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The best game I've played this year so far is...
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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:38:12
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...Deadly Creatures for the Wii!


**Let me get this out of the way before Street Fighter IV comes out, cause after that happens, I'll be ALL about that game alone!**

___________________

Wow! Forget it's on the Wii for a moment. I am NOT one of those players who complains about the lack of content on the Wii because there is ALWAYS something to play on the Virtual Console. Yes. ALWAYS.

I am not judging this game as a worthwhile release for the Wii. I am judging this game on ITS own merits alone.

First off: Damn! What atmosphere! Yes, it takes place in the desert and it's a lot of brown out there, but still: Cacti become mountainous. Discarded Lawn Gnomes become Colossi from some unknown, lost civilization. Human skeletons become expansive obstacle courses to be maneuvered through. (I've entered more empty eye-sockets in this game than the collective history of all the games I've played before it, already, 4 Chapters in...!) A lost and broken cell phone stands as a glowing green monolith hidden in an underground cave. The world, according to the creatures of the game, is a strange and dangerous place. Even though it is our own, seen through their perspective, the objects we consider minor and commonplace become mammoth and foreign.



Rainbow Studios is one of those developers that is never given enough credit. In their racing games the physics and hit detection are always spot on, BUT, considering that fact that this is a HUGE, entirely 3D world, where walls, ceilings and objects can be climbed over, under, around and through... All while keeping everything in perfect scale... Wow! This game engine is SOLID and very well-done!

The modeling on the creatures is nothing to sneeze at either! Every last segmented appendage, every wing, frill, pulsating Grub, are ALL rendered in such a way... The attention to detail is stunning! They look like they should, move like they should. This is a game grounded in realism, but enacted fantastically by creatures no one would have wanted to play as before this game!




And the gameplay...! Yes. It's a bit easy so far. Doesn't matter in the least. The wall-climbing, hole digging, exploration reminds me of Metroid Prime for some reason. The fact that you get abilities (like digging) where you can go back to earlier points in the stage and discover hidden caches of grubs or crickets (collectibles and life-extending power-ups), keeps Samus' adventures always at the back of my mind. Throw in some God of War like QTE's, to finish a battle with a Gecko Lizard or Wasp or Enemy Scorpion, all done in a cinematic and appropriately gory fashion, and you've got some genuine, fun, gaming-greatness here!



I, have not had any inconsistencies with gestures, as have been previously mentioned. You CAN adjust the sensitivity of the Wii-mote and Nunchuk in the Options menu, so this should really be a moot point...

I am only about 4 Chapters in at the moment. You can play as a Spider and a Scorpion so far. Both have unique move-sets, combo trees and abilities. The Spider can climb all sorts of surfaces where the Scorpion seems limited. The Scorpion can dig and burrow underground for attacks, but the Spider can shoot webs to reach out of the way places. The Scorpion can block, but the Spider can leap great distances, quickly, to avoid attacks. The chapters alternate between the two creatures so far.



Truth be told, I've not followed the previews for this game at all, thinking it was just a gimmicky action title. Once I found it was more adventure than anything else, my interest was piqued and I picked it up. I do not know if there are any other creatures you can play as yet --AND-- If I have to point out one negative aspect of the game, it is this: I cannot follow the story line. Every time you encounter the humans who are your ultimate enemies in the game, you are underground and their voices are muffled and lower volume than everything else. By the time I realize there's a conversation going on, advancing the plot, I've missed half of it. My hearing can't adjust quick enough and I just don't feel like re-loading my last save, as I've usually made a significant amount of progress. Granted, the plot isn't motivating me to play the game, it's the action and exploration, but, still, it would be nice to know what's going on! I don't know if this is an actual issue with the game or just my poor hearing, and wouldn't take away a single review score point (if I was going to score this game) because of it... I am just bringing this up here so when and if you play this game (and you REALLY should) take my advice and PAY ATTENTION! I keep the volume lower out of consideration for the person I am living with at the moment, so any complaints I have are probably my own fault!



Any questions, go ahead and shoot! Like I said, I haven't finished the game yet, so this isn't meant to be a review, but I am far enough in to the game and like what I've seen enough to know my impressions are sound. Street Fighter IV is coming this week, and everything else will inevitably be pushed aside when it arrives, so, IF you want to discuss this title: DO. SO. NOW.

Edited: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:06:31
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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:08:49
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**Disclaimer: This report has been kept, mercifully Snake-free in consideration of those of us phobic about the Deadly Creature in question. Thank You.**

Edited: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:10:12
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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:17:43
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This game needs to sell millions, so we can the sequel "Deadly Creatures Ultimate: Honey Badger Edition"

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:34:16
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Iga_Bobovic said:

This game needs to sell millions, so we can the sequel "Deadly Creatures Ultimate: Honey Badger Edition"

It would fit into the game world --PERFECTLY--!

Watch this video, if you haven't already.

[ So. Very. Cool. I want one as a pet! Nyaa ]


Edited: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:43:57
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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 18:05:47
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Iga_Bobovic said:

This game needs to sell millions, so we can the sequel "Deadly Creatures Ultimate: Honey Badger Edition"

That should be an unlockable labeled God-mode.

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:42:25
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Oh snap! This is out all ready? $46 USD, I was suspecting it was going to be a little lower than that, but still I want this game.  It needs support just because of the uniqueness of the premise.

The cover isn't going to do it any favors.  So sad:

It looks like very bad tween-fiction cover art from the '70's.

