I am a Ninja. I can climb walls with superhuman agility, leap great distances and run like the wind. Vertical walls are nothing more than platforms without ledges to leap from, and the murderous robots launching ninja-chasing missiles are but a petty annoyance in my quest to reach the door.

Well, not exactly. But, I do have control over a ninja when I'm playing N+, one of my current favourites on Nintendo DS. N – for ninja – is a physics-based platform game originally released as an in-browser and downloadable Flash game by Toronto developer Metanet. You've probably already played it online (if you haven't, go do it now. It's free for pc/mac/linux and comes with a sweet level editor as well! Check out the free level from Aboot Play's very own Nadine as well) and I'm not intending for this to be a review, but rather a discussion of why platform games are great!

If you're unsure what a “platformer” game is they can often be identified with two common characteristics: They have varying levels of terrain or “platforms”, often suspended in mid-air by invisible cables, and they rely heavily on jumping from one platform/level to another. Simplistic, but proven to be an engaging gameplay model.

We've all played and loved platform games at some time. The classic 8/16-bit console generation featured the likes of Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Metroid and Mega Man, all timeless platformers with their own particular take on the genre. If you're under the age of 23, then you might've first been exposed to the genre with games like Super Mario 64, Sonic Adventure, Jak and Daxter, or one of the many other 3-D reimaginings of the genre. Some employ puzzles, action-heavy elements and area and enemy path memorization, amongst other things. It's one of the few genres of video gaming that's survived the past 20 years, the original Super Mario Bros. being both the genre's and the video gaming industry's big breakthrough title; if you were a child in the 80s, you can likely hum the Super Mario's timeless level 1-1 tune.

The challenge of a platformer and its replayability are what games in the genre live or die by. The ability for the player to constantly improve, whether it's using fewer continues to complete a level, or finish a stage or puzzle faster than before are what keep players coming back; you're often competing against yourself as well as the game. Many players take pride in their ability to finish levels, or entire games, in short periods of time. On video-sharing websites there are players who post video clips called "speed runs", displaying their ability to quickly and expertly complete games.

Back to N+. The game has no plot to speak of, and yet is completely engrossing; N+'s gameplay compensates for the lack a story. Although your character is describe as a ninja, he/she doesn't really fall into any of the ninja stereotypes. There no shurikens, swords, stealth action, boss battles, or anything you've seen in games like Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden, or Chuck Norris movies. Instead you're more of a hardcore parkour-god dressed in black with a penchant for doing fun dances upon reaching a glowing door, so how you choose to identify with your ninja is up to you. Maybe you're playing a ninja-mercenary, engaged in corporate or government espionage, maybe you just revel in the challenge of defeating the most advanced automated security systems with nothing but your fast feet and solid grip; the narrative, the reason for playing, is completely open to the player. A platform game's appeal largely comes from the gameplay, and rarely from any plot devices or story twists, so this is most definitely not a short-coming. Far from it, more games would probably benefit from the solid mechanics presented in N/N+ than from a 200 page script.

N+ takes the platform action a step further by introducing competitive multiplayer elements not really seen in the free PC version. Many platformers have offered co-operative two-player modes, but rarely do you see versus or co-op gameplay. N+ has a variety of competitive modes where you can play tag, chasing your opposing ninja around the screen, and the winner is the one who's “it” the least. There are also modes that have you competing to clear a level the fastest, by hitting more switches, as well as co-operative modes where you may send one player to certain death so the others can reach the door. The title is built for obsessive collectors (get all the coins!), speed runners, and people who like to perfect their ninja-parkour by deftly dodging the myriad missiles, bullets, floating mines and spikes the levels throw at you.

I had the pleasure of meeting Raigan and Mare of Metanet Software a few weeks ago, and they described their current project. While they didn't give much detail, they did say it would be another physics-based platformer of some sort, but with lots of robots. Makes sense as it's called Robotology. Here's hoping they can achieve the critical and commercial success they achieved with N and N+ with their new title.