Arachnadoodle, an addictive new game from Connect2Media that is drawing comparisons to other iDevice heavyweights like Peggle and Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor, was recently released in the app store. With simple controls, a great cartoonish look, and fun game elements, Arachnadoodle is sure to excite gamers of all ages.

Arachnadoodle contains 32 exciting levels, each representing a different room in a house. Each room if full of pegs that our spider friend, Boris, must use to create a web for catching flies. He accomplishes this by flinging himself around the room. Any knobs that he comes into contact with will be connected by a web. Often times, a single jump will result in a web string connecting 10 or more knobs, as Boris bounces off of walls and the ceiling before returning to the floor. You have 10 leaps with which to connect all of the pegs. Hitting the last peg initiates the same slo-mo, fireworks-blasting effect that you see in Peggle, which is highly satisfying. If you fail to connect every peg, you will still score points for the level, but you cannot move on to the next. When you’ve used up your leaps or connected all of the pegs, a swarm of flies will pass through the level. Depending on the strength of your web, you will catch a number of flies that will increase your score dramatically. Creating an intricate web full of connections is a surefire way to catch the most flies.

Most levels contain a smattering of bonuses and obstacles that can boost your score or make it more difficult to complete the level. Score Flies are small bugs that give you point bonuses or extra leaps. The Deaths Head Bug explodes if hit, destroying any webs in a wide-reaching radius around it. This bug is really frustrating and is often best to purposely explode first thing so that you can play the level without having to worry about it. Spark Flies cause you a shock that prevents further web creation on that leap. Any furniture in the foreground (darker colored) causes Boris to stick to it, effectively ending the leap and forcing your next turn to start from that spot, such as the side of a dresser or a blade of a ceiling fan. Touching any lights will also fry Boris, so avoid them. There are a couple of objects that can help or hurt you, depending on the situation. Elastic Pins, recognizable by their yellow color, will change your trajectory, sending you in a different direction than you intended. This might send you toward more pegs or it could launch you toward a dangerous obstacle. Bumpers will also cause you to change your direction, which could be good or bad.

Graphically, Boris and his fun house have a terrific hand-drawn look about it. The bugs show some nice animation, and the physics of Boris’ leaps seem pretty spot-on. The boards are brightly colored and look like something a budding cartoonist would draw. Boris himself has a bit of a Steve Buscemi thing going on, which is pretty comical. The game screen indicates the number of leaps left, the strength of your current web in pie graph form, your level high score, your current score, and the number of unconnected pegs remaining. The soundtrack is decent, but the sound effects are great, with funny sounds when Boris hits the pegs and a lot of fanfare for all of the different bonuses he earns. Completing a level sparks Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries, which is a great touch. Music can be played from your own library if you choose, though we had no issue with the soundtrack. The controls are touch-based and very simple to use. Touch the screen and drag your finger to set the direction of your launch. The farther you drag your finger, the more powerful the leap. Release your finger to send Boris flying. Set the power at a lower level for a finesse shot. At times, our finger does block our view of the arrow, making it difficult to gauge the strength of our shot.

Arachnadoodle uses OpenFeint for leaderboards (each level has its own) and achievements (only 4, but still something to shoot for). Replayability is pretty good, mostly due to the addictiveness of this type of game. Unlike Peggle, there is a greater level of skill and little chance involved in this game. Our gripes are relatively minor. There is no restart button. Restarting a level requires exiting from the level and choosing the level from the level select screen again. This is slightly annoying and unnecessary. The instruction screen is also lousy, with wiggling text that is difficult to read and some messed up scrolling that sends the lengthy explanation straight to the top or bottom unless you touch the screen juuuuuuust right. Also, while 32 levels seems like an adequate amount, they go pretty fast. The whole game can easily be completed in a couple of hours. We’d love to see more levels added in the future. Launching at a sale price of $0.99, which seems very fair for the experience, Arachnadoodle is a solid 4-Dimple game that has ensnared our heart in its web.

Arachnadoddle gets our AppSmile 4-Dimple rating: