Hi Tech Expressions was a relatively unknown video game company, and the games they made were played by very few people.
One game, Harley's Humongous Adventure, was probably one of the best platformers nobody played.
Everyone was so busy with the Marios and the Mortal Kombats that this game went noticed by very few people.
I've played it, and here is what it is all about.
You play as the titular character, Harley.
Harley is an inventor that was working on a shrinking machine, but unfortunately it goes haywire and it shrinks him down to pint size.
And now, he has to get parts for his machine in his deformed state to repair it and get him back to normal size.
The stages are pretty much every spot in and around Harley's home.
You go around in the kitchen, having to watch out for all kinds of utensils and other traps.
You go around in the bathroom, where you will actually have to swim in the bathtub and even down the drain pipe.
You even go in the backyard and have to watch out for ants that are much bigger than you are.
The game is basically a 2D platformer, but more of a strategic platformer than the run and jump platforming that Mario is so much famous for.
Harley has a jetpack that he can use to fly to higher spaces for a limited time, and you'll need to swim in a few spots, especially in the bathtub level.
Enemies in the game range from the ants to dustmites to roaches, among many other pests that are now bigger than you.
The music in this game is pretty good, among my favorites, actually.
It fits Harley rockstar/scientest image fairly well.
The title screen music is one of my favorites overall.
The sound effects do their job well, though they sound like generic sound effects and not anything out of the ordinary.
The graphics are really good too.
All in all, this is a platformer that you should definitely check out.
In my opinion, retro gamers missed out on this platformer.
It's a cool break from the Marios and Sonics and I think that it is worthy for your arsenal.