contributed by David Eaton

Spider 1I purchased this game from the iTunes store as an impulse buy when I saw it late one night earlier in the week. One of the reasons for doing this was due to the very high ratings  With the exception of a very few disgruntled players (who, based on their comments, were only looking at a single aspect of the game…) almost every reviewer gave it a resounding 5 stars.

The game has two entirely different aspects to it. First of all, you play the part of a spidar and use very intuitive controls to build webs with which to trap a vast array of insects so that you can eat them. This gives you points as well as rejuvinates your ability to produce more web.  Once you have gathered enough points them a portal opens up to teleport you to the next room.

The second (and equally as important) portion of the game involves you using your spidar perspective to creep and crawl through all the rooms of the house in search for clues as to what happened to the former (human) inhabitants. If successful you will locate and be able to explore all sorts of secret areas as well as a secret room (which I have yet to find…).

I chose to play through all the rooms first to get my feel for each room and then restart the game and focus on solving the mystery of the manor as well.

The game offers a lot of replayability by not only offering 28 different rooms to explore but, once you have gotten the hang of things, offers 4 different game modes as well.  Game play is simple.  Touch the screen in the direction you want to crawl.  Swipe the screen to jump.  Tap the spider before that jump and it produces a web between the two points.  Build an enclosed area of web “framing” and the rest is filled in for you.  Another cool aspect of the game is the tracking of your ability to build an astounding 100 different kinds of webs.

One interesting aspect of the game is that it can connect to Facebook to update your status when you play the game as well as compare scores with your friends. The very first time the game did this ,I got a reply back from a cousin asking how I liked the game, so this is an effective marketing tool for thevdeveloper as well.

All in all I would have to agree and give this $2.99 game 5 stars as well.

[Editors Note:  On David's recommendation, I purchased this game as well.  I found the movement very intuitive.  Making sure I explored the entire circumference of a room opened up several hidden areas that were full of some nice bonus bugs to catch.

My suggestions would be simple.  There doesn't seem to be any way to return to a room once you have left it.  As David mentioned, each of the 28 or so levels offers clues as to what happened to the previous human occupants.  If you've been too distracted with the puzzle/adventure aspect of the game to notice the clues, starting over seems to be the only way to go back and see what you may have missed.  I'd also love the option to adjust music volume and not just turn it on or off.  Overall though, I agree with David.  This game is a keeper]