"N" is a game that I played for the first time a year or two ago. It was fun then, but it's gotten even better with the later versions. Now there is a built in level editor, you can play custom levels created by users all over the world, you can continue your game from the level you left off on in story mode... and it's still free, unlike Tibet.
"N" is essentially a puzzle/platform game. Some have likened it to "Load Runner", although the only similarity I can see is you control a small guy on a single screen level and you can pick up gold. You don't dig holes to trap your enemies... in fact – as far as I've gotten – you don't have humanoid enemies at all. There are floating balls of death that will home in on you and zap your ass if you get too close. There are also land mines that will blow you into teenie tiny stick pieces. There are laser cannons that try to track and zap you. There are ninja seeking missles. And other dangers that I haven't run across yet.
Unless you are some kind of gaming god, you will die a lot in this game. Luckily you have unlimited lives so you can try, try again to your hearts content.
You are also armed with a particle cannon that can be used to destroy... your... oh, wait. Sorry. No. You've got nothing. No weapons for you, wee ninja boy. That's right. Your little man-in-black is apparently a ninja. I think that's where the "N" in "N" comes from.
A weaponless ninja.
He can't even disappear in a puff of smoke, and forget sneaking up behind your enemies and snapping their necks or stabbing them in the back. Instead you can jump, and jump often. And that's pretty much it. Be careful about falling to far though, or you shall surely go splat.
I really like the graphics, they have a nice, simplistic/retro feel. But then for me a game can get by even with bad graphics as long as the gameplay is there. I feel the gameplay is there in "N".
The thing it really has going for it is the physics. It takes a bit of getting used to, but in no time you'll be hopping all over the place, almost effortlessly like a grasshopper only less dangerous. When I was a kid I was bit by a grasshopper. This ninja doesn't even have a mouth.
So what's the point of all this hopping if you can't slay and slay often?
The puzzle's the thing.
The object of each level isn't so much to gather all of the gold as it is to open the door to the next level. You accomplish this by flipping switches as you pass in front of them. This is done automatically which is a good thing because in some levels you are running for your life. Switches are scattered around the level, usually in hard to reach or dangerous places. The small black switches open sideways doors that are usually keeping you from the blue switch that opens the final door.
What the gold does for you is increase your score and slightly replenish your time bar. When your time bar runs out, it's game over. So you need to either be really good at grabbing all of the gold, or be really quick at opening the door. You time remaining carries over to the next level.
If the pressure is too much, you can turn on 'Practice Mode' at the 'Configure' screen from the 'Main' menu. That will give you infinite time and the ability to skip levels that have managed to frustrate the crap out of you.
It also may be a good idea to just sit on the main menu for awhile and watch the demos that run in the background to get an idea of what you are in for.
And the 'Help' menu is actually quite helpful.
So, I will conclude by saying that "N" is a game that I've really enjoyed playing in short to medium doses and I'm very surprised that it's free. I've seen many shareware titles that are sold for $20+ that aren't nearly as fun as this is. And did I mention that there are 500 levels in the current (1.4) version? And that's only including 50 fan made levels.
Give it a shot.
Cost: Free
Platform: Mac/PC/Linux
Get it at the N Homepage.
