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Some games are years in the making. They are tailored to utter perfection. Professional scriptwriters, musicians and artists are hired to perfect every inch of the game. Other games don't have this luxury, but that doesn't mean they can't be just as good. N - The Way of the Ninja is such a game.

N promo art

The secret of good games is not much of a secret. Enough has been written and said about what makes a game a good game. And as lush as all graphical and musical enhancements are, they do not make an addictive game. The true secret of gaming is a combination of solid controls and optimal level design. Create challenges that look as they can be easily completed, but which are in fact pretty hard to accomplish.

N excels in this department, which is why it took off the way it did I suppose. Visually, the game is a true disaster. Though the graphics are clear and solid, there is little to no attention to detail and the whole thing looks pretty drab. Furthermore, there's nothing even resembling a soundtrack, just some basic sound effects. So you might be wondering, where's the appeal in that?

Well, N meets the most basic game requirements. The controls are simple, intuitive and solid. You really have full control over your little ninja characters, so whenever you fail a mission, it's really all your fault. The only thing you can do is jump, though there are some tricks to be learned if you want to climb walls or break your fall. Speed control is also pretty important when you need to avoid your enemies.

N screen cap

Most importantly, N looks pretty easy, but it's really damn hard. Each level only consists of one single screen and a handful of basic enemies. But somehow the level design is always tight enough to keep the pressure on you. Sometimes it comes down to simple control skills, other times you have to be more tactical to complete a level. But you never get the feeling that a level is impossible, even after 50 consecutive deaths.

Luckily, you don't have any lives, so you can try as much as you like. The only thing to worry about is the decreasing timer. The timer goes over all levels within one episode (and there's 5 levels in each episode), so it's better to keep a close eye on it before you get stuck in the last level because of lack of time. Luckily seconds can be gained from collecting yellow dots (told you the graphics were crap).

N is an awesome game, even though it's extremely basic. It boosts about 500 single levels, has the option to add user levels and has an awesome difficulty curve. The controls are tight and the challenges are tough but manageable. And guess what, it's also free. Ports to the DS and PSP are in the making, featuring small presentational upgrades, but if you can't wait (or aren't willing to pay for it), get the PC, Linux and Mac versions for free.