There's a storyline that doesn't take itself too seriously. At the beginning of everything, Henry's world of Tealand coexisted with the bizarre Puzzle Realm, which was overrun by floating coins, gems and monsters. In defense of the off-the-wall dimension, a golden suit was created, whose power was so great that only one man could wield it: the Gentleman. This great hero vanquished his enemies and closed the rift between the dimensions, effectively sealing the Puzzle Realm away. And years later, after he passed away, the suit was divided and scattered throughout the land so that nobody could abuse its power. Broken apart, it lay hidden for several centuries -- that is, until Hatsworth came along.
The Tiburon team has made strong use of the DS hardware, really maximizing the benefits of the two screens. On top, you've got Hatsworth the adventurer, platforming through stylized side-scrolling levels and doing battle with enemies using an arsenal of weapons -- his trusty blade, gun, bomb, and boomerang. On the bottom, the Puzzle Realm, full of different enemy tiles and power-ups, and including two meters -- one (on the left) a timer and the other (on the right) directly related to power-ups. With the quick tippity-tap of a button, Henry can switch between the two screens -- an integral gameplay component. But we'll get to that.
Henry is controlled classically through the environments with the D-Pad. Press a button and he'll jump into the air; press it again and he'll double-jump. He can also stomp downward onto enemies and dash forward. In our brief hands-on time with the game, the control mechanics felt very responsive.
EA promises that Hatsworth will deliver a meaty adventure for fans -- one that we can sum up in numbers: five unique worlds spanning 30 different levels (including nearly a dozen hidden stages). There are a variety of enemies and some truly obscure bosses, one of which we encountered toward the end of our demo. Henry faces off against Opera Man, a blonde-locked soprano who wails devastating song at the adventurer. The boss character's voice and music, recorded by team members for the game (and hilarious, we might add), triggers new tiles in the Puzzle World, which must be dealt with -- again, that smart synergy between the two genres. When Hatsworth successfully completes and puzzle and powers up, he can send a mob of screaming -- well, let's call them large -- ladies running for the singer.
There are all sorts of variations. Some enemies drop down as multiple tiles and therefore cannot be conventionally eliminated from the Puzzle Realm. Random power-ups appear in the Puzzle Realm. You can drop lines to give Henry temporary weapon boosts, health, and more. As you remove tiles, your right-side meter fills up and when it maxes out the first time, Hatsworth will transform into his younger, glorious self; as a result, his melee combat will be more powerful. Power-up the meter twice and the Brit will transform into a giant robot, which can very easily tear through foes and advance across levels. (Asked why Henry would suddenly don a giant mech suit and go on a rampage to the tune of heavy guitar riffs, the game's producer , Scott Walker, replied, "Why not?" Touché.) And effectively dropping lines will increase the impact of Henry's weapons, which plays into strategy. For example, you can toss a few bombs at enemies, switch over to the Puzzle Realm, clear some tiles and power-up the explosives, and when you return to the top-screen, their ka-booms will be much bigger and more damaging. Same goes for other weapons at Henry's disposal.
