Henry Hatsworth combines both side scroller action with Tetris-like puzzle solving. On the surface it’s a bizarre formula that seems as if it wouldn’t fare too well, but once you’re immersed into the Henry Hatsworth's whimsical adventure you can’t help but admire how successful—not to mention simple and fun—it is.
Henry is an old adventurer who seeks a golden suit. Each piece of the suit allows for new abilities such as breathing underwater with its golden pipe. The game’s art matches its quirky characters and dialogue perfectly.
Henry Hatsworth spans across both screens of the DS; the top screen is where you’ll be doing the platforming and where you’ll be slashing away at enemies with your sword. By pressing “X”, the top screen will pause and you’ll be taken to the bottom half of the DS where you’ll be participating in Tetris-like antics. Here, you’ll slide blocks horizontally trying to create a combination of three or more same colored blocks. Each enemy you kill turns into a block at the bottom of the screen. If you don’t eliminate the enemy block by matching it with others of the same color and it reaches the top of the screen, that enemy will try to seek his revenge upon you. You are also able to earn health points and power-ups in the same manor. By chaining combos together on the puzzle screen you’ll fill up the special meter that turns you into an invincible robot when tapped.
The game becomes painstakingly difficult after the first few worlds, but because of its fun factor you’ll persevere through. Though the puzzling aspect works well, I often found myself wishing for Bejeweled-like block movement; only being able to move the blocks horizontally feels a bit restricted.
Its unique and successful combination of platform and puzzle make Henry Hatsworth one the best games on the DS. If you’re a puzzle fan and own a DS I highly recommend you pick up a copy of your own.
"Other gaming mascots better watch out, because the release of The Power of Illusion will mean Mickey's third major game appearance for the year 2012 -- other two being Kingdom Hearts 3D and Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. Serving as a handheld spiritual successor to Castle of Illusion and what appears to be a close relative to DuckTales, The Power of Illusion promises to be a strong experience all on its own without relying heavily on Disney Epic Mickey's anticipated sequel to give it momentum." -- Wiiloveit.com
Chris Buffa (Modojo): Not every video game hero has a career like Mario and Sonic's. Of course, not every game deserves a sequel. Some were never meant to produce a series, while others bombed at retail, the respective publishers cutting their losses and moving on to something presumably more lucrative.
As a result, many of these characters fade into obscurity, killing the opportunity to see them again.
With the Nintendo 3DS coming out soon Paranerds.com wanted to show that the Nintendo DS offers something else for everyone. We all know that Nintendo DS offers games like New Super Mario Bros., Brain Age, Nintendogs, Metroid and Tetris, but what about the games you walked by and ignored that were in bins for half the price? What about games you wanted to try but were too afraid to do so. What else does the Nintendo DS offer? They told you what games to play for the Nintendo Wii that was third party, and now they are telling you to try these hidden gems for the Nintendo DS. These are games that are not other wise known or have been highly looked over, so no Metal Slug 7 and no Contra 4.
Paranerds.com presents the Top Ten Nintendo DS Hidden Gems.
Nice article! The DS is chock full of awesome game. I think it's scientifically impossible to play all of the good ones in a lifetime.
