Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi (DS) Preview
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 07.10.2008
These aren't the type of mushrooms you'll see Mario eating.
Having only seen screenshots of Mushroom Men for the Nintendo DS, I was pretty curious to see the game in action. After finally checking the game out after a recent visit to SouthPeak's SF offices, I found out that the game is actually pretty cool. The story begins after a comet had passed the earth, and all the planet's researchers concluded its strange green dust had no effect on the world. None noticed that tiny plants and fungi were acting strangely. Mushrooms, cacti, kudzu and other formerly-normal plants had awoken to full consciousness. Tribes quickly formed among the various mushroom species: the primitive Boletes, the aggressive Amanitas, and the inventive Morels. With nations formed, war inevitably followed.
The game works as your basic platformer with 2D/3D elements, or what I like to call 2½D as we've seen with games like New Super Mario Bros. As you make your way through various areas, you'll have to use your head to figure out some of the intricate puzzles you'll find. One of the very first puzzles I encountered in my hands-on preview was that I had some friends who were trapped behind some vines that I couldn't get through. Though I couldn't find a weapon that would help me break through, I quickly found that I had to piece together various objects to create the axe that I so needed. This reminded me a little bit of what Lost in Blue tried to do in getting you to acquire various objects and make tools and other items which include over 100 of them.
Things aren't too complicated it seems as the map gives you an idea as to where to go next. If you swap the map to the bottom screen, you can also look at your stats, as well as your inventory to create weapons and set up your spore based powers. You can upgrade your character in a handful of stats as in an RPG. You'll also have access to seeing stats from your defeated enemies so you have an idea as to what will and won't work against them in battle.
The animation appeared to run very smoothly and the graphics are pretty sharp. Though I didn't get to go much farther than the first level, I got a good sense for how the game will play out. Co-op play will be available with two separate game carts so a friend can jump in with you at the beginning of a level to help settles things out. Set for an October 1, 2008 release, Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi looks like a fun little platformer that will also set up the Wii version as the DS version will work as a prequel.
Tribes quickly formed among the various mushroom species: the primitive Boletes, the aggressive Amanitas, and the inventive Morels. With nations formed, war inevitably followed. 
