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Plunge deep into a fantasy world full of mystical creatures when you join the Grace children on their quest to discover the secrets of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Based on Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Films’ movie adaptation of the best-selling book series, the video game lets players take on the roles of Jared, Simon and Mallory Grace as they enter the hidden world of the unseen. Play as all three Grace siblings, each with unique abilities, along with Thimbletack the Brownie, whose small size allows players to discover the inner passages of the enchanted Spiderwick home.

Genre: Adventure

Publisher: Sierra

Developer: Stormfront Studios

Online Play:

Local Play:

February 13, 2008 –
Gamers should always approach licensed games with caution. More often than not, the tie-in tries to coast on the brand name rather than provide a fun gaming experience. I’m happy to report that The Spiderwick Chronicles sidesteps this pitfall and offers a surprisingly enjoyable adventure for the younger gamer. It immerses the player in a lighthearted, fantasy world filled with an impressive amount of mythical creatures. It’s not perfect, and more experienced players will likely grow bored with it before the end, but adolescent adventurers will likely be engrossed with Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.

The Chronicles were originally a best-selling children’s book series that is now being released as a feature film this week. Of course, with children’s movies come videogame tie-ins. The titular Chronicles are an encyclopedia of the fantasy world that exists all around us. Arthur Spiderwick discovered this hidden dimension many years ago and kept a journal of his discoveries. Players take control of three siblings when they discover the field guide after moving into Spiderwick’s old mansion.

Your Great Uncle Spiderwick left plenty of clues to help you along your journey.The first thing you’ll notice is that the game is very dark. The game will prompt you to adjust the brightness right off the bat, but I played every version of Spiderwick on several TVs and every time I had to turn the brightness all the way up.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. There are tons and tons of items to find, Sprites to catch, and curious areas to check. The game does a good job of engaging the player, keeping them from getting bored, and enticing them with what might be waiting around the next corner. Puzzles start out easy, but eventually they provide a nice little challenge. One aspect of gameplay that is a little obnoxious, though, is that you can’t pick up an item until the game decides it is time. You may examine an item, then learn how to use it, and have to backtrack to go pick it up. The game lacks an inventory system.

Combat is mostly button-mashing, but it’s pretty satisfying smashing in a goblin’s skull with a metal baseball bat. As you defeat enemies you’ll pick up goblin teeth, which (for some reason or another) unlock new attacks. Of course, these usually only grant you another press of the A button, but there are a few cool abilities to be unlocked. Jared, the sibling you begin playing as, has a rather awesome “launcher” attack that lets him hit goblin home runs.

Finding Sprites will grant you magical abilities such as healing, super speed, or super strength. Catching them with your Sprite Net will initiate a mini-game where you have to “water color” an image of the fairy. This would get tedious were it not for the fact that, once you catch enough of a certain kind, you are freed from the need to paint their portrait.

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February 13, 2008 –
Gamers should always approach licensed games with caution. More often than not, the tie-in tries to coast on the brand name rather than provide a fun gaming experience. I’m happy to report that The Spiderwick Chronicles sidesteps this pitfall and offers a surprisingly enjoyable adventure for the younger gamer. It immerses the player in a lighthearted, fantasy world filled with an impressive amount of mythical creatures. It’s not perfect, and more experienced players will likely grow bored with it before the end, but adolescent adventurers will likely be engrossed with Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.

The Chronicles were originally a best-selling children’s book series that is now being released as a feature film this week. Of course, with children’s movies come videogame tie-ins. The titular Chronicles are an encyclopedia of the fantasy world that exists all around us. Arthur Spiderwick discovered this hidden dimension many years ago and kept a journal of his discoveries. Players take control of three siblings when they discover the field guide after moving into Spiderwick’s old mansion.

Your Great Uncle Spiderwick left plenty of clues to help you along your journey.The first thing you’ll notice is that the game is very dark. The game will prompt you to adjust the brightness right off the bat, but I played every version of Spiderwick on several TVs and every time I had to turn the brightness all the way up.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. There are tons and tons of items to find, Sprites to catch, and curious areas to check. The game does a good job of engaging the player, keeping them from getting bored, and enticing them with what might be waiting around the next corner. Puzzles start out easy, but eventually they provide a nice little challenge. One aspect of gameplay that is a little obnoxious, though, is that you can’t pick up an item until the game decides it is time. You may examine an item, then learn how to use it, and have to backtrack to go pick it up. The game lacks an inventory system.

Combat is mostly button-mashing, but it’s pretty satisfying smashing in a goblin’s skull with a metal baseball bat. As you defeat enemies you’ll pick up goblin teeth, which (for some reason or another) unlock new attacks. Of course, these usually only grant you another press of the A button, but there are a few cool abilities to be unlocked. Jared, the sibling you begin playing as, has a rather awesome “launcher” attack that lets him hit goblin home runs.

Finding Sprites will grant you magical abilities such as healing, super speed, or super strength. Catching them with your Sprite Net will initiate a mini-game where you have to “water color” an image of the fairy. This would get tedious were it not for the fact that, once you catch enough of a certain kind, you are freed from the need to paint their portrait.

• 1
• 2
• Next
  

February 13, 2008 –
Gamers should always approach licensed games with caution. More often than not, the tie-in tries to coast on the brand name rather than provide a fun gaming experience. I’m happy to report that The Spiderwick Chronicles sidesteps this pitfall and offers a surprisingly enjoyable adventure for the younger gamer. It immerses the player in a lighthearted, fantasy world filled with an impressive amount of mythical creatures. It’s not perfect, and more experienced players will likely grow bored with it before the end, but adolescent adventurers will likely be engrossed with Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.

The Chronicles were originally a best-selling children’s book series that is now being released as a feature film this week. Of course, with children’s movies come videogame tie-ins. The titular Chronicles are an encyclopedia of the fantasy world that exists all around us. Arthur Spiderwick discovered this hidden dimension many years ago and kept a journal of his discoveries. Players take control of three siblings when they discover the field guide after moving into Spiderwick’s old mansion.

Your Great Uncle Spiderwick left plenty of clues to help you along your journey.The first thing you’ll notice is that the game is very dark. The game will prompt you to adjust the brightness right off the bat, but I played every version of Spiderwick on several TVs and every time I had to turn the brightness all the way up.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. There are tons and tons of items to find, Sprites to catch, and curious areas to check. The game does a good job of engaging the player, keeping them from getting bored, and enticing them with what might be waiting around the next corner. Puzzles start out easy, but eventually they provide a nice little challenge. One aspect of gameplay that is a little obnoxious, though, is that you can’t pick up an item until the game decides it is time. You may examine an item, then learn how to use it, and have to backtrack to go pick it up. The game lacks an inventory system.

Combat is mostly button-mashing, but it’s pretty satisfying smashing in a goblin’s skull with a metal baseball bat. As you defeat enemies you’ll pick up goblin teeth, which (for some reason or another) unlock new attacks. Of course, these usually only grant you another press of the A button, but there are a few cool abilities to be unlocked. Jared, the sibling you begin playing as, has a rather awesome “launcher” attack that lets him hit goblin home runs.

Finding Sprites will grant you magical abilities such as healing, super speed, or super strength. Catching them with your Sprite Net will initiate a mini-game where you have to “water color” an image of the fairy. This would get tedious were it not for the fact that, once you catch enough of a certain kind, you are freed from the need to paint their portrait.

• 1
• 2
• Next