GENRE
	Platformer
	DEVELOPER
	Red Fly Studios
	PUBLISHER
	SouthPeak Games
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-2
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Set in a post-apocalyptic (sort of) world where, thanks to the crash of a giant, radioactive meteor, mushrooms have grown intelligent and cute bunnies have become rabid psychopaths, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a Wii platformer full of nuclear green sludge, exposed fungal brain casings, and can-opener based saws. What's not to love?

visuals

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is full of grotesque-looking mushrooms, for one. The thick-capped, pupil-less fungoids are somewhat unnerving to look at when first starting out, though it becomes rapidly apparent that they are the most civilized element of the Mushroom Men world -- some of them, anyway. Visual imagery is used often in the case of the main character Pax, who with his wide mushroom cap, green attire, and walking stick, resembles a wandering samurai. Pax's cap additionally serves as his life meter, slowly getting eaten away as he takes damage: an inventive way to eliminate the life bar from the top of the screen.

More striking is the world in which the titular Mushroom Men reside; a dark, dank, dreary place full of glowing green ooze and constructed from the cast-offs of human society. Remnants of clever parody products like "Schmucker's Spazberry Jam" and "Dr Salts" bottle caps not only litter the area, but in some cases, literally make up the areas the player visits, like a village hut made up entirely of election buttons, pamphlets, and other assorted junk.

audio

The sounds in Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars are actually somewhat subdued. Background music tends to rely on thumping beats, but the sound effects punctuate attacks nicely. The voice acting, or basic lack thereof, is really the only sticking point. Characters tend to simply grunt or call whenever lines are spoken, but this gets old somewhat quickly, perhaps fully voicing the dialogue might have been a better choice.

gameplay

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a 3D platformer in the vein of Super Mario Galaxy, and despite the prevalence of mushrooms in both, there are some obvious differences between the two. First and foremost, weapon construction takes a big role in Musgroom Men. Littered about the levels are several different, seemingly harmless (to us gigantic humans) items, things which, if gathered in the right combinations, can be turned into lethal instruments of death. Some weapons are ammunition-based, and others are good for slashing, stabbing, or good, old-fashioned bludgeoning, and each has different ratings in comparison to the others. Collection is a goal in addition simple completion, and levels can be replayed to find items that remain missing.

In addition to the regular abilities of running, jumping, gliding and the like, the hero of Spore Wars has a few unnatural tricks up his sleeves, like Spore-kinesis, which allows him to move any object that sports a fungal growth by pointing at it with the Wii Remote. Spore-kinesis can also be used to attack foes under the right circumstances. Other context-sensitive abilities can be performed by using the pointer. Couple in standard combat moves, which are handled by shaking the Wii Remote, and it's obvious that Mushroom Men is a game that takes good advantage of the Wii's capability for motion control.

The only real downside is the somewhat unpredictable camera, which can leap out of place on tricky jumps, causing the occasional fall. While the camera can be moved with the Wii Remote's Control Pad, it still tends to cause problems in tight corners and on very small platforms.

multiplayer

A second player can join in by taking up another Wii Remote and assisting the first player in a cooperative manner, similar to the two-player mode in Super Mario Galaxy. Player Two can help by using Spore powers and by healing Pax with rapid presses of the A button.

overall

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is a solid platformer, and while it may not offer a great deal of new ideas, the addition of motion control and dozens of weapons to construct make this a title worth playing, if one can overlook the camera issues. Add that on to the clever visual design and a quirky sense of humor, and Red Fly Studios has come up with a decent Wii exclusive.

8.2/10