Customer Reviews

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I haven't been a huge video game player for some time now. Other hobbies, etc, have drawn me away from these activities over the years. I recently got myself a Wii to spice up some of my parties. I heard about Mushroom Men through some friends and thought it looked really cool and interesting, so I gave it a shot. I must say, this game may have really revived my gaming spirit! I had to go out to a concert last night but didn't want to leave because I was in the middle of playing this game! I also had a party last weekend and people were up at my house until 4am playing it. They couldn't get enough!

Being that I haven't played a lot of video games in the last few years, I found the ability to control Pax the way I wanted to pretty intuitive. I figured I would be a mess from not having honed those game controller skills that my gaming friends possess, but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself maneuvering our "fun guy" around fairly well right off the bat.

Throw in the great dialog and really fun soundtrack by none other than bass hero Les Claypool (of Primus for the uninitiated), coupled with the whimsical and clever scenery (look for the fun "Dr. Salts," "PC Cola," "Jello Kitty," and other satirical "product" logos) and "weapons", and you have the makings for one really fun and unique game. Addictive might be an even better adjective for describing it.

Being that I'm not an avid gamer, it will probably take me longer to clear further levels, but so far, this game has bee nothing but a good time. Only thing I could ask for is the ability to save games mid-level, but I'm guessing that's not how games like this work.

Get Mushroom Men folks! It's fun for all ages!

I purchased this game a couple of days ago and it has me hooked! The graphics are fantastic and so are the sound effects. I am not a hard-core game player and often times have become frustrated with some of the video games I have played. The rating is appropriate and this is the type of game that can be played and enjoyed by someone from the age of around 9 to 100!

I would like to have seen a better multi-player function in the game. Other than that, it is hours of fun and unlike some games that are similar to others with only different characters and surroundings,this one is unique.

I hope to have a DS lite one day and will be adding the Mushroom Men game for the DS on my wish list!

Way to go Red Fly Productions! Give us more!

This is one of those games that you can actually judge by the cover. Let me break it down:

1) The cover looks like it came straight out of 90's concert poster.
2) If you're a fan of that style, undoubtedly you're a fan of Primus, whose main man Les Claypool does the soundtrack.
3) Since you enjoy the style, you're going to have fun exploring the world which is incredibly detailed - brand name puns, current event references, even little things like a note lying on the ground is a real note, complete with a story about how aliens are stealing our oil and selling it back to us at $150 a barrel.
4) Just look at the name. Mushroom Men. You know it's going to be weird and contain offbeat humor, and you're right.

The bulk of the joy I get from this game is from the style, but the classic platformer elements and control is quite good, I especially enjoy gliding (seems like you can fly forever!) and using the sticky-hand "grapling hook". But the style and the funny content keep me exploring each level, and that's an important element in any platformer.

If playing a mushroom in a game that looks like a concert poster while listening to Les Claypool sounds as cool to you as it does to me, then this game is for you. I was really excited about Mushroom Men but held off on buying because someone told me it was just okay. I'm glad I paid attention to Amazon's user reviews instead of metacritic when deciding to buy this game - Mushroom Men is exactly what I wanted.

The first thing this game reminds me of was the wonderful (and much missed) Abe's Odyssey from Oddworld. The characters are fun to play with and the world in which it inhabits adds many different elements to the game.

I'm still working through the level, so the review is not complete, but it's no doubt that this has the potential to be a very big hit.

Get this game.

I read one review that said that if you think you might like it you probably will and I did! Nice graphics, easy controller use, good tutorials that are not too long and boring. Very little dialog (compared to some games). Level goals are easy to understand and you learn new tricks (powers) as you progress through the levels You also build new weapons with items you find along your way. Great for adults, and kids. Young children would have trouble with this game but kids around 10 would be able to navigate this game just fine. If nothing else borrow it from someone and give it a shot. It's a evening well spent.

If you are looking for an epic platforming game that will eat up several days or weeks of your time, then no, this game is not for you. If you are looking for a game that reinvents platformers, no this is not the game for you. If you're looking for a visually appealing game that will only take a couple days to play and have you coming back a second time to collect the goodies, pick this up.

Story:
A meteorite falls to the earth and gives mushrooms sentient life. They live in some peace for a while, but then the evil Amanitas and other bad mushrooms begin taking over other mushroom villages to get more meteorite particles in order to become stronger and eventually...take over the world! You play a...surprise... mushroom who appears suddenly in a village. You learn the controls, talk to the elder and eventually fight a big mushroom for a title. When you win, they present you with a piece of meteorite that you absorb. What the heck? How did you do that? You set off on a journey to stop the evil Amanitas and figure out why you can absorb meteorites. On the way you pick up different items to create different weapons, random objects to unlock concept art and fight different baddies ranging from mice, crazed rabbits, badgers, cockroaches, spiders and more.

