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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. Mercury Meltdown is the sequel to the PSP launch title, and although it looks quite drastically different, the core gameplay is still as simple as ever. With over 160 levels and numerous multiplayer modes, Meltdown is one of the more impressive puzzle games available for the handheld.
With Meltdown 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. All together, these slight changes make Meltdown a far superior game to the original, pleasing fans and appealing to newcomers who might have been put-off by the original’s harsh reputation.
The first thing you’ll notice is the game’s unique new look and its lab-themed areas. Meltdown has a fun cel-shaded appearance, with colours that pop out of the screen. Numerous labs are home to each set of levels, and although each set look 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 be collected. Mini-games are unlocked in much the same way, but require you to collect bonus items.
There’s an awful lot to work through, with over 160 levels to crack. With so many on offer 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 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 more than a little tricky. Combine that with general obstacles and you have a game that will cause you to lose a fair bit of hair – but thankfully you’ll never experience the sheer frustration that players of the original game did.
New to Mercury Meltdown are five party games. These are unlocked as you progress through the main levels, and are playable alone or wirelessly against a friend. While clearly playing second fiddle to the main game, they’re surprisingly good fun, with Rodeo (trying to stay on a platform while a fan blows at you) and Paint (literally painting your colour on a surface) being the pick of the bunch. The main levels can also be played competitively in a race to the finish, with battle pick-ups replacing the normal items in each level.
Mercury has always seemed like a great fit for the PSP, and Meltdown improves on an already impressive game. It’ll take a fair while to complete all of the levels, and even then there’s 100% completion to go for. The multiplayer game modes and party games are a great addition, and the colourful visuals and fun presentation suit the gameplay perfectly. As sequels go, Meltdown is more of an evolution rather than a revolution, but if that’s what you want you won’t be disappointed.
