Hamilton’s Great Adventure – From Idea to Finished Product

Greetings gurkhas, globetrotters and ghouls!

Hamilton’s Great Adventure is out today on PSN and we at Fatshark have arrived to set the record straight and answer all your questions. Thank the Elder Gods!

Hamilton’s Great Adventure is what we would like to call a puzzle adventure game; it features puzzle-based core mechanics in an adventurous context and setting. Hamilton has a story to tell, and the twists and turns of his story frame and permeate the gameplay, hopefully creating a complete experience for you all to partake in.

The player is tasked with guiding Ernest Hamilton and his bird companion Sasha through their tantalizing travels across the world. Locations include the jungles of South America, deserts of Egypt, mountaintops of Himalaya and a mysterious lost continent.

Hamilton’s Great Adventure can be played either single player (switching between the characters) or co-op. The gameplay is based on square tiles, on which Hamilton runs around, chasing keys and treasures while avoiding traps and enemies. Sasha soars overhead or beneath, collecting the out of reach stuff for a vertically challenged (but grateful) Hamilton.

The basic idea and game mechanic is very simple; Hamilton must find the golden key and then head for the exit. A pretty straightforward deal that quickly gets a little more complicated, like most things in life…

The tiles are a challenge in themselves. Many tiles collapse once Hamilton has traversed them, stopping any attempt at backtracking cold. Among the many things that stands between Hamilton and the exit, the player will find traps, trampolines, and elevators and the switches and levers to activate them. There’s locked doors that need silver keys and mobile enemies stalking the tiles, looking to to foil Hamilton and Sasha.

But all is not toil and risk. There are rewards too, namely the treasures that are strewn across the levels. Coins, jewels and gems add to the players score, affecting the rating for the level. Collect all treasure to receive the highest rating, but fear not, a high rating is not needed to progress to the next level. As long the player reaches the exit he is good to go.

Hamilton and Sasha have different abilities and mechanics. Hamilton, being restricted to using his stumpy little legs, is the one who walks on the actual tiles, and collects items like keys and treasure. If Hamilton is bumped off a tile by someone or something, he fails the level and must start again (don’t worry, restarting is quick and easy). During the adventure, Hamilton will come across Gadgets, which are special power-ups. Gadgets are fuelled by mystic dust which is found floating in the air, only reachable by Sasha.

Hamilton’s feathery friend Sasha can, as mentioned above, fly to places legwork can’t reach. Sasha is tasked with finding levers and switches and collecting mystic dust, but the work of this winged wonder does not end there. Using a loud screech, Sasha can use her Taunt ability to temporarily catch the attention of enemies, effectively helping Hamilton to avoid being bumped off the tiles.

That brings us nicely along to the enemies, as there are forces not keen on Hamilton and Sasha succeeding in their adventure. Our dynamic duo will encounter both walking and flying enemies in different shapes and forms. Most notable is the Agent, a sneaky and insidious operative moving along tiles just like Hamilton. For every step Hamilton takes, the Agent responds the same.

We hope this little presentation has whet your appetite. Don’t forget: A free demo will also be downloadable via PSN later today.