Rated: 5 out of 5

Read the full review below.

Watch a video trailer below.

If there's one thing that stressed me out in old school 2D games, it was the unforgiving timed platform jumping. There was nothing more frustrating than making it far in a level and losing all your lives in a jump sequence, especially while under the pressure of time and aggressive enemy attacks. So you can imagine I was fearful going in to a game like N+, where physics, evasive action and time limits all come into play. Thankfully, it turned out to be an addictive and enjoyable action/puzzle experience. If only I had this ninja training back in the day.

For those of you who haven't played N+ on the Mac/PC or the Xbox LIVE Arcade release, here's a brief rundown on the gameplay for the PSP version. You play a ninja, whose mission is to get through a timed level. Use the d-pad and the "x" button to perform jumps (and the triangle button to hara-kiri). You'll have to do some acrobatic wall clinging, gain some momentum to make some jumps, and perform other feats that only a true ninja can pull off. Good thing you get an endless amount of retries. There's one exit door, and a green button somewhere on the level which opens it. Sometimes you'll have to unlock a few doors to access the green button or exit door. While time to get out is slipping away, you'll not only have to make it to the button and exit door, but survive laser beams, guided missles, mines, long drops and even more hazards. There are gold chips you can collect along the way to replenish some time, but there usually isn't a hazard too far away from them. Get greedy or make haste and your ninja will be blown to bits. Levels get progressively more intense and difficult as you go on. Make it through the level, and you'll get a summary of how many times it took you to get through it, as well as a victory animation. There's a tutorial mode included that will help get you up to speed as well.

The likelihood that you will get through a level on your first try is very slim. I've easily had upwards of 30+ tries on a single level (some way more, but I won't say). Master your moves and be persistent and you'll feel the reward once you touch that exit door. Even if you don't make it through the level, watching your ninja's limbs ricochet off explosive mines is mildly entertaining.

Each episode has 5 levels in it. As you complete 5 episodes, 5 more episodes unlock. There are a total of 40 episodes on the single player grid, so that makes for 200 levels. As you progress through the levels in single-player mode, you can unlock various extras. Those include level packs, music, character colors and character animations. An autosave feature after each episode will help keep you pushing ahead.

If the included levels aren't enough for you, there's an included level editor giving you free reign to build more. It's as simple as holding the left (L) bumper button down for various tile shapes and the right (R) bumper button to select, delete, copy/paste, and add the tile. Too lazy to make 'em or want some inspiration? You can download new maps via the "community" feature*. Local competitive and cooperative multiplayer gameplay is supported too (infrastructure mode). Gameplay is virtually endless.

If you're worried about the character size on the portable screen, you'll be glad to see your ninja is a bit beefed up for the portable format. The size works out nicely, so you won't have to squint to find your character. Graphics look crisp and simple. Animations play smooth. The soundtrack has a classic techno-arcade feel. It's a bit loopy, but hey, this isn't about kicking back and enjoying it. It will keep your little ninja pumped to survive the room and you'll be rewarded with a robot dance animation once you make it out.

Options include "plus" mode (enhanced graphics) or "pure" mode (original style), turning blood on or off, changing your ninja's color (you unlock more colors as you progress in the game), turning music and sound fx on or off, and profile management (new/load/delete).

Atari has a little gem for you ninjas on the go. N+ plays great on the PSP. There are many replay options with the level editor, multiplayer gameplay and community features. The levels are short and sweet, but many. N+ is simple to get into and turns out to be a rewarding game that will push your gaming skills to the limit. N+ is the X-men Danger Room for gamers.

N+ will be available from Atari on August 26, 2008 for the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. See more information on the portable versions here and here.

*Note: The "community" feature was not active during the provided pre-release of N+.