For those who haven't played the game before, N+ features a versatile ninja whose goal is to reach a door someplace on the stage. How you get there is up to you, but you'll usually want to mind the obstacles and try to collect the gold points scattered about for extra time. The game's tutorial begins with some of the easiest levels of the 500 to come, teaching players the basics like how to wall jump, change direction in the air, hit switches, and use momentum to their advantage. These simple mechanics come from a very basic two-button control scheme, run and jump. However, just as Super Mario Bros. redefined how much fun that can be, the N games have become platforming heaven for those who take the time to master the game. Believe me: it's going to take a lot of talent and patience to do that.

In either case, the controls from the PC game transfer well to the 360's controller, allowing use of the joystick or D-pad to control your character. The pressure-sensitive face buttons help give a sense of control to the ninja, and for any impossible situations players may get stuck in, there's a suicide button mapped to X (probably for "X"ecute or "X"plode, get it?). Anyone transferring over from the flash title may find the controls to feel slower, but they don't take long to acclimate to, and are very competent. Additionally, there are three levels of view, zooming to a close up of the ninja, a medium view that follows you, and the traditional full-screen stage.

As I mentioned before, there are an immense amount of levels; beginning with a series at .00 and reaching to .45, each increment consisting of five levels within the episode. Players can choose the beginning of a level set or play through the game from beginning to end. This is a variation of the way the original game's level select was arranged, allowing players to play the hardest levels from the second they boot up the game, but not actually having access to all of the levels in those sequences without playing through them. In other words, you choose a starting point, but don't be surprised if you find some of the later levels to be far too challenging from the get-go. No one's stopping you from proving the game wrong, though.

Coupled on top of this are the multiplayer options, allowing for local or online play in co-op, survival, or race situations. For some reason, the game seems to suffer from lag, and especially so when playing with four characters online. This is baffling because the game isn't exactly the most resource-heavy title, and we can only hope for a patch to fix this. In any case, the game still remains challenging as always in the co-op scenarios, throwing a few curveballs every now and then. The other component aside from the multiplayer is the level editor, which is the most disappointing feature in the game due to the lack of being able to share user-created levels as an option. The only way to access custom levels is to play them first with the creator, and while this could eventually lead to custom creations seeing their limelight, the point has been missed. It's a fine set of tools, otherwise, but not allowing players to browse and download levels at their leisure seems like a serious oversight.

While the fun of N+ isn't exclusive to platforming fans, it's not a title that can be recommended for anyone. Personally, it's my cup of tea due to the maniacal placement of its mines, turrets, sniper bots, heat-seeking missiles, electric drones, and necessary death-defying leaps of faith which can sometimes lead to gravity taking a life or two. I love a challenge, and while the game's difficulty has been turned down a bit from the flash title's it is still going to put some players off by the 14th level. Some may see N+ as the ultimate playground, where as others are intimidated by the jungle of traps it so elegantly sets up.

Other welcomed changes are the fine level of detail put into the ninja's animation, clever names for each level ("there's no i in teamocil..", "DO NOT WANT") as well as the creator's name, and cool music. N+ still isn't the prettiest game, but as a lightweight XBLA title it is surely nothing to sneeze at. As I said before, it will be a welcome breath of fresh air for 360 owners looking for a quick fix provided by a highly addictive game. Platforming nuts and fans of the series won't find themselves disappointed at the content and frenzied gameplay packed into this 800-point arcade game. For a game which in its later bits exists simply to test your patience, it sure does a good job of keeping players in their seats.