Is there a part of a game that’s driving you crazy this week?
For me it’s Level 14-4 in “N+,” which is driving me up the wall for the simple fact that I cant… drive my character up a wall.
14-4 of my latest Xbox 360 download obsession involves is tricky. It throws the most frustrating curve ball in “N+’”s level design. To play the game you must bring a small ninja through some challenging platform stages.
The majority of the game’s obstacles involve avoiding carefully scattered mine fields, but occasionally the game’s development team, Metanet Software, throws a few heat-seeking missiles your way. In 14-4, there’s not one missile out to destroy you, there are two. The trick is getting said missiles to crash into a wall. Another missile spawns, but there’s a split-second to plan a new move.
Apparently, that split-second isn’t enough for me. In less than 20 minutes, 14-4 made me put the controller down.
That, or I simply need more practice.
So far in “N+,” I have been unable to perfect one of the more advanced techniques associated with the wall-jump. Bouncing back and forth a la “Super Mario 64″ is a breeze, but skillfully timed presses are required to wall-jump up a completely vertical slope, and coming to grips with that is crucial to my success.
We’ve all encountered brick walls and hated foes in video games, the kind we lose sleep over. Read on to learn how 14-4 has vexed me and how my desire to conquer Bungie’s Luke Smith is helping me get over it.
The sad thing is, I already know exactly how to complete 14-4, thanks to “N+”’s built-in video recorder. Each stage’s leaderboard include easily downloadable recordings of top player runs. I’ll never approach their skill level, but the videos provide a road map that removes the mystery, placing the burden squarely on my shoulders. In 14-4, the key is wall-jumping to keep the missiles on your tail just enough to stop them from crashing and re-spawning, which would cause them to completely re-align their aim.
For now, however, I’ve reached the point where I must simply admit defeat and come back another day — or after work, whatever comes first. I’ve already conquered the prior 13 episodes, but those were my only my first run through. Surely, I can do better. Surely, I can defeat Luke Smith.
Each stage in “N+” takes place within an episode, with each episode made up of five stages. After spending 20 minutes frustrated with 14-4, a quick look at the leaderboards showed my first runs on each episode put me perilously close to Smith’s scores. In “N+,” scores are determined by how much time is left at the end of the episode. Scattered throughout each stage are gold icons, which boost your overall time. You could complete an entire episode without touching the gold, but grabbing them is what nets you leaderboard spots.
Without pasting a table filled with mindless numbers, currently Smith’s scores are ahead of me on two episodes of N+ — three, if you count that I haven’t finished episode 14 yet — but that puts me on top a whopping 12 times. Smith claims that’s only because those are first run scores, but we’ll see how he fares later tonight, when he tries to topple them. I’ll let you know if he’s successful.
Readers, have you played “N+” yet? If not, you should (as Multiplayer’s own Jason Cipriano will attest to), but what’s been your “N+” roadblock? Have you given up?
February 28th, 2008 at 11:25 am
14-4 is pretty bad, but some of the Co-Op MP levels are absolute murder. Nothing is worse than carefully making your way to the end of Entwined (8-4) and realizing your partner was destroyed eons ago.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I’m going to have to agree with Dan here - there are some CO-Op levels that will make you never want to play the game again, and at the same time are some of the most creative use of a co-op game since Cookies and Cream (a must buy for anyone that has a girlfriend).
Just wait until you get up into the 20s ….
On a related note - I think it just needs to be said that the multiplayer in this game is pretty amazing.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I was stuck on 14-4 for just over an hour. I also needed the leaderboard video feature to figure out what I was doing wrong but emulating it was no picnic. My main motivation was knowing once I completed the level, I would unlock an achievement (completing 15 episodes). In the end, I also unlocked the game’s secret achievement on 14-4 which accounted for probably 3/4’s of all those deaths! I’ve since moved on only to come to a new roadblock. I don’t remember the episode number off the top of my head (21-1, maybe) but I think it’s called “abandoned factory.”
I haven’t played any Co-op yet, but the Survival and Race modes are a lot of fun.
February 28th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
This level was kicking my butt for the past 2 days. I finally got through it about 2 minutes ago. I’ve got a different solution than the #1 spot on the Leaderboards you might want to give it a shot.
I got to the point where I could get the two switches at the top just fine, but opening the door was impossible for me. So, I went for the open door switch first, then returned to the starting point. From here I followed the replay from the Leaderboards to get the two switches at the top of the screen and from there, exiting the level is cake. I won’t win any awards for the slickest route, but at least I’m through it now.
If you want to check out my replay: http://live.xbox.com/member/Shafnitz
February 28th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Shafnitz is ding, ding, ding — correct. That’s how I eventually overcame 14-4. The few times that I’d manage to hit the switches I’d #$??? up actually opening the door. Instead, I followed the exact same procedure as you, and by the time I actually finished 14-4, I was pretty surprised at how apt I’d become at weaving in-between the missiles.
Also, it’s absolutely awesome that you unlock an achievement for dying 1,000 times. Thanks, 14-4!
February 28th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Just wait until you get to 41-4. That’s assuming you can pass the levels with Squiggly Walls before that. Torturous. 41-4 has made me quit the single player. I played for more than 2 hours and only reached the key less than 10% of the time. Hard games are fun, but cheap design is not.
Still a great game, though.
February 28th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
I just spent a long time on 14-4 as well. I was determined to beat it. I literally finished it about 5 minutes ago. I felt like a badass once I pulled it off…then I realized that there were harder levels to come.
I want to get in on some co-op as well. My friends are too chicken to join in!
February 28th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
I spent about an hour on 14-4 a week or so ago. Painful but incredibly rewarding when I finally nailed it.
I’m up around episode 34 now and thus far it’s still the hardest level in the game. 24-4 is nasty, as is 29-4, but nothing comes close to those 3 damn homing rockets.
February 28th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
I realized sometime tonight that my score is on that list as well… and it looks like you did significantly better than me, since I’m fourth on your list.
February 29th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
14-4 will go down in legend. I sure am good at the game now that I’ve beaten it though.
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I just knocked 14-4 out last night. It was easily the biggest roadblock I’d come to in N+, and I did shut it off at one point to go calm myself down. Seriously, even without the Ninja Seeking Missles it would be a slightly more difficult level than some others elsewhere in the game. The introduction of three missle launchers is almost downright cruel. I turned to my roommate at one point (who was likely sick of watching my little ninja get blowed up) and posited that the level designers must obviously be sadists.
Even after reviewing the top 10 replays countless times for tips, I just still couldn’t get it. I must have approached the problem from a dozen different perspectives: Going for the exit key first, going for the door switches first, various incarnations. When I finally accomplished the task and put 14-4 to bed, I was overcome with such elation and relief that it made all the frustration completely worth it. Also, something else happened: All that trial and error and unintentional practice made me a better N+ player. It almost seems like 14-4 is perfectly designed to function in that capacity; seriously, going back to replay past episodes, my scores have increased dramatically, and I went from ranking on unplayed episodes around the 3000-4000 area, to in the top 1000.
Thanks, 14-4! You’ve made me a better ninja!
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
14-4 is apparently a cakewalk compared to the levels in the 40s. I’m not quite there yet; still working through the 20s and having a good time.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:16 am
I jump using the right trigger button, my right trigger button is now broken :-C