Pros: Unique premise; varied combat, surpisingly gritty, terrific level design; shockingly overqualified voice acting
Cons: Poor camera on tarantula levels; web jump mechanic feels incomplete; fairly short with no real replay; no real story to speak of (although not THAT much of a con)
It's rare when a game peaks my interest based purely on premise, particularly when it's a premise I really shouldn't have any interest in in the first place. Normally I'll buy a game because of its general type and good reviews, although I'll also go the shallow route and buy a game because of a unique gameplay mechanic every so often. When I bought Deadly Creatures, all I knew was that it featured a scorpion and a tarantula as its two main protagonists and that it took place wholly in the desert. Part of me probably wanted to play it based solely on a childhood obsession with a scorpion encased in glass that my dad bought for me on one of his business trips out west. The thing was, I was incredibly interested in it as a souvenir, but had no continuing interest in scorpions past that, so it seems at best I was interested in a game because of a cheap tourist trinket from when I was 7. The reviews of the game seemed kind enough, as it generally received scores in the 70s, which I always take to mean a game that is either 1) overall average or 2) has a great idea but flawed execution. As this is my mindset when reading reviews, I was fully prepared for the game to have an interesting concept but ultimately fail, and yet I was pleasantly surprised when I ended up playing the game. Deadly Creatures is a unique third person action game that delivers on its promise of a game that highlights two of the most feared desert insects in a fun but mostly believable way.
The game attempts to maintain a realistic tone overall, and as such its hardly surprising that the story isn't that great. There are two men who are out digging for treasure in the desert, and at random times your insect will cross paths with these two and watch a short interaction. In a weird move, the game hired Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton to do the voice acting, which is done well but seems to be a bit of overkill given their general role in the game. The story isn't interesting enough to drive you through the game on its own, but it is really there in an attempt to give the game some type of overall structure. Each level features an "Adventure Goal" that you'll accomplish fairly naturally just by moving forward through the levels. By the end of the game, you'll begin to notice that the tarantula and the scorpion really don't have an overarching motivation for moving forward, but then again they're insects. They really don't need one.
The levels alternate between playing as the tarantula and the scorpion, although you'll find yourself repeating certain parts of levels. The key is that you navigate them in completely different ways because of the unique abilities of each insect. The tarantula is much more versatile overall in that it can climb on any wall or ceiling and additionally shoot a web that allows it to jump to certain special surfaces while the scorpion has the ability to cut through thick grass and also dig certain marked patches of ground. This is one of the few times that I have not been disappointed at all by level designers recycling levels, as instead of playing through the same level but clearing a couple obstacles in different ways, the game's level design more resembles a double helix. You'll start at different points and all of the sudden realize you're at a section of the game that you've played before, but this will only last a few moments as you leave that same area in a completely different way. I have to say that after playing a lot of games with poor level design, it was refreshing to finally play one that excelled in that area. There are a few particular sections that stand out, such as having to navigate through the interior of an abandoned truck as the tarantula. Although almost all of the levels take place outside in the desert, the locale never feels stale, in part because its perfectly fitting that these insects wouldn't play a desert level then a snow level and also because there are unique situations within the desert that you play through, such as the aforementioned truck.
The tarantula levels also falls victim to two of the games worst flaws: the web jump and the camera. Every so often a level will require you to scan around for web patches that you can zip to, and yet it's not always clear that the feature is even called for. Add to that the weird decision to only be able to web jump from arbitrary positions and you have a mechanic that still needed some work. In addition to this, you'll find yourself battling with the camera every so often just to see what surface you're trying to walk on to. You'll also find yourself disoriented often and will have to stop and get your bearing just to figure out if you're upside down or not. Since the scorpion's movement is much more restricted, you'll find yourself running into problems with the camera less often. It's a bizzare tradeoff in that the tarantula levels are better designed overall, but I found myself looking forward to the scorpion levels so I didn't have to deal with these problems.
The combat is interesting and never grows tired as the tarantula and the scorpion control completely differently and have varied move sets. The tarantula relies more on jumping around and striking the enemy once or twice before retreating while the scorpion has the ability to block, making combat more of an exercise in parrying then attacking. One of my biggest pet peeves with Wii games is when they require you to waggle the remote, and thankfully Deadly Creatures keeps it to a minimum. After I turned the remote sensitivity to maximum, I stopped really noticing that I was waggling at all, which was a godsend. Defeating enemies and completing adventure goals will give you points that will level your creature up, often giving you access to more powerful techniques. Although not all techniques are required to progress, its fun to have a few options other than the basic combo.
The game also rides a fine line between realism and fantasy that's interesting in and of itself. It's not surprising that the game takes some novelties with the creature's abilities (such as the web jump and scorpions cutting grass), but rather it's shocking how brutal and realistic the game is at times. Each creature moves incredibly realistically, with each leg operating independently. It's odd when I stop actually playing a game just to admire how a character walks, but Deadly Creatures just does it incredibly well. The combat should cause the game to be rated M, but because its insect on insect (or reptile or rodent) action, the game gets by with a T rating. Combat with the scorpion is particularly gruesome, featuring finishing moves where the scorpion either stabs the creature in the back with his stinger or through the creature's head. It's incredibly satisfying and really never gets old since you only play as him half the game and the finishing moves change depending on what enemy you're fighting.
Once you finish Deadly Creatures, there isn't much of a reason to return to the game unless you have an interest in collecting all 425 collectible grubs hidden throughout the game. But the game is fun for the 6-8 hours that it lasts and provides a memorable experience among the drudge of most games released for the Wii.
Overall Score: 7.9
Recommended Price: $12
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