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:23:57
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phantom_leo said:
**Disclaimer: This report has been kept, mercifully Snake-free in consideration of those of us phobic about the Deadly Creature in question. Thank You.**

Thank you.  much appreciated!  my question is this... snakes make me uneasy, they really do ... i'm thinking of picking this game up though because i know it's a quality product and because i want to support such courageous efforts from developers ... are there too many snakes in the game?  and are there instances where they sneak up behind you and such?  because i don't think i could handle that.  spiders and scorpions are ok mind you, in fact i like spiders a lot.

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:09:12
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You will encounter snakes throughout the game. They act very snake like. They slither, they strike, they'll appear when you least expect them...

No getting around 'em!

Maybe this game and your exposure to them in it will help you get over it a bit!
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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:46:44
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phantom_leo said:

Iga_Bobovic said:

This game needs to sell millions, so we can the sequel "Deadly Creatures Ultimate: Honey Badger Edition"

It would fit into the game world --PERFECTLY--!

Watch this video, if you haven't already.

[ So. Very. Cool. I want one as a pet! Nyaa ]


 I posted the same video here months ago! They are too badass to be pets though!

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:23:26

Iga_Bobovic said:

phantom_leo said:

Iga_Bobovic said:

This game needs to sell millions, so we can the sequel "Deadly Creatures Ultimate: Honey Badger Edition"

It would fit into the game world --PERFECTLY--!

Watch this video, if you haven't already.

[ So. Very. Cool. I want one as a pet! Nyaa ]


I posted the same video here months ago! They are too badass to be pets though!

Awww, c'mon! You could put 'em on a leash, let them maul the basset hounds in the dog park, eat the neighbors cats, toddlers, random solicitors... it would be GREAT!  

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:37:59
Great impressions, I so want to play this, I better rent it soon.
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Mon, 16 Feb 2009 00:49:09

Sounds good man.

I'm seriously considering buying this even though I don't need any more games to play at the moment.

         1200923.png?77682175

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Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:14:45
Needs more snakes!

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Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:58:17
Wow nice impressions. I really wasn't going to pick this up but it loks like a cult classic I may have to try out of curiosity alone. Not sure about your sound issue, the reviews I've seen say that the sound is 10/10 and that the story is really good too. Have you fiddled with the options levels? Tried putting it through DPL2 or Stereo to see the changes?

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Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:04:21

aspro73 said:

Oh snap! This is out all ready? $46 USD, I was suspecting it was going to be a little lower than that, but still I want this game.  It needs support just because of the uniqueness of the premise.

The cover isn't going to do it any favors.  So sad:

It looks like very bad tween-fiction cover art from the '70's.

Cover makes it look like shovelware. Shovelware has saturated the wii shelves for so long your average joe can't tell them apart. THQ is NOT TV advertising this game at all. Sad

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Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:14:15

I ordered the game today and it should be with my by Monday I guess.

I got it because of this thread, the £5 cheaper price. If Foolz has posted his HOTD thread before you Leo I may have got that instead.

I have seen mixed reviews for DC so I'm worried in all honesty. Have you played some more?

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Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:29:42
Oh yeah, I gets better and better!

The thing I love the most is, you keep on evolving as you keep on playing!

Example: The Spider learns to Feed on his enemies if you flip 'em over in a weakened state! (Evil and Cool!) --AND-- If you think you get disoriented by wall crawling, JUST WAIT 'til you start being able to Crawl on ceilings! It get's downright dizzying!

I bought both DC and HOTD and I tend to favor DC much, much more!

It has that Metroid vibe to it and I can never get enough of games like that!
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Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:16:31
I most likely would have got DC first tbh, but I liked that pre-order deal...

DC is definitely on the list.

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Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:39:15

phantom_leo said:
Oh yeah, I gets better and better!

The thing I love the most is, you keep on evolving as you keep on playing!

Example: The Spider learns to Feed on his enemies if you flip 'em over in a weakened state! (Evil and Cool!) --AND-- If you think you get disoriented by wall crawling, JUST WAIT 'til you start being able to Crawl on ceilings! It get's downright dizzying!

I bought both DC and HOTD and I tend to favor DC much, much more!

It has that Metroid vibe to it and I can never get enough of games like that!

It came today, weirdly as I was expecting it on Monday ot Tuesday. Impressions later. Seen a couple more reviews, still worries me but it does look really unique and immersive. The way you described the small alternative world is what I'm looking forward too.

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Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:56:20

Okay played up to the Scorpian. Impressions.

Graphically it looks just like the screens, so when you see an awesome screen it really does look like that, but when you see an average one, it looks like that too. The texture quality is okay but could be much better, for instance Retro could do the same environments with twice the texture detail at 60 FPS.

That said it has insanely detailed character models and animation. The environments despite looking Xbox-ish have a nice art style to them too.

I was taken aback at first, my first push of the analogue stick made the spider move and the animation coupled with the sound made me immediately stop. I'm no arachnophobe, but it feels wrong, it feels weird, it makes your skin crawl. They really nailed it. At times when I walked the spider into the screen  I almost had to look away thinking "this is wrong". Eventually you gain a perverse pleasure out of watching its movements, like watching a horror movie that scares and excites you at the same time. The sound is no 10 so far. I dont really understand the IGN review. It's okay, maybe 7/10. Sounds effects are okay to good, music is barely noticable to me.

I have to echo what Leo said about seeing human things that become alien to you, I saw this massive monolithic motorbike with a wheel spinning above me and it was pretty special.

Apart from that the only problem I have is the combat - too much unneccesary waggle and QTEs and I'm not a fan of QTEs at all. Also it could do with a Z-lock, which it sort of does but its very crude. Also it really needs a solid 30FPS frame rate. Being as good as it looks having it run between 25-30 it just judders you out of the illusion. It's almost smooth, just a tad away but needs to be 100% for me, while it's 90%.


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