Mushroom Men: Spore Wars is one of the few Wii games on the horizon that caught my eye when I was at PAX. In my hands-on time with the game it seemed like a pretty solid platformer with a good sense of humor.

What I have for you readers today is a closer look at the boss battles in this game. Like the title of this blog reads, simply bopping these guys on the head isn’t gonna cut it. Different puzzle and strategy elements are necessary to make it to the next level.

In the press release I received, there were three different types of boss battles outlined:

Bosses as Mechanic Reinforcement

Several of the bosses and mini-bosses reinforce a specific mechanic, such as the Telekinesis-Throw (whereby Pax uses his Telekinesis ability on an object and tosses it back at the enemy). Players have the option to use this ability during the game to get the upper hand on an opponent, or could let Player 2 perform this to help them out in the midst of battle, but it is never enforced (didn’t want to force the player if they didn’t want to).

However, Red Fly used the bosses as a chance to make a puzzle and encourage players to use different Spore Powers. Several of the bosses require this Telekinesis-Throw attack to beat. One of the mini-bosses actually acts as a tutorial for the Spore Punisher maneuver, flying out of the player’s reach until they can successfully execute it.

Boss as Action/Puzzle

Red Fly created action/puzzle battles with some stand-alone boss encounters. For example, the player will need to use the environment components and specific game mechanics to take out bosses they can’t reach directly or might just be too strong. This frames these specific boss fights as puzzles to be solved, not simply a skill exercise (although there is some of that, too!).

Bosses as the Level

In the Parking Lot, the player will face not one but FIVE bosses. The entire area is centered on these encounters and each of the bosses use their environment in interesting and unique ways closely tied to them.

Looks like the company is trying to mix it up a bit with the bosses. Puzzles and “mechanics reinforcement” aren’t exactly the newest of techniques, but the idea of “Bosses as the Level” intrigues me a bit. It is also reassuring to know that each boss will be a different experience. I’m looking forward to seeing what this quirky little platformer has to offer this coming November.

Tags: Gamecock, Mushroom Men, mushroom men spore wars, Nintendo, Platformer, Red-Fly, Wii

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1 Comment » der:klot on October 26, 2008 9:33 pm long live the “malice on the cob”! i cannot wait for folks to play the game already. RSS feed for comments on this post. Comment Now Note: Commenting on Ripten does not currently require registration, however to be eligible for contests on the site, you must be a registered user. Name (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website Commenting Rules: No hate speech allowed. If you must argue, please debate intelligently. Comments containing selected keywords or outbound links will be put into moderation to help prevent spam. Ripten reserves the right to delete comments and ban anyone who doesn't follow the rules. Thanks. Notify me of followup comments Tired of the Goomba? Upload your own custom comment avatar.