Title: Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure
Genre: Hybrid (Platformer / Beat 'em Up / Puzzle)
Platform: Nintendo DS
Players: Single Player
Developer: Electronic Arts (EA Tiburon)
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release Date:
- North America: March 17th, 2009
- Europe: March 20th, 2009
What is it?
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a hybrid that's a little hard to explain. On the top screen you play it like a Castlevania-esque game where you platform and kill enemies. On the bottom screen, you have a Puzzle League style game going on very slowly. When you want to play the puzzle game, you pause the upper screen and play it on the lower screen. Enemies you kill in the platformer become puzzle pieces and puzzle pieces you clear in the puzzle game help you in the platforming game. Enemy pieces in the puzzle game that reach the top respawn in the platformer.
Specific pieces also need to be cleared to get past specific obstacles in the platforming segments. Check out videos for more insights into this bizarre game.
Check out some videos for a better idea.
Videos
First Trailer
Puzzle Enemy Trailer (Check this for how the gameplay works)
Images
Reviews
Nate Ralph (Game|Life): 9/10
Nate Ralph said:On their own, the adventure and puzzle segments of Henry Hatsworth would not be especially interesting videogames. But this experiment succeeds because of how well the two genres play off one another. While certain level elements can feel monotonous, the core experience is sound, delivering controlled chaos into the palms of your achy, sweating hands.
Mark Bozon (IGN): 9.0/10
Mark Bozon said:There isnt much more that can be said about Hatsworth without coming right out and telling you to buy it, which is exactly what Im doing. The game blends the action/patforming genre with traditional puzzle gaming very well, the music, visuals, character design, and story is all completely over the top, and the action elements are a total love letter to dozens of different games spanning a handful of different schools of design. The pop-up combat feels great, and is a perfect way to hide more hardcore elements into an easily accessible game, while upgrades, mobility, level design, and game progression (the introduction of new enemy types, repeating anti-hero rival battles, new mechanics, and the like) show just how much detail went into making Hatsworth a game for the ages. Theres a bit of a been there, done that feeling with some of the platformer elements, but those are easily outshined by an impressive and unique blending of two screens, two genres, and two fully-realized mechanics running in tandem.
Ellie Gibson (Eurogamer): 7/10
Ellie Gibson said:However, while the platformer and the puzzler in Henry Hatsworth are perfectly competent, they're nothing special. Neither could be described as classic examples of their genre, and neither offer anything new. The switching mechanic does add interest, but not quite enough to make Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure a great game. If you just can't get enough Bejeweled and don't mind a decent 2D platformer now and again though, it's fun.
Alice Liang (1UP): B/A+
Alice Liang said:When I say Henry Hatsworth is a platform-puzzler, does that mean anything to you? Calling it that seems pretty self-explanatory; it's one part platformer, with you jumping around 2D levels and killing monsters, and one part puzzle game, of the now-standard match-three variety. But that's simplifying things a bit. The expert blending of those two game types is what really defines this DS adventure. The top screen contains the "real world," wherein the safari-suited Hatsworth leaps from ledge to ledge, swatting away at baddies that've leaked into his reality from the puzzle world, represented on the bottom screen by an ever-rising grid of colored blocks. As separate games, the two sections are mundane takes on their respective genres. But put together, and, more importantly, integrated in such a way that inextricably links the worlds to one another, the two pieces fit like hot tea and crumpets. It's a shame, then, that little missteps keep this game from being entirely enjoyable.