The Spiderwick Chronicles

With the massive technological leaps and bounds the mobile format has enjoyed in recent years, the micro-screen has become an ideal repository for the gameplay styles computers and consoles have seemingly outgrown. The adventure game is a perfect example. Although we do still see the genre's descendants in the shape of massive, roaming, photo realistic 3-D universes, the essence of the adventure game has been gradually disappearing.

The Spiderwick Chronicles, despite being a film licence (the traditional death knell of a game development), resurrects not only the graphic adventure genre, but the classic 8-bit console style. Although this might be a nostalgic treat for some aging gamers, however, others might find its sedate pace and somewhat passionless gameplay a little too dry to really make the mobile cut.

The movie is doing great business, mind you, so once the visual mythology really kicks in we predict a more enthusiastic uptake on appropriately licensed media like this game. And, for a licence, it does an uncharacteristically decent job of turning Holly Black's children's stories into interactive entertainment. (As a side note, it's worth mentioning that The Spiderwick Chronicles should also be approached in the manner it was intended – for children.)

The isometric graphics are the first and foremost link to the 8-bit adventures of old, built on the unshakable groundwork of classic console games like Legend of Zelda and, more recently, Pokémon.

The story picks up right on the inciting incident as the Grace family moves into the eponymous Spiderwick Estate and uncovers the hidden world of magic and fairies that dwells within. This immediate and no nonsense jump into the plot is very welcome; deftly avoiding the often tedious introductory build-up that hampers a lot of fantasy yarns, and should help to capture the imagination of younger players.

Without wanting to ruin the essential story events (which form the crux of a good adventure), we'll skip straight to the gameplay. Movement is performed as expected, and melds with the isometric viewpoint very nicely.

And, as per the doctrines of classic adventuring, The Spiderwick Chronicles soon falls into the established gameplay mechanics of examining the expansive environments, searching everything and using things on other things. It sounds a tad trite when summarised so concisely, but that's not the case at all.

The Spiderwick Estate is a perfect setting for an adventure such as this, filled as it is with hidden passages, a warren of rooms and suitably treacherous surroundings. The fundamental puzzles of the game mechanics are woven into the story and environments quite expertly, and it rarely feels as though you're stumbling from one task to the next.

Alternating between the four Grace children is another core part of the game's playability. Each has their own talents, and swapping between them is a simple yet absorbing expansion that lifts the game beyong the typical adventure expectations. A limited inventory makes for just enough cerebral involvement when deciphering the puzzles, and learning the surroundings is just as vital as it should be.

Despite the solid and enjoyable foundations, there does feel to be a fair amount of 'developer pandering' going on. While the gameplay problems (such as finding the components to make a lamp so you can investigate a darkened area) are engaging enough, the meat of the plot is taken away from your control – presumably in an attempt to ensure even the youngest and laziest of players can find their way through the storyline.

Building a lamp is a fitting and fathomable task that falls entirely to the player to achieve, but important events are essentially brushed over by a divisive exclamation from a system-controlled character.

You might be feeling a distinct satisfaction at having found a hidden room, built a lamp, ascended in a dumbwaiter to another hidden lair and found a secret, locked chest all of their own volition, when a computer-controlled character will suddenly and randomly pronounce: "People sometimes leave keys lying around in boxes, just like these surrounding us now." Lo and behold, a cursory examination of the previously empty boxes reveals a key for the locked chest. Boo!

This rather unforgivable trend of deus ex machina plot devices occur throughout and, to some degree, spoil the explorative nature of The Spiderwick Chronicles before it even begins. The size and variety of the game can't otherwise be faulted, however, and anyone looking for a game that will involve a younger player in considerable detail, rejuvenate the old 8-bit adventure game or expand their Spiderwick collection will not be disappointed.

Those who enjoy a good challenge, however, will definitely baulk at the ham-fisted plot development.