The Spiderwick Chronicles

Arthur Spiderwick made a most unusual discovery in the very plot of land he called home and it consumed his thoughts enough that he dedicated most of his life trying to discover its many interesting and occasionally dangerous secrets. A scholarly man with an inventive and curious streak, Arthur documented his findings in an unusual book he called “Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.” The book, you see, was magical and in the end, Arthur mysteriously vanished. This is the back-story behind the series of popular children’s books called The Spiderwick Chronicles and the basis for the recently released movie adaptation and finally the game.

The Spiderwick Chronicles for the Xbox 360 uses the movie to move the story forward via crisp and clear footage from said film and even uses the likeness of each actor featured in the movie. The game revolved around the Grace children - identical twins Jared and Simon and their sister Mallory. You see, they are distant relatives of Arthur Spiderwick and they inherit the house. It isn’t until Jared makes a rather unusual discovery in the kitchen that magical events begin to unfold right before his eyes.

Beginning with the discovery of a secret dumbwaiter that leads up to Arthur Spiderwick’s hidden study. It is there that Jared meets an annoying brownie named Thimbletack who tells him that there is an unseen world beyond what they see with their own two eyes. A big part of the game is discovering this world by exploring your surroundings inside the house as well as outside it as either Jared, his less athletic twin Simon and their sister who is a fencing enthusiast. Using Arthur’s Field Guide, you find a way to “see” the otherworldly creatures such as Sprites, goblins, trolls and ogres.

Aside from freely exploring the interior of the Spiderwick home, you’ll be able to move about in the garden and beyond the estate’s main gates. It is outside that the three children not only discover their talents but also the power of Sprites and how to eliminate goblins. You’ll encounter many a Sprite flying around like insects and thanks to a bug-catcher net, you’re able to catch them. Catching a Sprite opens up a mini-game that has you moving a paintbrush along an empty page from the Field Guide in order for you to quickly reveal the image the particular Sprite you just caught. Successfully revealing the image will grant you the Sprite’s individual powers. For instance, the Will-O-the-Wisp Sprite sends that Sprite out to distract goblins while the Pondskater Sprite grants you temporary invulnerability.

Combat is actually handled well in this game and each character’s ability to instantly target the nearest threat makes fighting off waves of enemies a lot smoother and less clunky than the combat seen in The Golden Compass. Here, Jared is the powerhouse with his bat and Mallory is the stylish fighter with her fencing foil. The weakest fighter is Simon with his spray gun and thankfully, you don’t have to play him all that much since the game transitions nicely between the characters but gives Jared more preference. You’ll be grateful for the solid combat controls since you’ll be facing off against goblins but also huge trolls that will give chase. If a goblin does manage to get the upper hand, you’ll be able to shake it off with the left thumb stick.

There are also a number of puzzles in the game and, for the most part, most of them are nicely challenging while the earlier ones are just plain simple. The easier puzzles consist of gathering the right items or elements to make an item of great importance while the more challenging ones have you attempting to decipher riddles like the one that has you using certain Sprites to open a hidden path. Unfortunately, there are also some weak aspects to the game such as taking control of the repellant Thumbletack. Yes, it’s good to have yet another gameplay element that adds more variety to the game but the character is way too annoying and he moves unsteadily. If you didn’t like him in the movies, you will absolutely hate him in the game. The game also contains too many load screens and you have to unlock the multiplayer mode by completing certain chapters in the single-player mode.

Graphically, The Spiderwick Chronicles is neither a beautiful game nor is an eyesore. For the most part, the visuals looks as though they belong on the original Xbox but then again there are times when the visuals really sparkle and everything from characters to backgrounds appear better. The cut scenes use footage from the film and the footage looks like it comes from a Blu-ray DVD. What really shines, however, are the visual effects. The particle effects and interesting lighting effects are impressive.

The sound is also something of a mixed bag thanks to the inconsistency in the voice acting. At times the children’s voices sound top notch and then there are a number of moments when their performance sound phoned in or rushed. Still, these are minor complaints seeing as the Robb Mills musical compositions are phenomenal and thus making the score a highlight. The sound effects are also done well so you will want to play this game on a good sound system.

In the end, The Spiderwick Chronicles is actually quite entertaining and the variety in gameplay adds a nice touch to an adventure game that’s not perfect but not bad either. In fact, there are a number of fun levels and even the combat can be entertaining. There are a few elements that aren’t as finely polished as other aspects of the game but they don’t get in the way of the things that actually work well for t his movie licensed game. Fans of the series and film will have fun with this one so give this game a try or at least a rental.

Gameplay: 7.0
The game’s chapters are short but sweet and there is no shortage of different things to see and do in this game. Various aspects of the game, such as the Sprites and puzzles, work well but others (repainting the same Sprites all over again) just grow too frustrating. Oh, and Thimbletack’s levels are as annoying as the character itself. 

Graphics: 8.0
Visually, there are times when the game looks like an excellent original Xbox game and then there are times when the graphics are crisp and true to the Xbox 360. At least the movie clips are delightfully sharp and the special effects light up the screen nicely.

Sound: 8.5
The voice acting can go from decent to pretty bad throughout the game but what remains to be truly impressive is the absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. Aside from the beautiful score are the nicely done sound effects that are wonderfully detailed.

Difficulty: Medium
Combat can get pretty challenging at times even with upgraded weapons and Sprites to aid you so expect to clobber your fair share of goblins and trolls. Older gamers will appreciate the more challenging puzzles while some younger gamers might be stuck in certain ones. Still, there is nothing here that will have you too stumped for very long.

Concept: 7.5
The game makes good use of the movie license so there are a number of things gamers will quickly identify while playing the game. There are some inventive uses for the Sprites and even capturing them is a mini-game. Different characters offer different experiences … although in Thimbletack’s case it’s not a very good experience. There’s multiplayer but you have to unlock it by completing the single-player portion.

Multiplayer: 6.0
Why you have to go through the single-player game to unlock the game’s weak multiplayer mode is beyond me but at least there is a multiplayer mode. Your best bet is to unlock co-op if you want to replay the game with a friend.

Overall: 7.0
The Spiderwick Chronicles for the Xbox 360 is an entertaining adventure game with just enough variety and inventive puzzles to please fans of the movie or books. There are certainly a few rough spots here and there and the visuals are not as eye-catching as they should be but the game has a number of fun moments that should not be missed by fans of the series.