Gamers had
mixed feelings about the first Mercury, myself included. While it was a great
puzzle game, there were many distracting annoyances in the gameplay and overall
design. Well, Mercury Meltdown for the PSP is one of those sequels that does
everything a sequel should.
Mercury
Meltdown still plays exactly like the original. The goals, controls, and overall
ideas are untouched, which is great. The basic idea is to guide your blob of
mercury to the checkered flag. As you progress, the path to the checkered flag
becomes more perilous, requiring the player to avoid obstacles or utilize
devices to aid in achieving their goal.
The
single-player mode in Mercury Meltdown has a much nicer flow this time around.
Levels are represented by empty test tubes, and these test tubes are grouped by
zones, or “Labs.” An empty test tube is a level yet to be completed.
In the
previous Mercury, players had to complete each level within a certain time
limit. If time ran out, the level was failed. This time around the timer is
still in place, but it is not required to finish before it is up. Instead,
players are rewarded more points for finishing within the time frame.
Each level
also had to be completed before moving on to the next. In Mercury Meltdown,
players can now choose any stage they wish in each Lab. If one stage is
particularly difficult, it can be skipped for the time being. Labs are unlocked
by the amount of mercury you have accumulated from all your completed stages.
While it isn’t necessary to complete each level with 100% mercury, the amount of
mercury you finish with is important in unlocking the next Lab.
Each level’s
completion is gauged by three elements: percentage of mercury, time, and bonus
items collected. It is possible to lose some mercury while maneuvering to the
goal in each level, so once you’ve completed a level the amount of mercury you
have left is calculated. The test tube that represents that level is then filled
with that amount of mercury. If you finished without losing any mercury, the
test tube is filled and corked.
Finishing a
level within the time limit will earn you a sticker on the test tube, as will
collecting all the bonus items in that level. If you complete all three of these
tasks, your test tube is then corked with a golden cork. This is really nice for
all those perfectionists out there, because tracking the level of completion for
each stage is now quick and easy.
Mercury
Meltdown isn’t just more of the same, though. There are plenty of new gadgets
and mercury-altering devices this time around. There are now things that cool
off or heat up your blob, making it thicker or thinner, respectively. You can
even turn your blob into a solid ball to ride pinball-style rails.
Party Games
is a new mode that really expands on Mercury Meltdown’s gameplay and replay
factor. As you play the main game and fulfill certain requirements, Party Games
will be unlocked. These are fun “pick-up” games that don’t last very long, but
provide a great breather from the sometimes stressful puzzles. A couple examples
of these party games are Race, where you race your blob on a track for top
times, and Rodeo, where the object is to keep your blob on a floating piece of
land as long as possible as a fan tries to blow you off.
Load times
are extremely fast, and even non-existent at times. This is very nice, since
long load times were an issue with the first. Now restarting levels takes no
time at all, so attempting to perfect levels is now painless (the actual
perfecting is another story).
A few other
notable features are Game Sharing, downloadable levels, and replays. Now a
friend without Mercury Meltdown can join in the fun using Game Share. You can
also save the replays of your most proud victories to share and compare with
friends.
Mercury
Meltdown corrected the problems with the first, and left the rest untouched. All
the unlockables and extra features really add to the replay value, and the ease
of tracking your progress to 100% completion makes it seem a lot more feasible
than in the first. Plus, it’s fun! If you like puzzle games or a nice mental
challenge there’s a slim chance you’ll be disappointed with Mercury Meltdown.
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Gameplay: 9.0
With the addition
of new gameplay elements, and the main idea left untouched, Mercury Meltdown
feels nice and fresh. Now it’s even more fun to play with all the new challenges
and game modes.
Graphics: 8.0
The graphics got
a bit of an upgrade. The mercury is now cel-shaded, causing it to stand out
against the background. The environments surrounding each stage are a lot more
detailed then before as well.
Sound: 7.7
The sound effects
pretty much stayed the same, which is a good thing, but the soundtrack took a
small step back. It’s still decent, and has a nice variety, but certain songs
can start to get a little too catchy.
Difficulty: Medium
Once again,
Mercury Meltdown starts nice and slow to get gamers into the groove. Not to
worry, levels get increasingly complicated and difficult as you progress. The
new free-look option and camera controls makes navigation a lot more convenient,
though.
Concept: 8.5
Ignition did an
excellent job of listening to the complaints and praises of Mercury fans to
deliver a great sequel. Eliminating the distracting problems of the first title
they were able to make the original gameplay idea expand into a much more
enjoyable experience.
Multiplayer: N/A
Unfortunately I
wasn’t able to track down another PSP owner to try out Game Sharing or
multiplayer at the time of this review.
Overall: 8.6
Mercury Meltdown
is not only a great sequel, but a solid puzzle game. The gameplay is easy to
understand, and the difficulty slowly builds so you never feel like you can’t
handle what’s ahead. Gamers looking to expand their PSP library or their mind
should check this title out.
