Joystiq hands-on: Deadly Creatures (Wii)
by Zack Stern 
{ Apr 5th 2008 at 4:30PM }
Deadly Creatures has both kinds of critters: creepies and crawlies. In this Wii action/adventure, gamers swap between a scorpion and tarantula, moving through claustrophobic settings. I played an in-development version at a recent THQ event, and the title has an interesting concept, but I wasn't hooked by the limited area I explored. Hopefully the plot and fun-sounding other settings will change my opinion with the game's Fall release.In the beginning of the game, players see the aftermath of a man wildly claiming that a scorpion and tarantula blew up a gas station. Your control flashes back a day before that event, and the game's story leads up to that moment.
Developers compared Deadly Creatures to Bad Mojo, but the connection was loose in the area I played. Bad Mojo appealed to me because players controlled a cockroach through human areas, but my scorpion-character demo was completely underground.
Gallery: Deadly Creatures (Wii)
I scurried around with the control-stick, used trigger buttons with each hand to fire the left and right pincers, and flicked the Wiimote to swing the tail. I uncovered a few new techniques as I progressed, like dog-paddling the controllers to dig. The underground world was inhabited by pill bugs and other weak foes, but eventually another scorpion attacked. A gila monster charged in as the area boss. Those battles took longer, requiring more dodging and blocking.
The connected tunnels in the demo felt drab, giving a sense of thow the game was controlled but not doing much for my sense of the setting. But some of the underground effects held my interest, like a long, curved root that bent my perception of "up" and "down."
The areas that I didn't play sound promising. On the way to the gas station, the scorpion and tarantula move though weeds, a desert, a junkyard, pipes and plumbing areas, and eventually outside and inside human dwellings. Gamers alternate between one or the other creature depending on the area, and the story is supposed to cohesively combine their experiences.
I look forward to seeing more of Deadly Creatures, since it has a fairly unique concept. Hopefully the additional, creative-sounding areas will help the game find its mojo.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Superstar90 @ Apr 5th 2008 4:42PM
Lol, I always fall for these preview/hands-on things. I remember buying Escape from Bug Island because some previewers said it was amazing. I think for these few THQ games that are being previewed and sound interesting, I'm gonna wait for more.
Geist @ Apr 5th 2008 5:18PM
Never trust previews. Generally speaking they're written with a bit of a positive spin, because the game always has potential at that point.
WillTheSecond @ Apr 5th 2008 5:24PM
I always thought Escape From Bug Island looked rubbish, but that was just me.
Anyway, this, Force Unleashed, Okami, De Blob and Sky Crawlers look like some pretty solid third party efforts for Wii, at last (okay, except MOH: Heroes 2, but that was Gearbox).
ChooChooCharlie (Brawl: 1504-5357-9285) @ Apr 5th 2008 6:05PM
The concept kind of reminds me of Spider for PS1.
Anyone else remember that game?
RobLink (McElroy Defence Force) @ Apr 5th 2008 6:17PM
I do now! Thanks for the awesome memories you just brought back!
Koopaknight29 - (Nintendo Loyalist) @ Apr 6th 2008 8:17PM
So THATS the game I remember playing on a PS1 demo station long time ago... Heh, good times.
(Off topic: Does anyone here remember playing 'Jumping Flash' for the PS1?)
I remember reading this in a Nintendo Power mag a bit back. Certainly an interesting concept. I'll keep an eye on this for sure.
Mr Khan @ Apr 5th 2008 6:19PM
Sans Jaggies (as always), those screens look pretty good
It's a unique idea, whatever it is, but i'd like to see a video to pass further preliminary judgement
ChooChooCharlie (Brawl: 1504-5357-9285) @ Apr 5th 2008 6:22PM
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11rTWv1SXYc
Gameplay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaYSctVb50
Mr Khan @ Apr 5th 2008 6:34PM
hmm. looks a bit slow-paced
thanks
t_m @ Apr 5th 2008 9:58PM
Is it only on my browser that the joystiq gallery squashes these pics up, and to the wrong aspect ratio to boot?
If you view the original images they are bigger and much less jaggy. (though to be honest Wii games always look much worse in screenshots than on a tv)
Max Headroom @ Apr 5th 2008 10:44PM
That game looks pretty brutal. And with its focus on exploring natural environments, it reminds me of a very twisted and violent version of Endless Ocean.
JAMMAN YO @ Apr 7th 2008 1:10PM
rather play MHF2