They're usually the things you're trying to attack or run away from in video games and real life, but in “Deadly Creatures” gamers play as a tarantula and a scorpion, trying to survive in the vast desert. These critters do battle with other eerie, poisonous creatures from your camping nightmares, like venomous cottonmouths. Some animal foes need to be attacked head-on, while others need a sneakier, cleverer opponent, including the eventual fight against the ultimate predator - humans.

The game’s underlying story is laid out by the two humans in the game, voiced by actors Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Hopper.

“Deadly Creatures” just launched for the Wii, is rated “T” for Teens and costs about $50.

For those parents who find the thought of their child playing a video game as scary as a poisonous, multi-legged creature, PlaySavvy.com is a new website that aims to demystify and familiarize parents with the gaming world. The site covers basics, like what is a video game console, all the way up through choosing which games kids should play.

PlaySavvy.com recently held a boot camp for mothers, to let them try out the games.

“Basically we want to inform them what the popular games systems are out there, what the [Entertainment Software Rating Board] ratings are, what’s a ‘T’ for Teen rating stands for,” says Libe Goad of PlaySavvy. “So we really want to answer some of the basic questions that someone like me who's been doing this for a while says, ‘No duh,’ but parents really need to know.”

“Also we kind of wanted to get rid of the stereotype that games are bad,” continues Goad. “There are ways kids can integrate games healthily into their lives and really families can play a lot of games together. It can be a really fun activity.”

The site does not offer tips to parents on when to put the controller down for a bit so their kids can get a turn.