A flawed but unique experience that doesn't need to be stomped on.
Story: 7/10 It takes place out in the desert where to men are searching for buried treasure. The game pulls you in with a nice narrative in the beginning and great voice acting by Billy Bob thorton and Dennis Hopper. The truth is though the story has nothing to do with bugs, you just happen to peak in on their conversations every now and then. The time you do peak in, youll find some very funny dialogue that makes up for the lack of encounters with the 2 humans. It also has a darker tone which nice from the usual kid friendly game on the wii. Overall its a nice story but it feels more like a bonus.
Gameplay 8/10: The gameplay is what i would call a true 3d experience. Its a linear path but one that will have you crawling on the walls, upside down and several different objects in the environments. You play as either a scorpion or a tarantula. You collect grubs and leaf crickets for unlockables and health upgrades as you progress from the beginning to the end but the main focus is on the combat. Both characters have a unique set of moves that take advantage of the creature itself. The spider has webs, the scorpion has his tail and the ability to dig at some point and motion controls are only used when necessary so you can kill creatures using the A and B buttons. In my opinion the scorpion is superior with his ability to have finishing moves. You do a few QuickTime events with the remote and the nunchuck to deliver the final blow and i can honestly say stabbing a rat in the brain is very satisfying. The boss battles are also interesting but there are simply to few encounters with them. The games camera could also use a little work and the lock on target system is not very useful when there is more than one enemy approaching you. It stays on one enemy until you kill it or go far enough to think your not fighting it but that can be made up for if you take the moment to enjoy killing it. The pros outweigh the cons with satisfying combat, boss fights, and exploration.
Graphics 9/10: Its rare to have wii games with fantastic graphics but even more rare to have 3rd party wii games with fantastic graphics. A lot of effort has been put to detail the environments and creatures and the finishing moves are very cinematic. It even presents a few of the effects found more often on the 360 and ps3 like bump mapping. Exploration and combat are more immersive when the details of the scenery or gory finish of a creature and detail and that's exactly where this game shines.
Music: 7.5/10: The music only serves as a background putting emphasis on bosses appearing or you dying. The tunes fit nicely as you explore the desert but its not the type of music that you hum to or sing to or discuss about anytime your playing the game. Not all games have orchestral soundtracks that are tying to sound epic because not all games need it and deadly creatures music fits in just fine.
The game is worth playing for its uniqueness because you won't find anything else like it. Its has enough depth to pull you in but its shortcomings make it questionable of how long you'll stay in. You may want to check it out before stomping on these bugs or you might regret it.