Time Travel? There’s an App For That.
When her fiancée goes AWOL two days before their nuptials,Vera, Mushroom Age’s plucky protagonist, wastes no time moping and instead arms herself with a magical cell phone capable of time travel. Which, as it transpires, isn’t as mental as it sounds, because groom-to-be Tom has inadvertently managed to become hopelessly lost somewhere between the dawn of time and the year 3008 (must have been one hell of a stag-night, eh?).
Cue a hidden object adventure/puzzle game hybrid of epic proportions, as our heroine traverses the past, present and future in the hopes of locating her absentee beau, enlisting the help of a wacky cast of characters along the way, including an Albert Einstein lookalike, a chatty robot, a dinosaur, Nostradamus, Socrates, and many more.
G5 Entertainment’s Mushroom Age began its life as a PC title, and this is evidenced throughout by the game’s high production values, beautiful graphics, quality voice acting, intricately devised puzzles, and the genuinely engaging plot.
Broken up into chapters, the game unfolds at a leisurely pace, levels comprised of a well-balanced mix of traditional item hunting against static back-drops, brain-teasing puzzling sections and a diverse selection of always amusing mini-games.
And whether you’re giving a sensual massage to a wrinkly philosopher, restoring democracy to ancient Greece, or helping a talking t-rex track down her missing eggs, Mushroom Age is never less than entertaining. For me though, what helped elevate the game well above the competition was the beefy assortment of mini-games which bulk out the core gameplay.
These include variations on favorites such as Hangman, jigsaw puzzles, and Mah-Jongg and some original physics based noodle bakers to boot.
All in all, Mushroom Age has been incredibly well adapted for iPhone/iPad, and feels perfectly suited to a touchscreen interface. The game also looks fantastic, boasting some truly gorgeous and painstakingly detailed environments.
My only real gripe with Mushroom Age was that after prolonged play the voices of certain characters did begin to get irritating – in particular that of the actress playing Vera. While it’s not without its faults, you’ll have to look long and hard before you find a more absorbing hidden object adventure game on the iPlatform. This quirky and unique game comes highly recommended.
iFanzine Verdict: A thoroughly engrossing storyline, quirky characters and an abundance of mini-games and puzzles help make Mushroom Age one of the most enjoyable hidden object games this writer has yet to find for iPhone.
[xrr rating=4/5]