Lately we are seeing more and more online flash games making the leap to consoles and handhelds. The newest addition to that roster is N+, an updated version of a little Ninja action/platformer game called N that took the interwebs by storm last year. The gameplay is simple and addicting. Guide your stealthy Ninja through mazes of obstacles, grabbing gold along the way until you eventually make your way to the exit. Now, Developer Silverbirch Studios is set to bring the title to the PSP and DS with new levels and new game modes.

There will be a total of three hundred and fifty levels exclusive to each platform: two hundred single player, one hundred "co-op" and fifty "versus." Players will be able to download new levels from the N server as well as show off their design prowess with a level editor. In a rare treat on the DS, player designed levels will be able to be shared with friends free from the ties of the cumbersome Nintendo friend code system. Levels will also be able to be previewed before download so you know what you're getting yourself into. Due to space limitations, the DS version will only be able to hold up to eight downloaded levels at a time, but the PSP version will be able to hold as many as your memory stick will allow. There are plenty of unlockables available to access during the game as well such as game skins, level packs, new gold goals and special music tracks. Speaking of music, all the soundtrack for the game has been created by "chip tune" artists using old consoles to orchestrate the tunes.

Metanet Ponders Animation, Sells Merchandise

Metanet, developers of XBLA's N+, are hard at work on their next title, Robotology, and have been openly discussing their development hurdles at their blog, a refreshing level of transparency on the process. Central to their difficulties right now seems to be moving past sprites to animation in the 2D setting:

We don't have animation properly "sussed" yet, otherwise we'd be able to better explain what the various aspects of the problem are.. all we can say for sure is that once you eschew sprites, it gets tricky ;) Of course, this is the whole point — if you want to avoid the limitations of a sprite-based system, you're necessarily going to have to deal with all of the problems that using sprites lets you avoid.

Robotology: Back To The Drawing Board [metablog, via GameSetWatch]

N+ Devs Clear Up Live Arcade Shit Talk

N+ Developers Talk "Shit" On Xbox Live Arcade

The Legend of Zelda Remade In N+

Well, not the entire thing. That would be madness. While we fully expect some group of nutjobs to pick up the slack, recreating the entirety of the original Legend of Zelda in two-tone gray, the current N+ user created stab at Zelda-nostalgia is a perfect sampling of glorious obsession. Kudos for making it difficult-looking to boot. Via GameSetWatch.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Well, you know what I won't be playing this weekend? Grand Theft Auto IV. But I will be playing some Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a game I've never completed, just for laughs. Of course, there will be hot tears of pain streaming down my cheeks while I mow down pedestrians to the musical stylings of A Flock Of Seagulls, but there may be a giggle or chortle at some point.

I've also been meaning to catch up on some of the titles that walked away with Independent Game Festival awards, plus proper time with the Xbox Live Arcade version of N+. Let us all know what your gaming plans are this weekend!

For those of you not wanting to wait until April for the handheld versions of the tiny ninja game that has Crecente tearing out hunks of his long, flowing hair, get yourself to an Xbox 360 this Wednesday as the classic PC flash game N makes its way onto Xbox Live Arcade as N+. With 450 levels that are sure to test even the most serene ninja's patience, a built-in level editor for creating your own challenges, and online multiplayer in both co-op and competitive flavors, N+ is surely worth 800 of your hard-earned fictional units of Microsoft currency. Not convinced? Try the free PC game over at Metanet's downloads page for a taste of what's in store for you this Wednesday.

N+ on XBLA this Wednesday (the 20th)!! YES!!!!!!! [Metanet Blog - Thanks Michael!]

N+ PSP Impressions

N+ for the Playstation Portable is every bit as fun, fluid and frustrating as the original, a game that could quite easily become the one title I carry around with me whenever I take long trips, if it weren't for its ability to make me shout out, every time I play the game, a mix of vulgarities so shockingly diverse it even surprises me.

What's good about N+, a Silverbirch Studios port of Metanet Software's original title, is everything that is good about the original. Instead of trying to fix what wasn't broken, the team set their sights on recreating what I've always considered a classic of Flash play.

N+ Looks Perfectly Maddening

N+ may ultimately lead to my PSP being smashed against the wall in frustration, but that can't stop the frothing demand I feel when I see the former Flash game in action. It may have been a bit too gussied up during the conversion, but N+ will definitely find its way into my PlayStation Portable and my Xbox 360 whenever Atari gets around to releasing it.

If the thought of another arcade-style shooter coming to the digital distribution network of your choice hasn't set your eyes to rolling, you may be thrilled to learn that Mutant Storm Empire, the sequel to Mutant Storm Reloaded, is this week's Xbox Live Arcade game. It hits Xbox 360s on Halloween, leaning more toward sci-fi than this week's horrific Virtual Console update. It's 800 Microsoft Points, features online co-op and hits at 9 AM GMT.

Microsoft also gives us a look at what's on deck for XBLA in "the coming weeks", including N+, Switchball and Undertow. More information at the official media alert.

Get Your Freak On With Xbox LIVE Arcade This Week [Gamerscore Blog]

N+ Level Design Contest

N+ Slinking Stealthily Towards DS, PSP