Everyone must have heard of Horrid Henry... the little imp with a tendency to wind up his parents until they cry... the little chap who makes Dennis the Menace look like an angel... the scruffy haired rogue who would test the patience of a saint...
but if you've never heard of him then allow me to introduce you.

Henry is a cartoon character, created by Francesca Simon, who usually appears on the CITV channel but has also appeared in many books, including some audio ones, and has even appeared in live shows, (although not as a cartoon character).
He is a pre-teen boy with a bit of a temper and an urge to get everything his own way, which, leads to many, many horrid scenarios, hence the name 'Horrid Henry'.

The scruffy haired lad is the eldest of two boys in the family and is often blamed for anything that goes wrong in the house, especially as his younger brother is the tidy and rather intelligent perfect Peter.
His parents are constantly trying to keep him under control but often fail as he seems to take his bad temper and slightly spoilt nature out on his well behaved younger brother, perfect Peter.

Henry hates school as much as any other child and is constantly causing trouble there as well as at home. In fact he causes trouble where ever he goes when he doesn't want to be there.
He nemesis, apart from his brother, Perfect Peter, is his neighbour Moody Margaret, who tends to stand up to Henry and gives as good as she gets.

So, basically, Henry is your typical ten year old boy who wants everything their own way, kicking off when someone says the word NO to them....

But, it is not actually Henry I want to talk about here, well it is in a way, I want to tell you about a branch off from the Horrid Henry cartoon character that appears on the small screen, apart from the many books, of course. I want to tell you about a cracking little game which is for the DS light, ( as well as many other formats of course)

The Horrid Henry game I want to tell you about is Horrid Henry, Mission of Mischief, which, as I said, is for the DS light.

The game itself is in a platform format where you take on the role as the little imp, running amok throughout his house, his garden, moody Margaret's house and garden and even the school.

** GAME INCLUDES...

* Several difficulty levels
* Three file options, allowing three people to play there own game
* Bonus levels which need unlocking as you go along.
* Horrid Henry's favourite armoury, including super-soaker water pistols, scary spiders, loads of green slimy 'goo' and Henry's most favourite stink bombs.
* 40 levels of fun and excitement with 8 bonus levels to unlock

** THE GAME ITSELF...

The first few levels are quite easy and seem to ease you into the game, allowing you to get the hang of the simple to use controls, in fact, the controls and the way to do it are plastered all over the screen as you go along through the first few levels.
Then, as you proceed further into the game, it starts to get a little harder as the quest get more awkward and the time gets shorter.

When you do manage to get through a level the next level will be unlocked, and you may even be awarded a medal for doing so, be it bronze, silver or even gold, (although don't expect a ceremonial parade through your local town if you do get a gold).

The levels consists of several scenes, you may be inside the house or inside the garden, maybe inside a single room as you try and get rid of moody Margaret by throwing 'goo' at her. There are levels where you're inside and outside the house, nipping into next doors garden or even their house. And in some levels you're inside the school, trying to avoid the school monitors as they patrol the corridors trying to stop you from achieving your goal.

In the game you don't die, so to speak, you simply run out of time and have to start all over again. You do have a life source, which dwindles when you 'bump' into certain things, but it can be re-built if you come across a heart in a circle, thus giving you full life source again.
Other things to collect are 'goo', which can be found in the form of a bucket, stink bombs, which, in some levels, can be found in the form of little bottles and much, much more, each level holding a different adventure for Henry and his horrid ways.

Then there are the bonus levels which are great fun as you, (Henry as a dinosaur), try to catch Peter so as to gobble him up. Each level getting a little trickier as more obstacles are placed in your way, the obstacles being a puddle, a lamppost and a red pillar box. It may sound simple but you have to use you skill and judgement to avoid these obstacles in order to catch Perfect Peter.


** MY OPINION....

When my youngest daughter, who simply loves Horrid Henry and is addicted to the cartoon show, book and everything else she can get her hands on, asked for the game for her DS I shopped around and found it for a great price indeed.
So, with her happy smile, which always pleases me no end, she started playing the game and was soon addicted to it, having to be dragged away from it when it was meal time, or even bed time.
She has several games for her DS, all which she has asked for, but she really became hooked to this one the instant she slotted it into the DS, so it took me quite a while to actually get the game of her so that I could have a go myself, ( some kids are so selfish aren't they?).
So, once I got the game off her, after she'd gone to bed one night, I soon understood why she had become so addicted to it in such a short time.
Once I understood the controls, via a quick read of the instruction booklet and a bit of trial and error, I was away in the game, giving it all I could just so I could try and beat my daughters scores, (childish I know but you haven't met her and she's a right competitive one).
I was soon as addicted to the game as my daughter had become, getting slightly annoyed when the time ran out or when moody Margaret caught up with my character, sending me back to square one.
I found the levels to be quite good, somewhat adventurous and far from boring as Henry is given the many quest of finding certain objects which are hidden in and around the gardens and houses, albeit Henry's of his neighbour Margaret.

As I continued to complete level after level, sometimes taking a few attempts to complete, I was soon properly hooked, trying my best to complete the next level, even trying to get at least a bronze medal for my troubles, although really going for gold so that I can show off to my youngest daughter. (but when i did that the first time she did delete my account, so, being a mature person, I started again from the beginning after deleting her account).

It is easy enough to play the game, the controls being straight forward, the missions getting a little trickier each level.
The mission are different each time, some times you may be asked to collect 20 stink bombs and drop them all into Margaret's tree house, or maybe escort Peter to a certain room without him becoming scared of anything, ( this one may sound easy but believe me it's not, I mean, Peter is scared of everything, even his own escaping wind for goodness sake).
Other missions may include simply getting rid of birds or robots by throwing 'goo' at them, although when I say simply I don't mean that simply. Or even just trying to avoid dad as if he catches you the games over.
There are many missions to be played and many ways to go about completing them, but all there own pitfalls and little tricks to get through them.

The game is played using both screens, top and bottom, in a platform method, running around like a mad boy, jumping onto bookshelves or bouncing on beds to reach higher units, even bouncing around from tree to tree in the garden, collecting those very important objects. Opening cupboards to find prizes or weapons, avoiding Margaret, the school corridor monitors and even dad so as to complete the mission before the time runs out.

I do get a little annoyed in some missions, especially when I'm one item short of finishing and the time runs out just when I can see the wanted item in sight, or when I, (as Henry of course) run around a corner and straight into Dad. Stuff like that really does winds me up, (I'm so mature aren't I?).

It may be a game aimed at the younger generation but once I started playing it I was addicted, trying to get one more level unlocked so that I could get a little further into the game, opening up more of the fun as Henry fought against the authority of his parents and school teachers to get what he wants.
The game tries to mimic the cartoon as best it can, doing a brilliant job in fact, with Henry being his horrid self as he battles against his many foes to achieve his goal.

In all, it is a fantastic, harmless game for all to enjoy. I only wish that my daughter would stop playing it so often so that I could have a few more goes on it.
If you , or your kids like Horrid Henry then I guarantee that you'll love this game and soon be as addicted as I became.

If you do want to grab the game then you can get it for around £17.00 from amazon, but do shop around as you might just get a bargain, although for £17 you'll still get hours and hours of fun.