Metareview: Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars
by Chris Greenhough 
{ Dec 5th 2008 at 3:32PM }
- Official Nintendo Magazine UK (86%) provides the most effusive review to date: "It'd have a Gold Award but for the camera. That aside, it's pretty wonderful." [Dec 2008, p.75]
- Game Informer (58%) is less enamored (in its really, really short review): "Mushroom Men has a few things going for it, like cool characters and clever sound design. Unfortunately, none of the good stuff has any bearing on the gameplay, which is a total mess. The camera is awful, the level designs are boring, and combat is comprised of whipping the remote around and hoping that you hit something."
- Nintendo Power (80%) found it to be vintage platforming fun
gi: "If you're hungry for some classic 3-D platforming, Mushroom Men is definitely worth checking out." [Holiday 2008, p.84]
- 1UP (C) thinks it's just a pretty face, and is reminded of generic PS1 platformers (surely it's not as bad as Croc?): "The rich presentation fills out its role in the game just fine, but the core mechanics simply can't back it up. Visually intriguing environments break down to straightforward platforming and switch-flipping puzzles; inspired design rears its head every now and then, but -- by and large -- Mushroom Men's stages are anything but progressive, falling right alongside a forgotten swath of PS1 platformers."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dustin @ Dec 5th 2008 4:04PM
Awww.. Bummer. I was hoping this game would do better. I'll still give it a whirl, but I was hoping it could be used as an example of a GOOD third party Wii game.
MrTyzik @ Dec 5th 2008 4:32PM
I still wanna pick it up for Les's music and the indie-ish feel.
Mr Khan @ Dec 5th 2008 4:49PM
pfft. Game Informer. They've been the most anti-Wii of the lot as of late.
leonus11 @ Dec 5th 2008 5:41PM
@ Mr Khan
pfftt! who are telling? GI has been anti-Wii for quite sometime now! for GI if it ain't a casual game it gets a crappy review. if it is a casual game it gets praised like no tomorrow. i tend not to listen to sites like IGN, Eurogamer and the other lot. i always see videos and if i like what i see i'll buy it and i usually end up liking it. still i wish Nintendo would offer downloadable demos for Wii games. would make choosing LOT easier!
Daryl @ Dec 5th 2008 6:36PM
GI is a magazine of Nintendo haters. I wouldn't listen to it.
Hamster @ Dec 5th 2008 8:32PM
Game Informer gave:
Super Mario Galaxy - 98%
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 100%
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - 95%
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 95%
I hardly think you can claim that they have an anti-Nintendo bias.
Matias @ Dec 5th 2008 10:12PM
But there are some games that you can't give lower scores, because are too known, or are so good it would be a blatant lie to give them a lower score. They can bash other new and unknown games like this and get away easily.
See other reviews on the wii, they are much harsher
Bowser Rogozhin @ Dec 6th 2008 6:20AM
"Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - 100%"
Hahaha.
A clear sign of Gamestop feeding the fanboy hype.
Daryl @ Dec 7th 2008 11:08PM
Exactly. They are clever Nintendo haters who give a small amount of good Nintendo games a good rating so that people like Hamster can pretend that they are unbiased.
fishyfood @ Dec 5th 2008 11:29PM
I would still invest in this game regardless. I think the developers put effort into this game, unlike Ubicrap and their onslaught of pet sims. The reviews just show that people expect the game to be like a Mario Bros. platformer. Comparing it with a PS1 platformer is just insulting, especially since he game intentionally tried to be unique. I loved the ideas the developers had for the game concerning the environmental music and their art direction. Furthermore, I think that 1-UP reviews should simply be ignored these days. It just brings out the inner fanboy rage in me.
perestroika @ Dec 6th 2008 5:31AM
its out!! finally! hell yes!! HELL YEESS!!! :D damn me for forgetting.
but it should have been out sooner. i have no money. and with xmas coming, no money until next year! :'(
Anti-Villian @ Dec 6th 2008 8:57AM
YES!!! GOD I JUST WANT TO MASH MY KEYBOARD WITH HAPPINESS!!!
perestroika @ Dec 7th 2008 7:01AM
I ALREADY DID LIKE 100 TIMES!! BUT I DID IT WRONG BECAUSE NOW I CANT MOVE MY LEGS ANYMORE!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
*CRAWLS INTO THE WARP HOLE AND FLIES WITH UNICORNS THROUGH OUT THE EYE OF THE MOTHERFUCKING UNIVERSE!!!!
MusicHyper @ Dec 10th 2008 1:43PM
I truly enjoyed playing this game. I felt it was unique and entertaining, with an interesting oddity that appealed to me. I can't wait to own it!
I Hyped Mushroom Men on Everhype and gave it 89% which I think is fairly accurate.
http://www.everhype.com/hyper/thebitch?X=G398
I wouldn’t mind getting some opinions on it . If you get on there, rate me a 5 & request friendship.