I'm sure people have noticed my avatar, userpage, etc... All of which revolves around the Mushroom Men Theme.... Well, I got The Spore Wars, and Rise of The Fungi today.
This review is done from a general gamers' point of view, not from my personal excitement, etc... Anyway, here it goes:
Red Fly studios, a small game company in Austin, TX. Their release of Mushroom Men really didn't seem to get much hype, as far as commercials, but they did happen to have a bunch of promotional give-aways, trips, prizes, that kind of thing well before its' December 2nd release day.
Now for the game itself. You should know before considering buying it, that this is a Third-Party title, not made by Nintendo. However, unlike some third-party titles, this one has a very unique feel to it. The controls actually work very well, and it feels right when playing it. Every now and again, however, you'll run into a slightly annoying moment with the camera, which is user-controlled, and can be centered behind your Mushroom Man, Pax. (
Wii-mote D-Pad, and minus button respectively.) There were early complaints, and concerns about the "Waggle Control", with which you shake the
wii-mote a bit to generate an attacking motion. Constant shaking results in a triple strike attack. The four weapon types use the same motion, but each one acts very different. For example, a Bashing Weapon will be swung forward, then back up, then a more powerful third strike downward, while a Thrusting Weapon will use a stabbing action, more like a fencing sword. (Perry, Lunge, etc...) It is a platformer, and a very nice one at that. Controls work well, other than the camera at times, and it will require you to point at the screen for a good amount of small puzzles within certain levels. The motion control is part of the game, and trust me, it won't let you forget it. That's not a bad thing though... Think Super Mario Galaxy, but instead of Mario, saving Peach for the 1,000th time (Which is getting way too repetetive....) think 3-inch tall Mushroom Guy who has no idea what his purpose is in the world yet, and is suddenly thrown into the middle of a Mushroom War. Oh, and their is technically no difficulty... The difficulty is dependent on if you want to take on a group of spiders aiding a Mutated Rabbit, and get yourself killed about 5 times, or just drop a giant fan on that ugly thing. It's really up to you how you want to take down the foes you face. The enemy Mushroom Men aren't too friendly either... They'll attack in groups, and you'll probably die a few times before you take them all down. Luckily, Red Fly was nice enough to not punish you for dying mid-way through a 6-on-1 battle... Instead, they just pick you up after you die, and you're back in a safe spot, ready to finish what you started. The amounts of enemies you face at one time vary from level to level. Bosses can be brutal too, but the same thing applies. However, the difference is that they each have a specific way to take them down. Oh, and the game auto-saves once you reach a certain point in the level, which surprisingly occurs about every 15 minutes, unless you're having a rough time finding your way out of a crevice or something. But still, the game is great, with a few exceptions... The camera angles could've been tweaked once more, on occasion, you'll find yourself stuck in a space and you can't find the same way you came in, and lastly, some of the objectives can be a bit frustrating when you don't know where to look for a specific lever, or just don't know exactly how to make a puzzle work. Overall, the game is absolutely worth the money. It's a solid platformer, with some interesting weapons (which are fun to wield) and it will have enough challenges to keep you guessing about where the Meteorite chunks are hidden. (You will want to look EVERYWHERE) Those things are always in the strangest spots, or places you would'nt suspect.
As for a Number Rating:
Presentation: 8.5/10 - Although it starts off with concept art, the game's intro, and storyline are well thought out, and the events that occur will make you laugh, cry and laugh some more. There's plenty of humor to go around.
Graphics: 9/10 - For
Wii, these graphics are really nice, not to mention the style of the characters and their environment are really well done also.
Gameplay: 8.5/10 - Other than a few blind spots, and the camera problems, It's still and excellent platformer that deserves a chance. Plus, who wouldn't want to kill off evil hoards of Mushroom invaders ? The interface is really easy to get adjusted to, so it won't take long until you're a master of Mushroom Weaponry.
Music/Sound: 9.5/10 - No complaints here. Les Claypool delivers some awesome tracks for the different Tribes. My personal favorite would have to be the Amanita/Lepiota Tribe theme song. (They're the same for some reason...) This game also runs on a Metrinome system, where stuff in the game (Like little sparkles of ice, or lights flickering) actually go to the beat of the music. (That's something I've never seen before, making it a really neat feature !)
Lasting Appeal: 8/10 - This depends more on if you're the type who wants to finish the game entirely, or just play at your leisure. If you just play through once, you're likely to miss a ton of stuff, so if you do beat the game, but without everything, you may feel ashamed enough to go on, and collect everything. (Which there's ALOT of !) Between Meteorite pieces (which supposedly have an explaination behind Pax's existence if you collect all 81), the numerous Unlockables for the Concept Art Gallery (By finding a specific number of a certain object in each level), and the various weapon pieces (you probably WILL get most of these if you don't rush through the levels), there's enough here to keep you busy, and alert for each of these things.
Overall: 9/10 - I strongly suggest, if you're looking for a new
Wii game, that isn't as "kiddie" looking as alot of the
Wii games out there, or if you want something new, then Mushroom Men is a great way to get around those childrens'
Wii games. It's violent, it does have gore, but not to the human extent, making it appropriate for most gamers. If you're a platformer fan, then this one should be given a chance.
Mushroom Men The Spore Wars Review -
12-03-08
Re: Mushroom Men The Spore Wars Review -
12-06-08
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