|System: DS||Review Rating Legend|
|Dev: Red Fly Studio||1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid||4.0 - 4.4 = Great|
|Pub: Gamecock Media Group||2.0 - 2.4 = Poor||4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy|
|Release: Dec. 2, 2008||2.5 - 2.9 = Average||5.0 = The Best|
|Players: 1-2||3.0 - 3.4 = Fair|
|ESRB Rating: Everyone||3.5 - 3.9 = Good|
Tapping the screen to fire a makeshift crossbow isn't too bad, at least until you factor in that you are also jumping around for your life while doing so. The same goes for spore powers, although they are even more difficult to use, requiring you to draw specific shapes on the screen while trying to avoid death.
These are just a few examples of how cumbersome controlling this game actually is. Because of some extremely poor design choices, almost everything in this game is more difficult and annoying than it should be. Players will need to use buttons to move, jump, attack, and block but will need to use the stylus and the touch screen for everything else. The game's many menus and dialogue exchanges can't be navigated through using buttons. Want to make or equip a different weapon? First you'll need to tap an icon with your stylus, tap another to swap the top screen with the bottom, find and drag whichever weapon you desire to your character's hand, and then tap the icon to swap the screens again. It's so amazingly awkward and unwieldy having to constantly switch between using buttons, stylus taps, and even swapping screens endlessly (note the game doesn't pause during this either) that it is hard to imagine that this is how the game is actually supposed to work.
However, even though the controls and gameplay are basically broken, the game isn't entirely without merit. The scav system found in The Spore Wars is included in Rise of the Fungi, allowing you to create makeshift weapons from random items you'll find during your travels such as sticks or broken glass. While it isn't incredibly deep, it does manage to create some variety in your available weaponry. The story in the game is, surprisingly, quite decent, chronicling the emergence of different factions of newly formed mushroom men and their struggles for dominance/peace. The quirky and offbeat world created in this title is also perfectly paired with this game's strange, yet incredibly satisfying soundtrack. If only the game didn't play so terribly, this could have been a great experience to go along with its console counterpart. Unfortunately, the potentially enjoyable aspects of Rise of the Fungi are far outweighed by poor decisions, clunky controls, and constant frustrations.
CCC Staff Contributor