Trip out on these Mushrooms.

An unexpected surprise at E for All, Red Fly Studio's Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars was on hand, presenting what could very well be the final product of the game.

Mushroom Men is one of those games that has a more unique approach to gaming in that it stars humanoid mushrooms. These mushrooms have come to life after a comet passes over earth bringing down strange green dust. While this dust is both harmless and unnoticeable by humans, all sorts of plant life are affected by it and brought to life. There are fragments of the comet lying around the Mushroom world that are treated as sacred relics.

In Mushroom Men, the player controls the character Pax, one of the many mushrooms who is trying to fit into the newly-formed Bolete tribe. What is unique to him Pax is that he is able to absorb the many fragments of the comet that was left on earth. This gets him in trouble early on in the game.

The game starts off with a simple tutorial that allows you to learn of the basics of the game. Moving, walking, fighting, and is all explained during the tutorial. After a few basic tasks, you are introduced to the creation mechanic of the game. There are items that seem small and insignificant to humans, but can be used as deadly weapons for the Mushroom people. A simple razor blade and twig can create a sword or a PDA stylus, ABC gum and a thimble can be used to create a something similar to a hammer weapon.

After duking it out with a warrior of the mushroom people, the protagonist gets the chance to hold the' mushrooms "trophy." The trophy is actually a piece of the comet that made the mushroom people come to life. After Pax holds it, he magically absorbs prompting the tribe chief to scold Pax and find him a replacement. It is here where the main game finally starts.

Trying to find a replacement meteor fragment, you face various types of baddies like moles, bugs and rats. A simple waggle of the Wii remote allows you to attack. Due to the effects of the comet, Pax has earned the power of telekinesis. Items that are covered in spores of the comet are the only things you can use your telekinesis powers however. Various items like baseballs, shoes and other random knickknacks can be used as a weapon by picking it up and throwing them at your enemies. To use your powers, you first point with the Wii remote at the item you want to control. Then, you press the B trigger to activate your powers and with a quick flick of the Wii remote, you can then throw the item.

After some more mole killing, a point is reached where the boss Mole is. There are other mushrooms there that set up a trap which could possibly kill the giant mole, but are too afraid to get close to it. Your job is to cut these lines of rope that will allow a pike fall on it and kill it. While doing this, the boss starts to throw giant boulders so you need to avoid them while cutting the ropes. Once you finish, the giant pike will go through the Mole and the camera pans and it is killed off screen.

Once finished, you press on forward to reclaim your prize: a sticky hand. The Mushrooms can use this simple toy as a sort of grappling hook enabling them to get to high places. With that, you are now finished with the first part of the game.

There are other things to talk about in Mushroom Men, the first being its surreal visual style. Sporting a dark and moody atmosphere comparable to that of Tim Schafers classic Psychonauts. But as a Mushroom, everything around you looks incredibly massive. A refrigerators freezer for example is shown as a massive ice cave. Graphics wise, the game looks smooth on the Wii and is definitely one of its prettier titles and having the game clock at a good 60 frames per second is always a plus.

One thing that I really wanted to cover, but could not, is the sound. The demo over at E for All was entirely mute. We were not sure if this was a hardware problem or just the demo but it definitely was a disappointment especially since the soundtrack happens to be created by Les Claypool, singer and bassist of the band Primus.

Even without something as integral as sound, I had a damn good time with Mushroom Men. With gamers complaining about the lack of quality games on the Wii, this may be the one that will mute them... for now.
Mushroom Men is due for release on December 2 in North America.