Customer Reviews

Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I got Tetris for the DS years ago, I always thought it would be really nifty if my actions in the Tetris game would manipulate a game in the top screen. Henry Hatsworth accomplishes that exact goal. The top screen of the game is a platforming game and the bottom screen is a puzzle game. Taken individually, either of these elements are honestly very average in design and polish, but when integrated together the design takes on an entirely new dimension delivering a unique gaming experience.

GAMEPLAY: As mentioned before, the top screen displays platforming action where you run, jump, collect, slash, and shoot. As you defeat enemies and collect stuff, those monsters and items become puzzle pieces in the bottom screen, which is constantly filling up. Pressing the "X" button, you can switch to puzzle mode for a limited period of time to finish off enemies and activating items by matching three or more of the colored tiles. The bottom screen plays exactly like Planet Puzzle League, Tetris Attack, or Pokemon Puzzle League. Build up enough power in puzzle mode and you get the ability to shoot energy bullets from your gun or even transform into a giant robot. If you neglect to eliminate enemies in the lower screen, they come back to haunt you and cause you trouble in the top screen. Items that are not activated in puzzle mode and neglected are lost forever. As you play you will collect treasures that can be cashed in for power-ups and upgrades which affect various abilities in the platforming and puzzle screens. The integration between the two modes is almost seamless. My biggest complaint is that collision detection for some attacks is really poor, especially the "ground slam" attack. Luckily you are rarely forced to use those abilities except when you choose to do so.

GRAPHICS: The top screen has very nice, clean, and colorful graphics. The animations are smooth and look nice. The bottom screen is clean and functional, but nothing special. One nice thing I will mention is the color choices of the puzzle pieces are fairly friendly to color-deficient (aka color-blind) gamers. I have yet to accidentally mix up my yellows and my greens, which I appreciate greatly. I would have liked to see more contrast, but oh well.

STORY: The characters in this story are annoying. The story is wacky and weird and there are a lot of little jokes and jabs towards the ridiculously rich and the British.

SOUND: Sound is a mixed bag. The in game sound effects are decent, fun, and unobtrusive. The cut-scene sound effects are terribly annoying, consisting of snooty grunts and vocalizations intended to mimic (or mock) British aristocrats. It feels forced and gets tiresome very quickly. Luckily, you can skip cut-scenes at any time with the simple press of a button.

VALUE: While I'm not sure of the *replay* value of the game, which consists of more than a couple dozen levels, I can tell it will last me a good length of time. Some levels have alternate paths that lead to bonus treasure, which is also a nice touch. The difficulty ramps up fairly quickly and the challenge of managing the top and bottom screens may be enough to cause some players to lose interest.

Overall, I expect this game to be somewhat of a sleeper hit. While this game is packaged and marketed like any other throw-away kids title, this game is anything but throw-away. Hardcore gamers, especially fans of platforming or puzzle games, should definitely check this game out. I would caution against this game for younger children because I really think the difficulty near the mid and later levels may prove too frustrating for them.

If you are a fan of either (or preferably both) platform games or puzzle games then you will love Henry Hatsworth! I must disagree with the other reviewer in regards to the story / characters being annoying. I find them quite endearing with the sound affects tied to each character being quite humorous and charming. The artwork is beautiful, and the sound is great for the game.

The controls are where this game really shines in my opinion, platforming usually comes down to the simplest common factor, the jumping and general controls. Henry Hatsworth shines in both of those categories, the controls are so tight that you can really control the character with fantastic precision. The character doesn't feel floaty or bloated in any way. The mechanics of the game are fantastic as well, complete puzzles to unlock bonus items, refill your life bar, and eliminate enemies. Switch back to the platforming and continue on your way. It keeps the game fresh all the way through.

On top of that there are a ton of "power-ups" to unlock as you progress as well.

Hours of fantastic gameplay wrapped up in a lovely little package. Definitely check it out if you like the two genres mentioned!

Oh, lastly, I wouldn't call this a "kids" game in any way. It offers some real challenge to even experienced gamers such as myself, but persistence will eventually get you through the game as well if you're skills aren't quite up to snuff.

I'm a lifelong gamer who particularly enjoys puzzle and adventure games. I've played, loved, and posted reviews for many DS puzzle games. When I saw the ad for this game, I literally rushed right out and bought it. Maybe it's just a question of too-high expectations, but I really wanted to enjoy this game, and I was very disappointed by it.

Hybrid games that combine multiple genres are all the rage now, undoubtedly boosted by the popularity of Puzzle Quest. But I definitely disagree with the earlier reviewer who stated that 2 average games combine to make a good one. No, in this case, 2 below-average games combine to make an average one.

The concept is intriguing. Interweave a 2D side-scrolling platformer with a unique match-three-type puzzle game, where each game plays on its own screen and the progress in each game feeds back into the other. Sounds great! But Henry Hatsworth is no Puzzle Quest. I forced myself to give the game 5 hours to capture my heartstrings, but it never grew on me, and there are plenty of other more interesting games to play.

Henry Hatsworth uses a noteworthy system of gibberish sounds for character voices. It's not just subtitles, and it's not traditional voice acting, it's something in between. Imagine recording a voice actor making a few dozen unusual sounds. None of these recorded sounds are words, but some sound like words. Then, during your video game cutscenes, when your characters are talking, play back those sounds in random order while the subtitles appear on screen. The result is an unintelligible melange of word-like sounds. You might call this form of voice acting "innovative", or a "bold stylistic choice". You might also call it "grating" or "awful". Perhaps it's most fair to say this particular artistic choice is "polarizing"; some will find it charming, and others like me will simply turn it off.

