![]() ![]() It all comes out of the quality and accuracy of the inherent physics around which the game is built. And all this is delivered without a quirky name, or hair-do, in fact without a body or head at all. It literally oozes identity as it slips over surfaces, flows down walls and pours off drops. ![]() This is possibly one of the strongest video game characters I have come across in a long time. MacLean is obviously proud of the little fellow. He, let’s call it a he, is there in the opening credits, he is dancing in the selection menu and at just about every other turn. Let’s get this straight, the blob of mercury you tilt and tip around the maze is thoroughly the star of the game. How to best let people play with his new technological toy? However things don’t always turn out how you would have planned them and this is the challenge that may well have faced Archer MacLean with his Mercury project when it was conceived. It’s much easier to seed a game from an intriguing idea that then demands some technical ingenuity. On top of that, the game throws a staggering number of different elements at players including conveyors, jumps, force fields, electronic gizmos, teleportation devices, pressure switches, swinging hammers, moving platforms, fans, switches, bridges, a variety of bothersome creatures, and more.The problem faced by inventing some new technological gloop is that you then have to invent some contrived scenario in which to put it, to deliver fun to the paying public. You'll have to split your mercury into multiple smaller blobs, turn each of them into the separate primary colors needed, and then combine them again to mix the right secondary color to progress. ![]() It's relatively simple when you're facing a single door that's one of three primary colors in the game, but if it happens to be a secondary color it gets more difficult. Some of the most interesting challenges in the game revolve around its unique color mixing puzzles which require you to change the color of your mercury blob to open certain doors. Though the game evokes a slight nostalgia for Marble Madness on the NES, completing levels quickly becomes far more complicated than rolling a blob to the finish line. It won't take very long, however, before they begin to elicit a "they want me to do what?" kind of reaction. Levels start out easy enough as players are gradually introduced to new elements and mechanics. The bright, cartoon-style visuals look great, although they're not revolutionary by any means. The way the mercury interacts with various obstacles throughout the game's many levels is incredibly unique and often entrancing to watch. Reforming it into a single mass involves using gravity to pool all of the smaller bits into a corner so they touch and come back together. You can also intentionally split the mercury into any number of multiple smaller blobs by ramming against a sharp corner or stretching it too thin. Wandering too close to an edge or taking a corner too sharply will often cause some of your primary blob to break off and drip off into oblivion, decreasing the overall mass of the mercury. In most cases players will begin with a single large blob of the liquid metal which will ooze around objects, drip down ramps, and squeeze through small spaces. ![]() The mercury physics are a delight to see in action. If you've enjoyed the game on PSP, you simply won't be able to put it down once you get your hands on the Wii Remote. The newest adaptation of game, Mercury Meltdown Revolution, this time for the Wii, is essentially another upgrade of the PSP sequel, yet it manages to vastly improve the gameplay by finally integrating awesome tilt controls. The tilt concept sat on the shelf through two versions of a sequel: one on the PSP with Mercury Meltdown and the follow-up Mercury Meltdown Remix for Playstation 2. Indeed, a motion sensor device for the original PSP title was planned, although it unfortunately never came into fruition. Few games seem more perfectly suited for tilt controls than the Mercury puzzle series. ![]()
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