Beyond Co-Op Reviews: March 2009
Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
Katrina "ShadokatRegn" Pawlowski
Southpeak Interactive - Wii
Theoretically, a giant meteorite might destroy human civilization. But, a smaller meteorite may grant life to the tiny world of fungus and plants. Mushroom Men is a game of sacred pieces of meteorite, living mushrooms, vicious insects, and a small world at war. Aggressive Amanita, or poisonous mushrooms, wage war on the peaceful pint sized world in search of sacred pieces of this meteorite. Pax, the little hero of the game, is set on a quest to replace a meteorite that he accidentally absorbed, in exchange for "magic" powers. He will help many other mushrooms, and plants in these Spore Wars using “Sporekinesis” and “Will of the Spore” powers, along with many improvised weapons that you can build as you find items.
Mushroom Men is artistically astounding, with intense attention to detail in game - especially in the perspective department. Each environment is modeled after something we encounter in our everyday lives, only we don't have to follow a series of climbing, jumping, grappling, and gliding to get to the toilet. Even the characters and enemies are proportionate to bite-sized Pax, so rabbits and moles are hulking monsters that require player ingenuity to bring down.
The platforming gameplay is similar to Mario Galaxy; move with the nunchuck, aim at the screen with the Wii remote to pick up or move objects, and swing the Remote to bash enemies with physical attacks. Be creative in all of your attack combinations; block with Pax's mushroom cap, alternate powers, and use different weapons to enjoy this game to its full potential.
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