Platform games have always been around, from Super Mario Brothers, to Banjo-Kazooie, to Portal, to Mirror’s Edge.  These games are great and all, but those titles are adventure platforming, not just pure platforming (except for maybe Super Mario Brothers). Most titles that offer platforming only use it as a means to base gameplay, often offering similar challenges and repetitions. Well platformers now are not as popular, but throughout the last few years, there has been one title that resorted my faith in platforming games. That title? N, just N.

N is an indie computer game developed by Metanet Software. It’s 100% free, and for a free game, it packs a hell of a lot of content. The levels are each unique and challenging and what I truley love about this title is that it’s just pure platforming. No storyline, no background story, no cutscenes, no bullshit. Just pure running and jumping.

So you play a ninja, or ninja shaped man-person, and your goal is to get to the exit door. Sounds easy enough right? Well now throw in some switches and buttons and some frustrating enemies, and hey, you have N. The enemies are very well designed, and well suited for each level, and the challenge each enemy offers is unique and often times frustrating. You have: Automated Robots, Lock-on Robots, Lock-on Missiles, Targeting Lasers, Snipers, Steel Thwomps, and Sliding Rocks. All of these can kill you, and you can’t do a damn thing about it except dodge and run. That’s what makes N unique from other platforming games, in most games you have the option to eliminate enemies, in N you must run to survive. Oh yeah, don’t forget the landmines, sit there waiting for you to fall or jump into them.

The levels range from a piece of pie, to a walk through the bowels of hell, and I wish I was kidding, some of the levels are so timed that it may take you 100 or more times to beat that single stage. Despite the complexity of some parts, each level is well designed in the way that it’s completely beatable, and it’s open to be beaten as you like. You wanna be that risky mofo that runs toward danger? That’s fine, you’ll still find a way to beat the level. You wanna be the cautious kid that takes it slow and logically? That’s fine too, you’ll probably do better than the risky mofo.

Top off all this platforming with some user-based content, and you’ve got yourself an A+ game. That’s right, you can access other people’s levels and play extra levels just for sheer fun. There is a huge range of levels to play, and level types range from ridiculously difficult, to do nothing to win, to even art created with blocks.

If you want to take N a bit farther, or you want more platforming goodness, there is also N+, available for the PSP, DS, and the XBL marketplace. With N+ you get portability to platform in the game, while you platform in real life, and more original content. Though N+ is not free, the game completely deserves it’s price. Either way, if you enjoy platforming, N or N+ should definitely be one of the titles you check out.