Porter's World

Mushroom Madness

Mushroom Madness is yet another rare gem in the action oriented defense genre. It was only just days ago that I did a Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 Review, praising the game for standing out in the genre, but here we are today with yet another successful game of it’s kind. There may be some connection in having a successful game, use of the letter “M”, and using alliteration, but we’ll save that mystery for another day, and most likely for someone other than myself. That aside, this fantastic game is put together brilliantly, and is a top notch game, perfectly suited for the flash game industry.

Mushroom Madness, as I mentioned earlier, is a fantastic action oriented defense game. The object is simple, protect you’re mushrooms from hedgehogs, bears, and birds. You’ll achieve this goal by using your trusty swatter, an automatic gun, a shot gun, bear traps, and bombs. Hedgehogs will attempt to grab your mushrooms and run off with them, as will birds that swoop in; bears however don’t have the patience to eat when they get home, and have their feast on the spot. Like all good defense games, the game offers the ability to upgrade a few features that allow you to customize how you play. Upgrades include, stronger hits with your swatter, quicker recharge time for the swatter, longer stun duration, the ability to purchase new strikes with the swatter, more regular gun ammo, bigger radius for bomb explosions, more durable bear traps, and more shotgun ammo. The way you upgrade really effects the way you play, I know that when I tackle hard mode (which is unlocked after beating the game on normal mode once), I’ll be taking a much different approach. The balancing and difficulty are also spot on, I found myself in a constant state of enjoyment, slightly challenged at times, and never frustrated or bored, which is a very nice achievement on the developers part. This game won’t offer nearly as much strategy as Bloons TD3, rather more of a hands on defense feel such as that which can be found in Storm The House 3; which is great, because that’s exactly what the developers were going for. Either way, fans of both action and defense games will definitely be in for a treat when they give this game a play.

The graphics in Mushroom Madness are incredibly charming. At times, I almost feel bad about dropping a bomb on a poor defenseless hedgehog, but then I remember it’s just a game, that and a small part of my sick and twisted human mind loves doing it, so I can’t complain. The colors used in this game are very well selected, everything is vibrant and filled with life, that is until you drop another bomb on the hedgehog, then there really isn’t much life to be found at all. Hedgehog bomb jokes aside, the art really is fantastic. The sprites in this isometric game are very proportional and well animated, absolutely no flaws there.

As should be the case in all games, the audio is very well suited and compliments the art brilliantly. The music is very upbeat, charming, and sounds like it should be thrown into something fun, which is exactly what it does here. The sound effects are incredibly clear, everything from the wolf howls in the upgrade menu, to the sound of the shotgun firing away. In addition, the volume of each sound effect is very well balanced, something a few games occasionally miss out on doing. All in all, the music and sound effects were very well done, and definitely build up the games fun and enjoyable atmosphere.

There you have it, another fantastic game snatched up by King. There really isn’t anything bad about this game; the gameplay is incredibly casual, the graphics charming, the music high quality and fitting, all qualities a great flash game should excel in. In addition to the main game, there’s also a number of mini games to be unlocked as you progress, all of which are simple, yet add value. Lastly, for all those who are looking to get a bit more hardcore with the game, there’s a survival mode in which you can submit your high score, perfect for anyone looking for some competition. Bottom line, this game is of excellent quality, looks great, and is incredibly fun, definitely give it a play.

Momentum Missile Mayhem 4

It’s not often I find a flash game that really draws me in, Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 is one of those rare exceptions. There has never been an action oriented defense game that has successfully drawn me in like this game. Everything shines with high production value, the music, the graphics, the interface, and most importantly, the gameplay. I’m constantly ranting about how flash games are ridiculously watered down in difficulty, this game pleases me even there, offering enough challenge to have stolen a few hours of my life, hours that I’m not about to ask to get back. I know a lot of players as well as developers hate hearing about high production value, but this is one of the cases where high production value really deserves to be pointed out. The amount of polish put into this game is intense, and I’m certain it paid off in the sponsorship deal.

The gameplay in Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 is awesome, very awesome. The physics are spot on, the enemies interesting, and variety of things to do immense. The RPG factors within the skill tree system alone are enough to hook most players, the intense heated battles finish it off for the rest. There are a number of special skills to help you on the battlefield, some unlocked from beating bonus missions in the campaign mode, others you start with. Your primary projectiles can be upgraded to shoot faster, deal more damage, and contain more mass, which sends enemies flying further and faster which feels quite rewarding. By applying points to the gravity launcher upgrade, you can also unlock 4 other types of projectiles, all with unique properties and uses, and of course, their own level. Some of the more intense attacks have cool down timers, but that’s all just part of the amazing balancing this game has to offer. Aside from the starting and four additional types of projectiles you can get via leveling up the gravity launcher upgrade, you can unlock a sixth type by clearing a bonus mission which is unlocked roughly half way through the game, and believe me, you don’t want to miss this one. In addition to the six different projectiles you can choose from, you can level up your max shield and shield recharge rate, max energy and energy recharge rate, as well as nine other useful skills to help you dominate the battlefield. Despite the insane ability to upgrade and customize your attack strategy, you’ll find yourself using good old fashioned skill more than anything to stay alive in this game. This game is hard, not so hard it’s unfair, but hard enough to give you a few hours of gameplay if you want to finish the entire campaign, not to mention the sandbox and Armageddon mode. Aside from a few minor issues that make the difficulty unfair, rather than hard, the gameplay is presented perfectly.

The graphics in Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 are definitely top notch. The explosions look excellent, the textures on background terrain superb, and the various effects during special attacks are flawless. The enemy designs are each unique, and well thought out as well. They all vary in size, shape, and color, where as many games recycle designs and just swap up color and size. The most unappreciated aspect related to the graphics and design is probably the user interface, which is amazing. There is a lot of information in this game, lots of upgrade menus, lots of instructions, it’s just loaded. This game organizes all of that information and presents it in a way that isn’t overwhelming, which I applaud seeing as there’s so much to do and learn. All around there isn’t a single graphical flaw in this game, it’s well presented, well polished, and it looks excellent.

I’ve explained time and time again about the importance of game music, I’m proud to say that this game follows absolutely everything I have to say on the matter. The title screen music is relaxing, much like the calm before a battle. The level selection menu is more pumped, it hints that things are about to heat up, it’s time to prepare. Lastly, the gameplay music, a mild rock tune with a lot of energy, perfectly fitting the mood of the action packed battles. The sound effects are excellent, and none are missing. There’s sounds for menu hover, menu select, firing, blowing up, specials, explosions, and so on, they’re all there. All the sounds are incredibly fitting, none are too high pitched and hurt with headphones, and all are crystal clear. This game is a fine example of how audio can add to the value of a game by being exceptionally fitting.

All in all I’m very pleased with this game. I rarely find a flash game that I hold on par with games outside of the industry, but this one definitely goes onto my list of great games in general. I really don’t have anything negative to say about this game, there are a few minor unfair situations that can occur that are out of the players control, but it happens, and when compared to the amount of superb balance this game offers, I really can’t complain. If you’re looking for some great action, or some more hands on strategic defense, Momentum Missile Mayhem 4 is definitely the game for you.