Games

Mushroom Men The Spore Wars

Title: Mushroom Men The Spore Wars

Release date:  March 2009
 
Publisher: Southpeak Games
 
Format reviewed: Wii

RRP:   39.99

Rating: 7/10

Platform game fans rejoice! There is a new world to uncover in Nintendo's 'Mushroom Men - The Spore Wars' and it's an artistically beautiful one at that.

Southpeak Games' latest title is wonderfully creative. Players explore and battle their way through more than 10 elegantly spooky levels in an oversized and hostile world for one little mushroom.

You play as Pax, a three-inch-high Mushroom Man, who finds himself engulfed in The Spore Wars. As you battle through, collect and transform common household trinkets and rubbish into weapons and tools to fight hideous spiders, deadly insects, evil rabbits, nasty moles and more.       

What's great about this platform game is that although it is set on Earth, players would never believe it. At times, the whole place is very alien until you realise that your weapon is an old pair of eyebrow tweezers or a sticky splat hand that you could buy from a pod machine for 20p, when you were younger.

But it's not just the fact that the game is visually unique that makes it a pleasure to play. The dark sense of humour adds more personality to the title that may have been less intriguing with out it.

For those who love to collect all the goodies, there's plenty. Pax can rummage around every nook and cranny for bits and bobs to build weapons with.

However, no matter how much you find, there is no real incentive to actively pick a weapon. It makes more sense to just use your latest tool as they progressively get better. There isn't really any need to strategically choose one.

                  
The controls are bearable, jumping and the camera motion is pretty good for example (unless you get permanently stuck in the weave of a chair), but the title doesn't benefit in any way from being on the Wii, especially when it comes to combat.

Players will find themselves shaking the control frantically to fight off the enemy and will be longing for a simple attack button. After all it is a platform game.

This is a fantastic 3D action/adventure game that is visually stunning. However there isn't really any sense that anything new is happening here.

It's far from boring though, so if you're hungry for a new surreal world to lose yourself in, this will be a pleasurable one.