-created levels on the retail cartridge? So awesome.In addition to the honor of having their level in the game, winners get a free copy of N+. As cool as this contest is, we hope it isn't a substitute for an in-game level editor.[Via GameSetWatch]
N+ probably coming out in Europe
European DS players who want some physics-platforming may not have to import after all. Metanet stated on their blog that Eurogamer was mistaken about the US-only status of N+, stating "We're happy to announce that N+ will indeed be released in Europe." In their tongue-in-cheek correction of Eurogamer, they also confirmed that N+ would indeed be released in Canada as well, not that there was any question. However, Eurogamer responded by saying that they didn't inaccurately report on the release plans. Apparently, publisher Atari told them that they currently had no plans to release N+ in Europe. Perhaps Atari and Metanet need to have a small discussion.[Via Eurogamer]
Non-US gamers: subtract N+ from your shopping lists
Well, this is lame. Not for us, because we live in the good old US of A, but for other people, and we're practicing our empathy. Atari told Eurogamer that there were no plans to release the DS and PSP remakes of the Flash platformer N+ outside the US. Of course, the DS is region-free. And what's even more region-free is the free Flash version, which you can download right now regardless of region.
N+ level creation competition is on
Following the recent announcement of the indie platformer N making its way to DS, PSP, and Xbox Live Arcade, Metanet has launched a level creation event aimed at spurring creativity in the already-active community. SUBLiME (Submit Unique and Brilliant Levels in to Metanet Event) launched Monday and lasts through June 18th. Level designers can download special versions of N's editor (Ned) to create platform-specific stages. Winners "may" receive N+ gear and their levels "may" be included on the upcoming releases.
Be a PSP level designer with N+
It was cool enough that when N was a Flash game that you could create levels for, but it's about to get a lot cooler. Metanet is holding a contest to have fans create levels to be included in the upcoming PSP, DS, and XBLA versions. The creators of the best levels will get to see them appear in the final game. They'll also be rewarded with swag like T-shirts, stickers, and more importantly, their name in the credits. As if that's not enough, like any good game designer, they'll get a free copy of the game. Here's hoping one of our readers makes a PSP Fanboy themed level.[Via Kotaku]
Flash game N+ getting official DS release
Metanet's N is a physics-based platformer in which players run and jump around a big room collecting coins. It's a simple concept that is executed so well that it earned the game an Independent Games Festival Audience Award. Next on the list of honors: an official retail release on the DS and PSP from Atari, to be called N+.We don't know how the game will be changed, other than the addition of, as Metanet puts it, "pretty cool new features and graphics." Really, we hope it isn't changed much at all-- especially the level-editing feature. Atari, we've never asked you for anything before-- let us make and trade N+ levels online.You can download the Flash version of N here. Try it out and see how you'd feel about a DS version!
