Games & Comics

Title: Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

Platform: DS

ESRB Rating: E

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: EA Tiburon

Rating:

Review by: Dan Braun

Good show! Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a puzzler/platformer that is engrossing and entertaining, guaranteeing hours of fun (and considerable frustration) to gamers young and old. Although its difficulty can be daunting, this is a rewarding and adorable game that deftly combines classic platforming elements from iconic games with a puzzle system that is heavily influenced by Tetris Attack and Bejeweled.

Aging adventurer and gentlemanly socialite Henry Hatsworth is on a mission – seek out the legendary, magical pieces of the Golden Suit, complete with a golden moustache, of course. This unimaginably powerful and dapper ensemble is the key to The Puzzle Realm, home to gobs and gobs of boundless treasure. With his sycophantic assistant, Cole, providing priceless inventory assistance, Henry navigates multiple worlds on the top DS screen, performing fairly standard platforming techniques while facing an impressive ensemble of enemies in order to progress.

The catch is that enemies defeated on the top screen don’t simply fade into oblivion. Instead, they are transported to the bottom screen where a puzzle game awaits. The puzzle component is a combination of the aforementioned titles, requiring colored boxes be lined up in threes to be eliminated. Enemies get scattered within the puzzle, along with an assortment of power-ups, which can be used when switching back to the platforming portion of game. It isn’t as complicated as it sounds, as the game does a very fluid job of keeping the two styles separate enough, while still forcing gamers to consider that success on one screen directly translates to success on the other. For instance, defeating enemies on the top screen fills Henry’s “Puzzle Meter” on the bottom screen, while successfully matching pieces on the bottom screen translates into more health, upgraded weapons, and a temporary invincibility mode when transferred back to the platformer up top. While each individual piece doesn’t really do anything new, their combination is remarkably fresh and enjoyable.

The art direction and script are both top notch, with enough wry humor to satisfy the high-brow, and enough slapstick tomfoolery to engage those whose humor is more suited to watching steampunk robots beating up old men in wheelchairs.

The game does have its flaws. Its dubious difficulty is comparable to some classic platformers like the original Mega Man. Some boss fights just feel cheap and will require seemingly endless retries. The inclusion of “arena fights,” where hordes of enemies spill at Henry for a determined amount of time, is a nice addition to the game’s pacing, but these can be awfully cruel when failed, forcing replays though the entire level in some cases. Additionally, some of the jumping segments of the game are unforgiving and tiresome, particularly because Henry gets knocked back indiscriminately when taking any damage.

Despite its difficulty, Henry Hatsworth’s first adventure is a classy, yet kitschy hybrid of a game that should be anyone’s cup of tea.

For more info, www.henryhatsworth.com

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