Games You Should Play - 9/17/09

Yes, I know. I'm sorry, it's been a while since I last posted a Games You Should Play. Let's just say my life has gotten pretty nuts the last 2 weeks and I haven't had much time to do much of anything. And both my 360s died when I was about 75% through Batman, and about to get Shadow Complex. Yeah, and my 360s are the least of my problems right now. Anyway, moving on.

Games You Should Play - Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure Edition

I can hear the rumblings already. How can you put a game on here that's only been out for like, 5 months? I'll tell you why, NOBODY IS BUYING THIS GAME. It hasn't sold like my previous most recent Games You Should Play game, Mirror's Edge, despite it having a worthy story and excellent gameplay. It's got an 83% rating on MetaCritic, yet there are barely any sales figures on this game because well, according to VGChartz it has only sold about 30k in the US. That's THIRTY THOUSAND. For the only blend of platforming and puzzles the DS has ever seen! (And no, Puzzle Quest is a blend of RPG and puzzles).

Well to stop my ranting, I will tell you why this game is awesome. First off, it's insanely British, which I love. The graphics are very crisp and clean, and the controls are spot-on (see, British humour! Hah!). How the game works, basically, is that on the top screen you control Henry Hatsworth through his adventure, but on the bottom screen there is a Puzzle League style puzzle game going on. Now when you defeat guys on the top, they don't go away, you also have to make them go away in the puzzle too. Ingenious! There's your standard power ups and stuff, but you can get items in the puzzle to help you in your adventure, and you can use the puzzle to also beef up grenades, boomerangs and your trusty gun while the projectile is in mid-air.

Here is the first level in action:


So what's the downfall, you say?

It's hard. Not Ninja Gaiden hard, but definitely frustrating at points. Now, whereas I did manage to beat the game, believe you me it wasn't easy. But it was so good I was DETERMINED to slay the game. The levels are all very long, and seemed kind of stretched out. Some levels have sections where you just have to fight a whole bunch of predetermined enemies, and it seemed like a lame mini-boss type area, and those parts get repetitive fast. Many levels also seem very similar as well, making some of them feel like a chore to get through.

The story is pretty good too, with a nice twist at the end. It's completely ridiculous, but a lot of fun nonetheless.

Please give it a shot. You can snag it for only $18.99 at Amazon these days and is definitely worth it at that price.