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Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure

• By Emily Balistrieri
• March 17, 2009 09:43 AM PST
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I spy with my monocled eye the most exciting DS game to come out in quite some time! Although it flew in under most people's radar, Hatsworth is definitely a title every gamer should consider. It's as addictive as Puzzle Quest, but instead of utilizing an RPG element, EA married the puzzle concept to a platformer. The result is a fantastic title that should appeal to gamers of all stripes.

THE VERDICT by Tae K. Kim I am not exaggerating when I say that Emily began hounding me about the Hatsworth review months before the game landed in my mailbox. To say she was excited for the title is like saying bacon is only sort of delicious. Now that she's finally gotten her hands on it, it sounds like it lived up to her expectations. With a charming style and addictive gameplay, Hatsworth looks like it could be a compelling sidekick to Puzzle Quest Galactrix.

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Tea and Giant Robots

To say that Hatsworth takes advantage of the DS's dual screens is an understatement -- what you're getting is two discrete games connected at the hinge. On the top screen you jump, bounce, ride platforms, and swashbuckle through five worlds of severely increasing difficulty as Henry Hatsworth, an intrepid explorer who is in hot pursuit of a golden suit that is the key to a vast world of treasure. On the bottom screen you use the stylus to create combos in a timed match-3 puzzle game to generate power for your projectile weapons and maintain your health. Lose too much energy and you turn into a grey haired grandpa.

You can even power up a giant steampunk robot suit to take part in a beat'em-up style cage fight where you can shoot lasers, launch missiles, and pound your enemies with robot fists. The key to all this gaming satisfaction lays in the control scheme -- switching between the two screens is as easy as hitting the X button. The way the two different types of games mesh together is also seamless.

Two For The Price of One

Enemies destroyed in the platforming game are transformed into different types of tiles that fall into the puzzle game on the bottom screen; they have to be matched quickly before they are resurrected into the world above where they will hassle you again. As I mentioned above, matching the enemies powers your attacks, meaning you have to be successful in both phases of the game in order to make it to the end. The boss fights are also rather fiendish, with each major baddie using some sort of trick to make your life that much harder -- for example, the giant anchor your constant nemesis Leopold Charles Anthony Weasleby the Third uses to drag your puzzle stack higher and higher.

Still, it's a testament to the game's design that the action never gets too overwhelming. The fact that you have to juggle two different types of gameplay could have spelled trouble but it works well overall. The game becomes challenging in the later rounds but it's so addictive that I couldn't help but keep playing.

Good Show!

There were times when my patience was tested by the difficulty but the charming visual style and addictive gameplay kept me motivated to see Henry's adventure through to the very end. It's one addicting platformer, and a must have title for your DS.

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