We probably won’t cover this in the magazine as it doesn’t really fall under our new remit, but Henry Hatsworth is such a great game, we feel that you need to know about it.

Henry Hatsworth In The Puzzling Adventure (to give it its full name) is a clever blending of two distinct genres. The top screen is a standard platformer tha’s been heavily influenced by a variety of popular Japanese games, while the bottom screen is a take on Bejeweled.

As Henry battles enemies, he receives coins and gems that can be used to purchase a variety of power-ups at the end of each stage. Additionally, it’s possible to juggle enemies with a variety of different attacks, which further influences the coins that they drop. Defeated enemies turn into blocks that appear on the bottom screen; which, in the tradition of many classic puzzle games, constantly inches ever skywards.

Luckily, a quick stab of the X button enables you to switch between screens and its this constant juggling (clearing enemies enhances Henry’s powers on the platforming screen) that makes Henry Hatsworth such a joy to play through.

Perhaps the greatest aspect of Henry Hatsworth is the titular character himself. He’s an utterly wonderful creation and is effectively a kindly old mustachioed duffer, resplendent in a natty bowler hat. When his power bar is full he transforms into a Livingstone like explorer – pith hats will never go out of fashion – and it’s even possible to change into a massive gold robot that comes complete with a variety of different attacks that slowly build as the adventure progresses.

Add in some utterly nutty bosses – our favourite being a doddering old wheelchair-bound gentleman who gets thrown around by a hulking nurse – and Henry Hatsworth is one on the most original DS games that’s currently available. The fact that it’s by Electronic Arts of all publishers is nothing less than astonishing.

You can’t reach certain areas as a giant metal robot so a quick tap on the bottom screen reverts you back to old man status.

One of the funniest bosses we’ve seen for quite some time. If this duo was in a Japanese platformer it would receive a 10/10.

Defeated enemies fall to the bottom screen, clear them up to boost that power bar on the right (the one on the left is the amount of time you have left on the bottom screen).

Regular readers of the forum will know that Apple’s new machine isn’t that popular with certain members. This is something of a shame as it’s a great little device that’s constantly proving itself as the portable retro machine of choice (unless of course you’re carrying around a PSP with hundreds of illegal ROMS).

Anyway, the latest classic to hit Apple’s machine is an impressive port of Wolfenstein 3D and bloody good it is too. Ported by none other than John Carmack himself, it’s incredibly polished can be controlled in a variety of different ways and looks very, very nice on the iPhone’s pin-sharp screen.

Done as a pet project (Carmack apparently coded most of it in his spare time) Wolfenstein 3D shows just what is possible on the iPhone and paves the way for future FPSs; both from id Software and other companies. Currently available on the AppStore for a paltry few quid it’s definately worth a download and is a most own if you’re a fan of the franchise.

Amazingly slick; Wolfenstein 3D plays extremely well. DOOM is apparently on the way as well. Good Times, as Justin Lee Collins might say.

A quick tap of the screen brings up the ma screen. Handy for searching  out all those secret rooms you’ve yet to find.

Although Stephen our designer enjoys all sorts of computer games, he hasn’t played as many as Stuart or myself. As a result, we’ve begun educating him on a range of classic games from the past and then using clever wordplay (or violence) to state why our chosen game is the one he should consider playing.

This week I’ve been trying to convince him that Jurassic Park on the SNES is far superior to the lousy Mega Drive conversion, while Stuart has been doing his best to state otherwise. Interestingly, Stuart’s biggest argument for loving Jurassic Park is the same that ex staff writer John Szczepaniak used to use. “You can play as a raptor!” as if that makes the world of difference.

Realising that the argument was going nowhere we put both games on so Steve could decide for himself.

First up was the Mega Drive conversion, which is actually done by the same people who worked on Vectorman 1 and 2. Despite pointing out the ropey animation, dull looking visuals and clumsy controls, Steve instantly took a shine to it because he “liked the T-Rex that appeared on the Sega screen”. Sensing Stuart would move into the kill and offer to take over gameplay duties (I was purposely playing it as badly as possible) we stuck on the SNES effort by Ocean.

