In today’s society, imagination and creativity are among the most sought out assets for a video game developer. When a majority of developers are trying to make their own version of the “it game” of any particular time, it’s refreshing to see a team step outside of the box and present a unique video game that pushes the boundaries of a new vision. Deadly Creatures is one of those games that deserves all the attention in the world, but yet will be disappointedly overlooked by the common gamer.

What exactly is Deadly Creatures? Well to be frank, it’s a game about bugs. Sure, it sounds like it could be a kid-friendly title on the Nintendo Wii, but when you take a closer look, the game employs two main characters in the form of a tarantula and scorpion – hardly the most family-oriented bugs. That doesn’t go to say that these two disgusting creatures aren’t fun to take control of – even if they make our skin crawl. If that doesn’t interest you, then maybe following the side-plot revolving around the legendary Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper as they are hunting for treasure in the desert will grab your attention.

Alternating between the tarantula and scorpion between chapters, each arachnid differs with gameplay techniques. The tarantula is much more agile and plays as the faster of the two arachnids. The scorpion on the other hand, is much more about being built tough with its hard shell and taking on all comers in a battle. Of the moves at your disposal, the two absolute favorites for each character would have to be the pounce from long range with the tarantula and digging into the ground with the scorpion to attack an unaware enemy. Above all else, the tarantula seemingly has the best chapters to run about in as it can jump and grapple with webs is great for mobility purposes while the scorpion is more focused on being battle-tested.

The environments put forth in Deadly Creatures are among the better looking worlds created on the Nintendo Wii. The deserts may become a little boring after a few chapters, but make no mistake – they at least look beautifully detailed in comparison to other Wii titles. From the rocks to the foliage (cacti for the most part), Deadly Creatures is hands down the best looking game to focus on desert-based levels. The levels are even better laid out to have each bug benefit from its surroundings. If you thought the Amazing Spider-Man could go anywhere in his world, just wait till you play with a real wall-crawler as Deadly Creatures allows for the tarantula to go practically anywhere he very well pleases.

Having said that, there is a tremendous amount of attacks to take advantage of and all of them are executed well through the animations presented. There are a few control issues and camera hang-ups, but they aren’t game-breaking by any means. The control issues were often revolving around inputting the commands with the Wii Remote – they are touchy and often will misread your motions. The camera only screwed up when battles were close-quarters against wasps and other similar encounters. It’ll zoom in on odd objects such as a nearby wall, but the camera issues were few and far between.

Perhaps the most enticing aspect of Deadly Creatures was the superb audio department. The sound is where the game shines at its best – it’ll have your own hair standing up before every kill. The sound effects are grotesque when you are eating your prey and will have you cringe as the crunching noises that are produced. In addition, Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper of course lend their voices to help put the game over the top in quality. They are on the hunt for lost Civil War gold in the desert and are more of background players in the story, but they are interesting to say the least.

So what does Deadly Creatures ultimately boil down to? To keep it short and sweet, Deadly Creatures is this year’s first sleeper-hit that should immediately be placed on everyone’s “want list” due to how well polished the end product is.

Gameplay: 8.7

Playing as a tarantula and scorpion is beyond more enticing than playing as your standard bald space-marine. If you can overlook a few control and camera issues, Deadly Creatures is 2009’s first sleeper-hit.

Graphics: 8.5

There’s no doubt that with the amount of detail that the developer, Rainbow Studios, put into Deadly Creatures that is skyrockets up into the stratosphere of the best looking games on the Nintendo Wii.

Sound: 9.4

The sound effects alone paint a brilliant picture of how entertaining of a game Deadly Creatures is.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 9.5

Head and toe above all games released so far in 2009, Deadly Creatures is vastly unique and one-of-a-kind as of this moment. The only thing it’s missing is cooperative play to allow for dueling battles against bigger creatures.

Overall: 8.6

Deadly Creatures should renew your interest in your Nintendo Wii if you’ve had a falling out recently with the lack of titles to play. It’s fun for all ages and packs a thrilling rollercoaster of a ride till you finally complete the storyline.