The Spiderwick Chronicles (Wii)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.0 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Joe Dodson
• Reviewed on: 02/22/2008
• Updated on: 03/05/2008
• Released on: 02/05/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: The Spiderwick Chronicles (Wii) Review

The Spiderwick Chronicles will not make your inner child throw itself on the ground screaming, or cause your outer adult to turn an even more bitter shade of jade. Indeed, the game manages to relate the movie's plot effectively, has a brisk pace, and is never particularly odious to play. Then again, it's rarely outright fun, since most of the game's elements (collection, fetch quests, easy action, bad platforming) are the kinds of things you would like to escape from, not to.

The story is the main exception. It's well represented in various cutscenes pulled from the film and in the in-game conversations. The Spiderwick Chronicles is the story of a family that, after a bitter divorce, has left dad behind and moved into the estate of a crazy, dead uncle who devoted his life to chronicling magical creatures. One of the kids in the family finds his book, and a magical adventure ensues.

Well, it does in the film, anyhow. In the game, a fetch quest ensues, and then another, and another. You're constantly running about your house and the forest looking for unexciting items like hose nozzles and vinegar. And everything you eventually are asked to fetch can be inspected the first time you see it. So, if you can look at it now, you're going to have to get it later, which begs the question, "Why can't I just grab it now?" The answer, unfortunately, is nowhere to be found.

One of the first things you fetch is a baseball bat, which you use to kill wicked little critters, gangland style. This beating-things-to-death mechanic, while disturbing, is the best one in the game. It requires only one button, but as you knock the teeth out of your victims, you learn new moves. You only need to hit the attack button, and the new powerful moves just sort of happen once you learn them. The best of these is a golf swing. First, your enemy is launched into the air. From there, you can charge up a mighty swing, as time slows and the enemy falls back down into your strike zone. You then release the button to unleash the bat head, slamming your enemy, who rolls like a ground ball while squirting green blood in all directions before expiring in the dirt and spitting out all his teeth, which you then fetch.

But the real gory, Joe Pesci-inspired pleasure (remember the baseball bat scene in Casino?) is short-lived, pardon the pun. As soon as you upgrade to the metal bat, most enemies don't even live long enough for you to launch them into the air and splatter them into the ground. Even worse, you are soon put in control of a different character, who wields a squirt gun full of vinegar. Even though the concept is just as violent and sadistic (vinegar is like acid to goblins and makes their bodies dissolve while they scream), the reality isn't as fun or visceral. Another character has a fencing sword, which also lacks the brutal impact of the baseball bat. Still, one cool weapon out of three is a much better batting average than most official movie games can hope for.

Continue reading