Hands-On Preview : N Plus Infinity Times Two : Seasoned Gaming

The N games have been around for over 20 years now which is hard to believe. While I’ve had my run ins with them over the years, I’ve never spent a lot of time with them. So when the opportunity arose to try out Metanet Software‘s latest at Summer Game Fest, N Plus Infinity Times Two, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, just the name alone begs various questions. But more importantly, I wanted to know what the game was like from a developer who had no problem selling a game with that name.

Furthermore, as a daily player of competitive multiplayer games, I was curious to see how Metanet would finally make the jump to online, team-based, competitive multiplayer in the vein of N++. So, let’s dive in.

As referenced, N Plus Infinity Times Two (that won’t get tiring to type…) introduces online multiplayer to the N++ formula. Taking the foundational aspects of the series, momentum based movement and pinpoint accuracy, and shifting them to a competitive landscape is intriguing in concept. And in practice, it didn’t take long before it had me completely invested.

Sitting with Joe from SG along with a Metanet developer and one of our PR partners, we engaged in several rounds of four player mayhem. And if our laymen experience was anything to go by, fans of this series who enjoy multiplayer are in for some hilarious times ahead.

In the build we saw, there were already a couple dozen map layouts available alongside five game modes. The modes range from co-op challenge modes to full competitive (team or every person for themselves) modes. The mode we played most often featured two teams of two who took turns playing offense and defense. On offense, you captured as many blocks as you could before dying. On defense your goal, naturally, was to kill the other team. You could accomplish by merely touching the attacking players but they received a head start. You could also shoot a rocket that you then manually controlled through the map to try and blow up an attacking playing.

As usual, the mechanics are not overly complicated. But the momentum-based movement really comes into its own and becomes of critical importance. Hitting just the right jump or slide could make all the difference in whether you lived, died, or stopped another player. And as you can likely imagine, that becomes even more tense in the heat of the moment.

Before we knew it, we had played several rounds of best of three, each time saying “Let’s go again!” There’s an addictive quality to the gameplay here without a doubt, and spending time to master the movement around the maps while figuring out how to best capitalize that against other teams is going to be the hook.

If the brief time we spent playing N Plus Infinity Times Two modes is any indication, it’s going to make for some comical nights for fans. While additional details are few and far between, and there is no set release date yet as of today, here is the overview currently being provided by Metanet:

Five cornucopious online game modes. Some are evergreen, some are new to the series, some are new to the world: Trials, Co-op, One-Up, Racing, and the crown jewel: Team Tag.
Hone your ninja skills with classic singleplayer parkour platforming.
Meticulously malevolent hand-crafted level design honed to perfection thanks to over 20 years of experience.
Delicious buttery smooth gamefeel the likes of which you just cannot get anywhere else.
Eye-drenchingly beautiful 2D visual style inspired by print graphic design and powered by a bespoke vector renderer.
Megakiller globe-spanning soundtrack of 50+ hand-selected artists, providing the perfect audio soundscape for precision running, jumping, and failing.
Customize the entire look and feel of the game with dozens of gloriously gorgeous Funlockable™ Styles and a variety of ear-catching SFX sets.
World-class netcode supporting any combination of online and local players.
Virtually infinite content thanks to the built-in level editor with global level-sharing.