Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is a clever mashup of two seemingly disparate game genres: the Bejeweled-style match-three-gems puzzle game and Marioesque platform action game.
Much like how Puzzle Quest mashed up puzzles and RPGs, Hatsworth pulls off the quirky blend with panache, creating an addictive and challenging game that's more than the sum of its parts. A frantic pace, cheeky humor and accessible game mechanics make for a jolly good time.
(Henry Hatsworth will be released for Nintendo DS on March 17.)
While in pursuit of a legendary Golden Hat, geriatric explorer extraordinaire Henry Hatsworth opens a portal to the mysterious
Puzzle Realm, unleashing a horde of monsters. To stop them he decides to travel the world, overcoming obstacles and other adventurers to collect the pieces of a Golden Suit — the apparel of a true gentleman.
The top screen is the Real World — a platform game spliced with beat-'em-up action. Tap the Y button for a melee attack, knocking a bit of treasure out of an enemy. The A button fires a special attack, which includes a rifle, bomb and magical boomerang.
Kill a monster, and they'll drop down to the lower screen as puzzle enemies. To actually finish them off, tap the X button to enter the Puzzle Realm, down on the touchscreen. Here, colored blocks and puzzle enemies slowly rise up the screen, and you'll have to align three or more to clear them from the board. If a puzzle enemy reaches the top, it will spill into the Real World and attack you.
You can use the stylus to play the puzzle game, but pulling it out every time you flip back and forth between the two game modes is more trouble than it's worth. The DS' buttons work just fine.
Clearing puzzle pieces will add energy to your Super Meter. Once you flip back up to the top screen, this serves as ammunition for special attacks that you can unload onto enemies. Fill your Super Meter once, and Hatsworth will become young again, granting him extra health. Fill your Super Meter a second time, and you'll have the option of triggering "Tea Time," which, as the name does not at all suggest, puts Hatsworth into a battle robot suit.
Special puzzle pieces will cause other effects in the platform game. Match a Lightning block, for example, and it will electrocute all of the enemies on the top screen.
The trick is knowing the right time to use a given power. Cut a swath through enemies by triggering the battle-suit, and you'll run out of ammunition for your special attacks. You might also be tempted to use power-up blocks immediately to clear out the puzzle grid, but the abilities they provide can be crucial during the more hectic combat sequences.
And the game definitely gets hectic. The enemies get tougher as the game goes on. Certain enemies will become distinct tiles when they die, forcing you to juggle their position about the puzzle grid while you hunt for another pair so you can clear all three from the board. Sometimes it's best to avoid them altogether — but if you shy away from combat too often, and you won't be able to upgrade Hatsworth's abilities.
Hatsworth features over 30 levels with plenty of secrets to discover. The cast of characters you'll meet along the way are genuinely entertaining, from the Bachelor-Pirate who believes real men fight through song, to a rival geriatric captain and his spunky attack-nurse.
But Henry Hatsworth's colorful charm belies occasionally frustrating gameplay. Even the most hardened of gaming veterans might be tempted to hurl their Nintendo DS across the room during some of the cheekier segments. And after the fourth or fifth sealed room with countless, increasingly difficult monsters pouring in, the enjoyable rhythm of sliding from frantic action to the cerebral puzzle grid is almost overshadowed by the tedium of repetitive sequences.
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.
Images courtesy Electronic Arts
WIRED Clever mashup gameplay, hilarious story, brilliant boss fights
TIRED Occasionally repetitive and frustrating, not for newbies
$30, Electronic Arts
Rating: 
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