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Character design and concept art are two areas in which Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars excels, and the free gifts for those who preorder the game use both extensively.

Those who reserve a copy at Gamestop will be able to claim the "life-size" statuette above, as well as a pack of eleven Mushroom Men trading cards (a twelfth comes with the game itself) featuring the title's diverse range of enemies. The "Jackalope" has ensured that we shall not sleep easily tonight.

It's probably worth mentioning that a further eleven cards will be offered to those who preorder Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi on the DS, as well as a superb Les Claypool/Mushroom Men poster. Red Fly's customized Mushroom Men VW Bus is not, alas, a preorder perk, but it is rad. Take a look.

[Via press release]

Mushrooms are tasty. In fact, Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars should end with some random guy coming in and cooking up a nice mushroom sauce to have with a tender ribeye steak. Will that guy be Les Claypool? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps we have some new screens for the upcoming platformer, where mushrooms are the heroes rather than delicious enemies.

It's no surprise that we are pretty excited about Mushroom Men, the potential of which is enough to break down the doors of Red Fly and take a peek inside. If you dig the new screens in the gallery, then you're an official member of an exclusive fungi appreciation club. Hey, it's an upstart organization. Seeking sponsorship opportunities.


[Via press release]

This is something we didn't know: Primus frontman, and all-around awesome dude, Les Claypool, contributed music for Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars. To be more exact, he contributed tunes to capture the feel of each of the different races found in the game, which we imagine is quite the potent combo when paired with the lovely game art we've seen.

You see, MTV Multiplayer recently had the Wii version of the game demoed for them, and they walked away pretty impressed with the game's audio offerings. The music seems to be procedural, and changes as the player accomplished tasks in the game world, shifting and reshaping in line with what is happening in the game. All in all, it seems that Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars is going to at least provide an interesting audio experience. Let's hope the gameplay is being developed with as much care!

Not familiar with Les and Primus? Head on past the break for a pair of our favorite Primus tunes.