Mercury Meltdown Remix Review

Ever since the original Mercury proved to be one of the better PSP launch games there’s been talk of a port to other systems. The all-round improvement that was Mercury Meltdown hit the PSP a few months back, and Ignition clearly felt that the time was right to give PlayStation 2 owners their chance to play the game. Mercury Meltdown Remix is essentially an ‘enhanced’ version of the game for the PSP, but not all the enhancements have been for the better.

As far as game ideas go, Mercury couldn’t be any simpler: Guide a blob of mercury around a 3D level and reach a goal. It’s that simple. Although Mercury Meltdown Remix is the third game in the series (second if you’re being picky), the core gameplay is still as simple as ever. With extra levels play through (taking the number of puzzles to over 200) and a control scheme that benefits from the PlayStation 2’s superior analogue sticks, Remix should in theory be the best Mercury game to date, but it’s not.

With Meltdown (and therefore Remix by default) the development team’s focus was to iron out the flaws in the original game’s design. Most notably this means a much easier to tolerate learning curve, a timer that doesn’t act as a great iron fist hell-bent on destroying your enjoyment, a new map that lets you view the entire level, and the ability to choose another level should the one you’re attempting prove to be too difficult. These changes made the PSP game walk that fine line between being too tricky and being too simple, but on the PlayStation 2 Remix is a relative walk in the park. The analogue stick control is so much more precise that most of the challenge is completely removed.

If you haven’t played Meltdown on the PSP, the first thing you’ll notice in Remix is the game’s unique look and its lab-themed areas. Meltdown Remix has a fun cel-shaded appearance, with colours that pop out of the screen. Strangely, despite the PSP game being widescreen, the PlayStation 2 version doesn’t feature such an option. Numerous labs are home to each set of levels, and although each set looks a little different, the actual gameplay remains largely the same throughout. Unlocking new laboratories isn’t quite as simple as finishing each level, as each lab requires a certain amount of mercury to have been collected.

There’s an awful lot to work through, with over 200 levels to crack. With so many to create, it would have been easy for the developers to become lazy, but thankfully that isn’t the case here. The quality in design is strong from start to finish, and although a few of the levels stand out from the rest, the game never becomes boring. The majority of gameplay mechanics from the first PSP game have made it to the sequel, and they’re joined by a load of new level items and the ability to change the state of the mercury.

At various locations you’ll be able to heat up or cool down the mercury, which makes the blob behave in very different ways. Super heated mercury is incredibly vulnerable to objects, with slight touches splitting the blob into numerous smaller blobs. This can be disastrous, with blobs rolling around all over the level, and with part of your score dependent on how much mercury is returned to the goal, split mercury is a real nightmare. Chilled mercury also has its problems, as it no longer moulds to its environment, making navigation around tight spaces a big problem.

Colour making is the other main idea you’ll have to get your head around, with numerous areas only accessible to certain coloured blobs. Blending colours isn’t hard in itself, but getting the individual coloured blobs to their respective targets is a little trickier. Combine that with general obstacles and you have a game that will require a fair amount of concentration, but it’s simply not as challenging as it is on the PSP.

Mercury Meltdown on the PSP featured five mini-games, and these are also included in Remix. These are unlocked as you progress through the main levels, and while clearly playing second fiddle to the main game, they’re surprisingly good fun. Rodeo (trying to stay on a platform while a fan blows at you) and Paint (literally painting your colour on a surface) are the pick of the bunch, but most are good for a few minutes play now and again. Sadly all the multiplayer options from the PSP game didn’t make it to the PlayStation 2 version, but it’s not a huge loss.

Mercury has always been a great fit for the PSP, and Mercury Meltdown Remix simply hasn’t been tailored to fit the PlayStation 2 as well as it could have been. It’ll take a fair while to complete all of the levels, and even then there’s 100% completion to go for, but the PSP version is superior. The new levels are a nice bonus, but half the fun of the PSP game was feeling like you’d achieved something when completing a level; on the PlayStation 2 that feeling is all but gone.