It's a typical story and the whole why does this little mushroom absorb meteorites is touched upon but ultimately never really explained enough, but hey, it's fun.

Graphics
Probably the best thing about this game is how it looks. You view everything from a 3 inch perspective so things like a dirty kitchen are an expansive level. It's a lot of fun to notice that what you're whacking for health is a dead rat or the railroad tracks you're walking on is made out of clothespins. There's a lot of detail in the game that you spend a lot of time just wandering around looking at the world. Plus, there's a lot to find, making exploration necessary.

Sound
The music is lots of fun with several original tracks done by Les Claypool of Primus fame. A lot of thought went into the soundtrack and it shows. Each level offers something new and exciting. Sound effects are ok. The hero of the story makes little meep meep sounds. The shiitake mushroom VOs speak in such a way that it almost sounds Japanese. In terms of fight sound effects, there's nothing really new, but everything else makes up for it.

Gameplay
It's a platformer, plain and simple. There's enemies, you kill said enemies. You find a way to move around the world to make it to the next level via puzzles and platforms. The boss fights can get kind of annoying, but once you figure out what to do, it's a piece of cake. The game suffers a bit from utilizing the motion sensor of the wii-mote. You end up just waving the wii-mote around against enemies and not really blocking or rolling out of the way too much. The automatic camera angles can be a bit wonky at times as well and either zoom in too much or just be at a bad angle. Thankfully you can adjust the camera so that gets rid of a lot of camera angle headache. The controls are fairly rudimentary and easy to pick up. The different weapon types are fun, and it's interesting to see what the weapon looks like (he's kind of like a mushroom McGuyver...give me tweezers, a diamond ring and some string and there's a spear). There's four different types of weapons: crushing, stabbing, slicing and special. Each category is good for different types of enemies. The further along you go in the game, the better weapons you make.

Replay
It's a short game, probably 10 hours from start to finish. If you just run through the levels it might take less time. For completists, it might take a little longer just so you can collect all the concept art and make all the weapons. There are some mini-games to play, but pretty much once you're done with the game, there's really no reason to go back and play it. It's perfect for rentals since it is so short, it'll take 2 days to finish.

Overall
I loved it and had a lot of fun. I was totally immersed in the world and the different types of mushrooms. Maybe the story wasn't that great, maybe it didn't reinvent the wheel, but it sure made the wheel pretty interesting. Sadly, it seems like the DS version wasn't that great and that there probably won't be another addition to the mushroom men saga, which is a real shame.

*Introduction*
The 3d platformer is a dying genre. Once one of the more popular styles of games back in the N64/Playstation era it seems like the only notable titles in the current era are the Super Mario Galaxy games. There have been a few sleeper hits like Psychonauts, but they have been few and far between. Now we have Mushroom Men, a quirky new platformer that is reminiscent in many ways of the old N64 style platformer with a few twists of its own.

*Story*
The premise of this game involves a shower of green glowing meteors that bombard the Earth and turn the plants and fungi of the world into sentient beings that form their own societies. You play as Pax, a Bolete mushroom with telekinetic powers, whose village was destroyed by the poisonous mushrooms. Without his home, he becomes a wanderer and stumbles across a village of peaceful mushrooms in the middle of a festival. After taking part in the festivities, he is given the honor of holding the villages prized meteorite. Unfortunately, once it is given to Pax, he somehow absorbs it, so he sets off on a quest to replace the villages meteorite, although he has a bit of trouble doing this, since he also absorbs all of the other meteorite fragments that he comes across. Along the way he runs into a tribe of evil poisonous mushrooms, who are also on a quest to collect meteor fragments, while they battle with the peaceful tribes.

The story isn't fleshed out a whole lot, but it's better than standard fare for the platforming genre and sets the stage well enough.

*Gameplay*
The gameplay is fairly standard 3d platforming. You jump around levels searching for collectibles and battling enemies. Pax's abilities include jumping, gliding, and psychic powers. He also eventually gets a sticky hand which he can use as a grapple to get to certain objects that are really high or far away. His telekinetic powers are controlled by the Wii remote pointer and allow him to manipulate levers and other objects around him, to progress through levels and fight off foes. There are objects to collect scattered throughout the levels such as the meteorites which grant him more hit points once he has enough of them, parts to put together into weapons, and well hidden pieces of junk that unlock concept art. If you don't like the collectathon style of platformer, you can put your fears to rest, as the majority of the collecting is entirely optional. If you do like collecting, then you will also be happy as there are 81 meteorites to collect and a lot of weapon parts. The best part is that all of the collectibles are actually useful to collect. They aren't random baubles that you need X amount of to open some door, like other platformers.