I don't hate the game, nor do I intend to sell my copy just yet. I can see how some people like it, and if I run out of other games, I might try it again. But for folks looking for a good puzzle game on the DS, I recommend Professor Leyton, Puzzle Quest, and Picross DS, in that order, all of which are better than Henry Hatsworth.

I originally bought this for my 10 year old god brother. I read the reviews for it on gaming websites (IGN and Gamespot) and they said that this was a pretty good game. Figured the combination of a block matching and action platformer was a good, "simple", and entertaining game for him. When it arrived I (25 years old) tried it out and so did his sister (15 years old). We were both hooked and kept fighting each other for the game cartridge. The poor boy, the person it was originally intended for, was outed for his game. The game play is pretty frantic in that you have insanity happening both on the top and bottom screen.

The good is that the cut scenes, music, and game play is pretty simple and very well executed. Controlling Henry on his escapade is very easy and if you make a mistake in miscalculating a jump or strike it is entirely your fault and not a weird glitch in the game. The enemies are clever, comical, and challenging. The cut scenes with their absolutely ridiculous voice work pays homage to those of Zelda, which means it's more noises than words, with a British twist to it. The puzzle on the bottom screen is simple to master and if you don't clear the dead enemy blocks it isn't heartless enough to end the game so you are given a second chance to get rid of them.

The bad, it is crazy intense. The level of difficulty does ramp up pretty fast leaving you dazed and confused at first because you will have a ton of enemies on the top screen which you must dispatch and due to your dispatching, these enemies need to be cleared from the block puzzle below. Thankfully you are able to upgrade your skills and attributes during the game play to augment your attacks as Henry as well as help with the puzzle world. Like I said earlier about the controls, it is unforgiving. If you make a mistake it will punish you, however there aren't any instant deaths or game overs that I have come across so if what you did didnt' work out you can keep going to gain the energy or whatever you need to finally dispatch your enemy.

All in all it is an awesome game if you are young or old. Just so you know, the person to which this game was intended for is in fact holding his own in the game as well as fending both me and his sister off it. You will sit there playing it for hours not blinking and teetering on insanity at the frenzied but extremely enjoyable pace. After starting this game and encountering your first "Tea Time", you will be hollering "TEA TIME!!" whenever possible. It's ridiculously fun.

This is a great game, but beware: Henry Hatsworth is really, truly, unbelievably hard. It's an accomplishment to beat this game. I like that.

You can almost get into Prince of Persia kind of flow while playing this game, the controls are responsive, and the bosses are memorable. All in all, its a very challenging, addictive and great game.

Okay, I just have to say, this game is a little hard to put down. In fact, it makes a great diversion so I don't have to do my homework!

I have to say, this game is a little challenging, especially in the puzzle portion. There are a lot of things that you have to be aware of, which can be difficult at times. It's really great for all ages (I'm 28). So far, there isn't anything in there that would warrant parental control.

If you are bad a remembering what certain buttons mean, you may have a little trouble with this game. There are a lot of "Press Y while holding the down button", and "press L to get back to the main screen". However, once you have them mastered, you won't have any problems. During the first level you pretty much use everything, so you start to get the hang of it.

I highly recommend giving it a try!

I almost didn't pick this up based on the bad review written for it, saying that the characters are annoying. The voices are hilarious! I find myself getting excited, hoping to hear the two start chatting again.

This game is a challenge, but even for the younger set, all it will take it a bit of perseverance and they will be able to pull it off. The game play is fun, fresh and very charming. I love Mario style platforming games and puzzle games so this is really the best of both worlds. I can't believe I almost missed out on this awesome game!! This is, by far, the best game released for the DS in quite some time. I can bet you will not be disappointed.

Get ready to feel your heart racing due to the frenetic game play!

Finally a great game! After recent disasters like Puzzle Quest Galactrix and Cradle of Rome, I've begun to lose faith in game designers, and tile matching puzzle games in particular. But Henry Hatsworth changes all that. I've played through the first few levels, and so far it's incredibly fun and well designed. Exciting gameplay, awesome graphics, fun story...it all adds up to a great gaming experience.

The only thing that might turn off some casual gamers is that it is very fast paced - frantic even. But I'm not a hard-core gamer, and so far I'm managing without too much frustration. And I enjoy the challenge of keeping an eye on both screens, to decide when to switch between modes.

The combination of old-school platformer and puzzle game is novel, and while that doesn't always mean a great game, in this case it happens to be true. I'm not too far into the game yet, so I'm very excited to get back to it, and I don't feel that kind of attachment to a game very often.

I'm a 40ish mom and love doing puzzles as well as playing some of my 10 yr old son's Zelda and Mario games. I thought this looked like a great mix.
Personally, I really disliked the game. It was annoying to try and figure out how to get rid of some of the enemies and there was nothing to do in the top screen except for walking and enemy annihilation. In other words, there were no things to find (maybe some hidden rooms), nothing to 'figure out' except to keep moving ahead and getting rid of enemies. The bottom screen actually became kind of a nuisance and became boring after awhile since the only challenge was to get three in a row to gain items and defeat enemies.
It was also difficult to figure out some of the basic functionality of the game and get the big picture.
The background 'voices' are really annoying too, except for when Hatsworth dies and says, "Poppycock", which I heard a lot since I had trouble getting anywhere in the game!
I gave the game to my son who loves it and couldn't put it down.

This game is a mediocre side-scroller with painfully bland level design combined with a tweaked Tetris Attack puzzler. There are also some aspects of upgrading several attributes, such as melee attack power. Each game has an effect on the other, so you need to constantly switch between them. I really love the idea and certain aspects are well-executed, but the boring level design combined with the enemies, especially bosses taking way too many hits before dying, leaves for an experience with a ton of potential but lacking in execution. The game needs more varied/interesting level design and some mechanic tweaking. Extra points for a fun world, great character design, and humorous dialogue.