Deadly Creatures

Deadly Creatures: A game about a scorpion and a spider, the type of alliance you’d normally only see in comics when the writer is running out of ideas.

Story : Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton lend their voices to a pair of hillbillies looking for treasure in the desert. Except you’re not playing as Dennis Hopper and Billy Bob Thornton, you’re playing as a tarantula and a scorpion, who’s own paths in life only briefly intersect with that of said hicks. It’s akin to a documentary having a pointless fake story to keep the kids from falling asleep, except the dialogue isn’t hilariously bad. I’m not too sure if the scorpion and spider have their own motivations; the game has some kind of “don’t fuck with the desert” message behind it so maybe they’re trying to expel the humans, and since scorpion and spider will occasionally spar with each other, they could have some kind of Ryu/Ken ancient rivalry, but otherwise their intentions seem to consist of minding their own business.

Though a lot of the intrigue that comes from Deadly Creatures may very well be from the nature of your arachnid heroes. These aren’t mystical animals with cartoonish voices, they’re not some Fly-like experiment where human brains are transplanted into animals, they don’t have any personality besides the mindset of “kill, eat, move on”… in fact there’s almost no attempt made to personify them. They’re just…bugs, and the developers at Rainbow Studios were content to let the excellent motion capture work alone establish the protagonists as the creepy crawlies they are. If you’ve ever been mesmerized by how a spider moves from watching Discovery Channel or ever tapped on the glass at a pet shop, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. They walk like bugs, eat like bugs, not really fight like bugs…

You’ll have to suspend a bit of disbelief when it comes to certain aspects of combat. Tarantula, for example, seems to be some kind of genetic hybrid of every species of spider you learned about in school. He/she can leap in the air like a jumping spider, poison enemies like a black widow, and web zip to certain areas like Spider Man. Combat consists of a combination of button presses and Wiimote shakes, and even if you’ve never seen it, you have to believe that spiders can fight by swinging their legs in tandem like clubs as well as jumping into enemies, spinning and holding their legs out like a living ninja star. But spider combat is actually fairly enjoyable, being that you can’t block and thus have to jump around to evade attacks. And the game keeps things fresh by consistently introducing new techniques (developed by…eating your prey). It’s always satisfying to leap two feet onto an unsuspecting enemy, web-trap them, charge up a poison bite, or knock them on their back so you can feast on their stomach and recover health.

On the flipside, scorpion is less reminiscent of alternate insect species than he is every action game hero of the last three years. I’ve never seen a scorpion execute a three hit canned combo, flinging him/herself around with this kind of agility, but this is a scorpion that enjoyed some Devil May Cry. Scorpion has a block button like he’s Mortal Kombat Scorpion, and has a series of combos and finishing moves to keep things interesting. After beating on an enemy long enough, you’re given a button prompt, God of War-style, and have to execute a series of quick-time event Wiimote waggles to finish off your foe. It’s a bit of a struggle to get the game to recognize the motion that you’re trying to pull off, but it’s hard not to smile when you’re jabbing your stinger into the skull of a rat, watching the pest screech in pain. I am a bad human being. Actually, the Wii motion sensors are mostly responsive, but not always in the way you want. For example, to get scorpion to burrow underground and try to ambush an enemy, you have to turn the remote upside-down, but the game frequently mistakes this motion for the “ninja star spinning attack towards your enemy” attack.

There’s nothing complex about the game design; you move from point A to point B in a mostly linear fashion, and along the way you thin out the pest population. There’s almost no puzzle solving to be had, not that I missed having puzzles. The spider has a bit of diversity in that he sometimes has to web zip him/herself towards predetermined locations, while scorpion can dig through predetermined walls (just another excuse to shake the remotes a lot.)

But in spite of this formulaic gameplay design, it’s hard to not get lost in the miniature world of Deadly Creatures. The levels, while linear, are clever in design, aiming for the same “small objects become huge monuments of wonder” design that Shiguru Miyamoto tried to execute with Pikmin, but with less charm and more intentional discomfort. Walking by a deserted motorcycle or the two hillbillies produces something of an ominous vista. And being that your characters can walk on walls, there’s a sense of vertigo in climbing along ceilings or spiraling tunnels. I’ve never seen a game get so much diverse and intriguing scenery out of a desert setting. And likewise, the game taps into a primal urge to challenge any wild creatures that approach your way. Even though all of the battles are forced, you’ll never want to run away; rather you’ll take offense to any rat, lizard or fleet of spiders that has the audacity to block your way.

The game has some minor blemishes; the game occasionally stops to load the next part of the level. Occasionally, enemies will fall through walls and either die or become trapped and lead to an easy kill. But really, any complaints one can levy against Deadly Creatures will be negated by two facts.

One is that this is a game about a scorpion and a spider. Thus, there is nothing like it on the market. Deadly Creatures is surprisingly immersive, a game that’ll pull you in, consume your focus and have you seeing critters in your sleep if you allow it.

Two is that it’s a good Wii game, and depending on what you constitute to be a good Wii game, we haven’t gotten one in a long time. In particular, it’s a good Wii game for males, and for the man who’s had to deal with his woman play Wii Fit or Wii Play, forcing her to watch you play Deadly Creatures is satisfying revenge.

4 stars

Suddenly, the Wii is getting good games again! This, House of the Dead, Madworld next month…not too surprisingly none of them are from Nintendo.