A Tarantula and Scorpion's short quest for survival in a world full of deadly creatures
User Rating: 7 | Deadly Creatures WII
Deadly Creatures puts you in control of a Tarantula and a Scorpion as they journey through the terrain on their quest for survival. There isn't much of a story here, and when you finish the game, you will be wondering what the point of the adventure actually was. Over the 10 chapters, you alternate between Scorpion and Tarantula but visit the same locations. You do follow alternative routes given the different attributes of the creatures and the abilities you acquire over the course of the game. The Tarantula can leap over obstacles, walk on roofs, and sling a web to jump to certain areas. The Scorpion can't jump or walk on the roof, and instead has the ability to chop weeds and dig in loose soil. It is really cool to play as these characters since it's pretty unique and different compared to other games main characters. In terms of game-play, the levels are linear but some sections are more open and others are based around tunnels. Its a mix of moving around and taking in the sights, and combat. Any creature you come across is hostile, be it a beetle, spider, mantis, rat lizard, snake or gila monster and each of your characters has a different approach to combat. The Tarantula is agile but cannot block. It can attack from range by leaping. Scorpion can block but is pretty slow and if enough damage is dealt, a finishing move can be performed which ends up pretty brutal. These finishing moves are done by a series of quick time events. However, the game struggles to register certain movements which is frustrating. The normal combat is done by a combination of the buttons and shaking the remote. Most of the creatures are easy enough to take down, but the rats can be very punishing since they are strong and can seem to time their attacks pretty well. When there is no combat, you will keep your eye out for the 450 grubs scattered throughout the game. They act as a small health recovery item and unlock the concept art. Some of them are well hidden, and others seem to guide you in the right direction to progress. If you want to collect them all, you can argue that this adds replay value to the games fairly meagre 6 hours of game-play. Most people suggest that Deadly Creatures graphics are amazing but in fact the game has a very dark and dull colour palette and the objects in the game look very bland. As far as the games story goes, the Tarantula seems to want to follow the Scorpion and on his journey, it comes across two humans voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper who are looking for treasure. The two protagonists journey seems to follow the humans but this may just be coincidence and there is a fair bit of excitement for the games climax which culminates in a low quality video with a extremely shoddy frame-rate which shows the protagonists survive and go their separate ways. Overall, Deadly Creatures is a solid game and brings great scope to a future sequel.
