Have you ever imagined what it might be like to explore an abandoned mansion? How about combining that exploration from the dimensional aspects of a spider, with the ability to personify that spider in search of its prey? Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor HD is just such a game.
On the surface, the objective of the game is as simple as the life of a spider. Maneuver around the flora, walls and objects while feeding on insects that can be trapped in webs generated by intersecting spider silk lines. Once enough insects have been eaten, a portal appears. Jumping into the portal progresses players to the next scene until the last of the 38 levels is completed.
Each scenario uses familiar household fixtures and appliances to act as web anchor points or obstacles for the spider to overcome. Players can die if they thread too many webs and catch too few insects to regenerate the spider's web silk supply, though this is actually harder than it sounds, at least in the first half of the game.
Controlling the spider is as easy as a flick of a finger. Creating webs across objects takes a little more finesse, but becomes second nature by the sixth or seventh screen into the game. The movements are spot on, and the developers at Tiger Style Games have captured the nuances of small spider motion down to the crawl and crouch positions that players can place their on-screen creature into. Players can find secret areas and containers by comprehensively exploring nooks and crannies, the discovery of which provide additional points or objects that add to the elusive story of the abandoned mansion.
The game encourages social media bragging rights by allowing scores to be posted both on Facebook and Tiger Style's own Leaderboards. I suspect that the game may also eventually include Apple's Game Center once the iOS4 upgrade for the iPad is released later this year. The developers also encourage those who finished the game to write up their own interpretations of what happened to the Bryce family based on the clues discovered. Several gamers have already posted their stories on Tiger Style's forums.
Once the adventure portion of the game is completed, several other variants await players including Feeding Frenzy (eat as many insects as you can until time runs out) and Precision (puzzle solving with a spider's agility and size). Perhaps one of the more unique aspects of the game is the Sidekick two-player mode. Two spiders appear on screen making the game twice as fun. The iPad screen is large enough for you and a partner to flick fingers without too many 'Twister' moments of getting in the way of each other. Perhaps in a future iteration, players will be able to cooperate over a Bonjour network or Bluetooth wireless connection between either iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch players of the game. However, until that option becomes reality, the Sidekick option offers a lot of entertainment and playful side-by-side geometric web interpretations.
The graphics and sound in the game are top notch, and the ambient sound effects and music really help set the mood. Tiger offers the game's soundtrack available for free download from their website for those who enjoy getting hooked on the catchy tunes. The game can also be viewed in either landscape or portrait mode, though I found portrait mode to be most to my preferred playing style.
I do have a few very minor quibble with the game. The action and music rarely but noticeably slow down at certain times, particularly when entering a location with a lot of insects buzzing about. There's also no undo option, subjecting players to unintentionally waste silk while dealing with limitations of the iPad's touch interface. Finally, while 38 different locations sounds like a lot of gameplay, many of the screens can be finished in a few minutes, making the game breeze by. While the added game modes do provide more value, the primary draw of the title was discovering new environments that the spider had to navigate through.
With these minor criticisms aside, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor HD and found the two-player Sidekick mode especially entertaining. Any iPad owner looking for a fun single or two-player game that is easy and rewarding to play, pounce on Tiger Style's latest iPad game now!
Product: Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor HD
Developer: Tiger Style Games
Price: $4.99 US
Rating: 4/5 stars
Comments