Deadly Creatures Impressions from Destructoid

Rainbow Studios calls the game an action thriller, but at WiiHD, we prefer to classify it under the lesser known arachnid horror category. You have your pick of two heroes to play as. Behind door number one, your friendly neighborhood tarantula, is said to like quiet introspection and Harry Potter novels. Behind the other door is the affably outgoing scorpion, reported to enjoy bold moves and Battlestar Galactica. Your mission? To survive a trek a across a dangerous and enemy-infested desert. It's dark, brooding, and even cinematic as there is a separate human drama taking place outside your immediate battleground.

Samit Sarkar over at Destructoid got a little demo time with Deadly Creatures last week, and was kind enough to document his impressions for us today. Hit the break for quotes (and bonus material from IGN's April hands-on), screens, and two videos. Hit the source link for the all of Destructoid's impressions.

Destructoid

Each of the two playable arachnids has a completely different skill set and play style: the THQ PR person told me that the scorpion is tank-like and can burrow into the ground, while the tarantula is geared toward stealth. Your moves can be upgraded by solving puzzles and challenges, and you’ll unlock special abilities as you progress through the game. The tarantula, for example, will be able to spin a web and swing from it, Spidey-style. You don’t have to pick one or the other, though; the story features different levels designed for the two creatures, so you’ll be playing as them both the whole way through. All of this is controlled by the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, of course; motion controls are used for specials and finishers.

IGN

It's all very moody and the presentation is enhanced by the fact that Rainbow Studios is really pushing Wii from a technical level. Not only do the environments themselves come to life with defined geometry and sharper textures — as you crawl over a newspaper in a manmade bathroom, you can actually read the text — but the character models animate fluidly, feature real-time projected shadows, and make their kills to a splattering of gooey particle effects.

Deadly Creatures also boasts one of the most ambient Wii soundtracks to date, with music that dynamically changes depending on your actions – the beat actually picks up. In the two levels we've explored thus far, though, Rainbow Studios seems content to let the sound effects set the mood, which works very well.

We also know that the scorpion and tarantula aren't exactly friendly. They feature separate storylines whose tales eventually cross paths – literally, we suppose, since Rainbow explains that the two will square off against one another two different times; once, you'll be in control of the scorpion and the second time you'll pilot the tarantula.

Thanks IGN for the screens.

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