The level design ranges from somewhat linear like Super Mario Galaxy, to open and explorable closer to the Banjo-Kazooie games with other levels falling somewhere in between. They are all fairly well designed, with a few small issues like sticky hand objects not being immediately obvious. The most explorable worlds are the most fun, but the linear levels are pretty good as well. There are some options presented in a few of the tasks. For instance, you can either fight a tough enemy head on, or you can explore the level and use the objects around it to take them out. The only problem with the level design is that if you are playing to find everything, in a couple of levels areas get blocked off from you as you progress, and in others you'll end the level if you complete a certain task. However, this isn't a big problem as you can replay levels any time you want.

Weapon creation is really clever. As you find ordinary objects like paperclips, bottle caps, and tooth picks, Pax will assemble them in various ways to create different kinds of weapons. This is a fairly automatic aspect, though. I would have liked to have a more active hand in figuring out how to put the things together. There are 4 weapon types of Bashing, Slashing, Thrusting, and Radical. The weapons of the first three categories are the main weapons you will use, while the Radical weapons are unique and require ammo. There is no reason to use anything but the most powerful weapon of each type, and the unique radical weapons slow down Pax so much that they are a pain to use. I would have liked to see a bit more varied usage among the melee weapons.

The combat is the weakest part of the game. Your attacks are all controlled by shaking the Wii remote, but it's nothing more than standard attacks that could have been controlled by a button. You can also attack using your telekinetic powers to grab various objects with the Wii pointer and then shake it to throw them at the enemies. I found the all of the Wii remote actions to be a little unresponsive and annoying to use. Thankfully, the combat in this game is easy enough that it doesn't matter too much.

Dying in this game is not a problem. It works in such a way that when you die you will merely be sent back a little bit in the level and all your progress remains. This helps keep the game fun without ever feeling too frustrating. There are rewards for beating the bosses without dying, though.

*Replay Value*
The game length is around 8 to 10 hours if you want to collect everything, and about 6 hours if you just rush through the story. At the main menu for the game, you have the option of replaying every level to collect things you missed or just replay them for the story. Overall, there is not a whole lot of replay value, but that's fairly standard for this type of game.

*Visuals*
The game looks really good for a Wii game. The style is darkly quirky and sort of reminiscent of the visual style Psychonauts. The worlds are all visually interesting, varied, and detailed having you explore areas like piles of junk, a back yard, an old shed, and a run down farm house. It's amazing to go through and see all the clever little details like the product parodies and the ways the mushrooms use human items for their architecture and technology. They really make you feel like a tiny mushroom exploring this huge human world full of vicious giant monsters like rabbits and chihuahuas.

*Sound*
The music in this game is as quirky as everything else. It contains lots of unusual unconventional sounds and really adds to the atmosphere perfectly. The levels almost seem to pulse and move to the beat at some points. There aren't a whole lot of memorable melodic tunes, but it works perfectly in this game.

*Summation*
This game was quite a pleasant surprise for me. It is an overlooked Wii gem that anyone who enjoys 3d platformers at all will have a great time with. It's well worth the low price it's going for, so if you like quirky 3d platformers go out and buy it.

Its not your Resident evil kind; none of the 'serious' killing. But, if you like something thats light but gives you enuff chance to kill the 'baddies', then you will like the game.

Its gets a little easier as you go along, there is not much in the shape of puzzle(s) to unlock. So, you probably wont play it the second time around. Its very interesting while you keep playing, though.

You kid will pro'ly like it more (and will definitely enjoy the fun more), than a 30+ year old like me. I still recommend the adults to have a go - for simple fun, if nothing else.

Mushroom Men is arguably one of the most fun puzzle games out right now. The box says its a two player game and it can be but really its one player with a backup helper. This means that the first player does most of the work but second player is like the side kick and can help heal player one faster as well as help fight against enemies when sporekinesis is available. With two people playing, its more fun because you're helping each other get through the levels and have brain power working! Its not just another mindless game although I suppose at times it can be.

I haven't completed the game yet and am currently stuck in the house level haha but its worth playing. The graffics could have been a bit clearer but once your eyes adjust to them its not so bad. The music is good for the most part even if it is repetitive. Mushroom Men were given their own language so you do have to read the captions to know what they're saying to follow along with the story but its an easy read and funny sometimes. Oh yea, the B button will most def. be your friend throughout the game.

My son loved this game. I loved the ad on Amazon.com. He hasn't completed this game, yet. It involves a good bit of problem-solving. We homeschool and it was nice to find a fun way to illustrate that fungi are sort of in a world of their own, invisibly working but in plain sight, if you really look.