Simpler, less-intense games have been on the rise of late, mostly aided by the Xbox Live Arcade and WiiWare championing the cause of the classically-styled arcade romps that haven't been seen in these quantities in over a decade and a half. N+ is, even among these pearls of the past, a blindingly bright supernova of arcade gaming purified to its absolute essence, and I can think of no other way it should be.

This review is going to be short, because there isn't a whole lot to review. While one might think this is a bad thing, it's not. N+ is meant to be an arcade game, in the fashion of the classic plotless sidescrollers of the ancient past. Background and power-ups are mere complications and would only serve to dilute the forumla of this very well-mixed brew, and as such are appropriately omitted.

In this very simple game, you play a ninja (hence the "N" element in N+, the plus derived from the fact that this is an enhanced remake/sequel to the original flash game simply named N). This ninja's purpose in life is to do two things: gather gold coins and reach exits. Why is he doing this? No real reason, apparently. This pixelated pilferer was seemingly created by God for the sole purpose of theft and sneakery. And it works just fine that way, despite what the newer-school spoiled gamers, with all their extravagant plots and deep character histories, would have you know.

The gameplay consists of these two activities, which are themselves achieved through one more aspect: walljumping. In essence, your ninja gets places by jumping on walls and using said surfaces to launch himself across great distances to reach the mysterious switches which, for no real reason, have been installed in ridiculous locations tens of feet away from any surface. One would say the owner of these doors was insane to have the switches placed in such ungodly places, but apparently their fears were not unfounded, since there is a ninja out there bent to the task of reaching them. Obstacles include mines placed in strategic areas to inhibit movement and little blue drones that move around. The gold coins you collect aren't just eye candy, they actually have a function: they increase the time you have left to complete each set of stages, adding some motive and a little extra oomf to the game. What really makes this challenging is the one defining aspect that is common to all true classic arcade games: your ninja has exactly one hit point, so every stage must be completely flawlessly.

Graphics are simplistic and utilitarian, but no so much to become bland. Usually stages are set against white backgrounds, with the stage itself a dark gray mass and your small black ninja jumping around appropriately colored gold coins, red mines and blue drones that all present challenging obstacles between you and unspeakable glory. Sound follows this formula as well, with the aural experience generally dominated by the 8-bit-sounding background music. This music is a bit of a letdown; if you want far superior ear candy, try the Xbox Live Arcade version. It's too bad this edition nearly falls flat in this respect.

Okay, this review turned out a bit longer than planned, but that doesn't change the point: this game is simple and pure and unadulterated classic gooey fuzzy arcade goodness. You run, you jump, you move through stages. Sometimes you get ridiculously frustrated, but in true arcade fashion, even the most brain-melting puzzles only make you grip the controller harder and try again. And even after you've knocked out all the stages the game comes equipped with, you can design your own and share them with friends, ensuring the madness will continue for all eternity. Enjoy.