It’s been almost a year since we reviewed Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, but that didn’t mean we weren’t anticipating the game’s release for the iPad. Indeed, this edition of the game transfers the excellent touch controls over but this time you have a much larger space in which to play, making web planning much much easier. It’s safe to say that we breezed through the game; even if we knew the secret passageways from the original, we didn’t get a chance to play through the extra 10 levels from the 1.1 update.

The game engine is largely unchanged from the original game, and other than the ability to play in portrait mode the core of the game remains the same. We were hoping for a user interface that better fitted the iPad; the end level statistics are still displayed in a minuscule box and the menu system could use a little more work, but happily it doesn’t affect the gameplay which is as good as ever.

What is new this time around is the co-operative play which you can get a glimpse of in the video above; you can earn points for working together to spin webs and you must share your food too so that both of you can pass the level alive. The controls work fairly well although you may find yourselves getting in each others way a lot. Solo play is therefore still the best way to play Spider.

If you can do without the multiplayer, the original game is still your best bet. It has all the content from this edition and is a bit cheaper too; but on the other hand if you loved the game on your iPhone and wouldn’t mind it for your iPad too, Spider: Bryce Manor HD takes the game to the next level and looks positively gorgeous on the large screen. Whichever you choose you can’t go wrong with this fantastic game from Tiger Style.

This review covers content that’s exclusive to the iPad version; you can catch further detail on the gameplay from our initial review.

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