“Great music,” was the first thing he said, and then he went rather quiet. I simply assumed that he was in awe of the amazing looking top down visuals and the verocity of the T-Rex attack, but he just looked at me and said “the Mega Drive version looks more fun”. Even showing him the amazing 3D bits couldn’t shake his opinion.

So there we have it. Round 1 goes to Stuart. Even if they are both wrong…

Stephen was impressed with the Mega Drive’s logo. He’s so crazy.

Jurassic Park on the Mega Drive is “funner”. Whatever that means…

Stephen liked the music in the SNES game, but that was it.

When you were a child did you ever collect football sticker books and trade your swapsies with your friends? If you did or still do (it’s amazing how many packs of High School Musical 3 stickers you can buy for a fiver) then you may well be interested in the latest premium content download from Electronic Arts.

Dubbed Ultimate Team, it allows you to collect cards (they come in little packs that you pay virtual money for) which can then be used to build your own ‘Ultimate Team’. The brilliance of it though is how well it captures the trading aspect of old, as it’s now possible to set prices online for other people to buy. It’s a great system and adds a whole new dimension to what is a surprisingly solid football game.

Gold packs have the best cards, and cost the most money. You’ll have to play a lot of matches in order to obtain enough virtual cash and unlock everything.

I’d just like to take this opportunity to reveal that Retro Gamer’s very own staff writer, Stuart Hunt is today celebrating his birthday. Currently either 27 or 28 (I can’t for the life of me remember which one it actually is) he’s become a tremendous asset to the magazine and still retains his impeccable taste in 8-bit computers. Many happy returns mate.

Stubert (as we affectionately like to call him) with his very first computer: The Amstrad CPC 464. It was the start of a beautiful affair.

Even now, Stuart can’t tear himself away from Alan Sugar’s incredible machine.

One of the questions we get most asked – aside from “Why are you covering iPhone games” is “When is Archer Maclean’s column coming back?”

The bad news is that work and family commitments means that this won’t be happening any time soon. The good news however is that he has agreed to catch up with us, meaning that you’ll be able to read all about my trip to Banbury in issue 63.

I’ve been sworn to secrecy as to why I’ll be going up there, but let’s just say that all will be revealed very, very soon.

Archer, proudly posing next to his favourite arcade game.

Here’s a more recent entry that was originally put forward for our 60th issue. Obviously what draws you in here is just how bright the darned thing is (although the dreaded CMYK, means it’s not quite as vibrant as it should be). The placement of coverlines work well and the game itself is instantly recognisable (although the name’s there just in case) but something just wasn’t quite right.

While the cover is fun, it doesn’t quite have those extra loving touches that our final covers finally have. Another thing we always have to consider is how viable a cover would be. IE, would you pick it up and buy it if you saw it staring at you on the shelf? Sadly, as much as we love Frak! it’s just not in the same league as Super Mario Kart (the game that finally made the cover).

That’s not to say that Frak! is a bad game, far from it, but when you’re trying to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, it doesn’t always pay to go with your first choice. Even if it does feature a yo-yo toting caveman.

Okay, not exactly, but after playing Peter Hirchberg’s excellent wire-frame tribute, Vector Tanks on Apple’s iPod Touch, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the actual difference.

Based on the classic Eighties coin-op the main reason why Vector Tanks is such a triumph is because of the excellent control system it uses. Two tank tracks appear on either side of the iPod Touch’s screen and by pushing these forwards or backwards it possible to move your tank in a variety of different directions.

Shells are fired with a simple press of the screen, while the are a variety of power-ups to pick up, including a dangerous Nuke that can take out multiple targets (yourself included, if you get too close).

Sporting terrific visuals and utterly immersive sound (you’ll need headphones to get the best out of it) Vektor Tanks is a truly astonishing little title that can be currently picked up on iTunes or the AppStore for less than £2.

Vector Tanks is well worth downloading if you’ve ever had a love for Atari’s Battlezone.