The Wii exclusive does a lot of neat things with the genre. First is the fact that while you do take turns controlling both the scorpion and spider in Deadly Creatures, they aren't buddies. In fact, they're deadly enemies of one another. You will never actually do combat while controlling either creature, but you get to witness a few stand-offs as the game unwinds.

While most of the action of the game takes place in the desert of Arizona, there is an overriding story that deals with these mysterious guys searching for something. It's these cut-scenes that sort of tie the entire experience together.

Controlling the spider and scorpion involves a lot of motion control, but the good kind, not the bad one. For instance, while moving the spider around you can target nearby creatures and then strike at them with a sudden flick forward of your hand. This also allows you to do some distant jump attacks. The spider, of course, can also crawl up walls and such, and both creatures regain health by eating crickets. Movement can be just as important as combat in the game too. In one scene the spider had to ditch a rattle snake by tricking it to strike into a cactus repeatedly. The whole thing, from interface, to movement and types of attack, has a very organic feel to it.

Both creatures unlock new abilities, like the ability to spin spider silk to capture creatures, by defeating a set number of creatures to hit predator goals.

Unfortunately, the game won't include any two-player co-op play. Instead you get take turns playing as the two critters in alternating chapters.

While almost all of the game is about surviving the environment and other nasty creatures, the final boss is one of the two humans in the game, the developer told me.

"I don't want to give too much away, but it will make you very squeamish," the developer said. "We do awful things to that poor man."

THQ's Rainbow Studios, known for the Cars game and the MX vs. ATV series, developed Deadly Creatures as a "labor of love," according to the rep, since the studio's based in Arizona, where its team was inspired by the desert crawlies native to the warm region.

As such, in Deadly Creatures, you can play the action-adventure game either as a venomous scorpion or fabulously gross tarantula, and the different strengths and weaknesses of each animal mean that navigating the game's areas and defeating its bosses, which include a rattlesnake, a gila monster and a horned lizard, among others.

After watching the rep demo it for me, here's what stood out:

First of all, if the title didn't clue you in, you play as - and against - dangerous creatures.The tarantula's animation was spot-on and cringe-inducing, as spooky as a real big, hairy spider can be. The tarantula, it was shown to me, is more agile than the scorpion, who can climb walls, leap gaps, and wrap hostile creatures in its webbing. I didn't get to see the scorpion, but the rep told me that the scorpion is more of a "tank" character, able to do damage with his venomous stinger and burrow underground.

Your creature of choice navigates the level in its own unique way, gradually opening more areas of the forbidding landscape as it defeats bosses and accomplishes objectives - gameplay blends action with problem-solving and exploration. The rep told me that gameplay would gradually expose a backstory leading up to the creature's confrontation with its ultimate predator (drumroll), mankind.

Getting up close and personal with the more dangerous aspects of Mother Nature by controlling fiends we normally find repellent is a really cool idea - I was actually reminded of how much I loved to play as the hive-devouring spider in Sim Ant back when I was young.

The graphics look good, too, in full 3D with a 360-degree camera, letting you see all the creepy crevices, gross bugs and spider leg hairs you can stomach. The rep told me that Deadly Creatures is aimed at Wii users who have been waiting for something a little more mature to play than the usual brightly-colored fare, and this sure looks like a fun choice - especially if you're as vaguely sadistic as I am and love watching things eat each other on National Geographic.

The level on display was one of the early scorpion levels and I was pleased to see that the Wii graphics looked rather nice and the controls weren't too gimmicky. For instance, flicking the remote would cause my scorpion friend to swing his tail in a huge circle, reminding me a bit of Link's circular sword swing. As I traversed the underground tunnels that made up the better part of the level, I discovered that I needn't always have all of my many legs on the ground. being an insect has it's privileges and it was fun to start crawling up the walls to avoid certain obstacles although this change of perspective made navigation difficult at times. Power ups and enemy creatures abound giving you upgrades for the harder levels that are surely found later in the game. Adding to the overall spooky factor was a great soundtrack that did a terrific job of capturing the mood and making it seem like you were taking part in some sort of insect ridden horror film.

If you were a fan of Bad Mojo, chances are you will probably get a kick out of Deadly Creatures. Will Deadly Creatures be the best game you will ever play on the Wii? Probably not, but it's an original and interesting IP which is always a welcome addition to the often times typical Wii entries.And in my opinion, anything that breaks the crushing mini-game mold is definitely worth a look see.

THQ Announces Deadly CreaturesTM Exclusively For Nintendo® Wii

Action Thriller Pits Players Against a World of Creeping Terror

AGOURA HILLS, Calif. February 15, 2008 - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) today announced Deadly Creatures™, an original action thriller title coming exclusively to the Nintendo Wii console in 2008. Developed internally by THQ's critically acclaimed Rainbow Studios, Deadly Creatures throws players into a venomous world of desert terror, where the greatest victory is survival. Players will follow the entwined adventures of an armored scorpion and a stealthy tarantula as they struggle against a variety of creatures including vicious Gila monsters, tarantula wasps, black widows, and the most dangerous predator of all - Man. Deadly Creatures takes full advantage of the Wii's unique motion-based control scheme and allows players to fully experience every pounce and tail sting.

"Deadly Creatures is an amazingly innovative game concept, and exemplifies THQ's commitment to creating original new IP for the Nintendo Wii platform," said Randy Shoemaker, director of global brand management, THQ. "With Deadly Creatures, we are raising the bar for all 3rd party Wii titles, and focusing on deep, compelling gameplay for a largely untapped audience of Wii gamers."

"Deadly Creatures is a creepy, cinematic thrill ride, where the distinction between predator and prey can shift around every corner," said Nick Wlodyka, executive producer and general manager, Rainbow Studios. "With brutal motion-controlled combat, a dark compelling story and some of the best visuals to date on the Wii, we are excited to bring Deadly Creatures to a large core Wii audience that hungers for a new experience."