If you enjoy puzzle games, then the PSP is for you. With titles like EXIT, PQ, Mercury and Lumines, there is an abundance of brain-stretching games on the platform. Mercury Meltdown is taking the latest leap in difficulty, brain power and overall amount of content.
If you’re the type of gamer who doesn’t want to think but just blow zombies heads off, then Mercury Meltdown isn’t for you, this game is really challenging with so many concepts and mechanics in play; the tutorial will feel more like a physics lesson than a video game. You control a blob of mercury… well, more the level underneath it, twisting and turning hoping to guide your gloopy buddy to the finish line. Standing between you and finish however, are a bucket load of puzzles.
Luckily, your blob conforms to the rules of physics, so you can split in down the middle by hitting a corner of a wall, allowing you to go two ways at once, and then use two pressure switches. This sort of idea is one of the simplest concepts, with loads more in play and then a mixture of all of what you’ve learnt throughout the game; anti-gravity, roll able blocks, freezing and heating mercury, pressure switches and so much more.
Another scientific idea that comes into play is colours, and the mixture of them. If you split your blob into two, then roll them into different paint sprayers, rolling them back together will mix the colours so you can pass through a specific gate. The only problem here is the sprayers don’t use the primary colours (Awesome Studios agreed on Red, Blue and Green instead) so you have to display the (optional) HUD piece, the colour chart so you know how to make teal or violet. This oversight makes the game a little harder than it should, but is pretty much the only flaw in the scientific ideas at play.
Aside from puzzles, you’ll also need a little bit of skill to get through the game; twisting roads and enemies adorn most levels, so a keen eye for balance and reflexes is needed on your resume alongside puzzle solver.
Time does come into play, but is not a governing rule of the game. You are given a “par” time, but once that hits zero, you are free to continue playing. There are also bonus pick-ups on each map, specifically placed so that gamers with fantastic balance can add to their score.
It’s things like the par time and bonus pick-ups that aid the brilliant level select screens. Personally, I hate nothing more than a portable game with little indication of what I’ve achieved and what I haven’t. I want to start up the game on the bus, find a level I need to improve on and then go.
Mercury Meltdown, thankfully, has the most in-depth level select screen I’ve seen of late. The levels are depicted as test-tubes, and as you finish the level the graphic will alter; a cap is put on if you saved all the mercury, stickers are put on the side if you beat the in-game scores and got all the bonuses, and finally the cap turns golden if you did everything, under par time. There is little need to read score charts or percentages, everything is displayed visually and really helps for gamers on the go.
A good level selection screen is needed, of course, when your game features over 160 levels.
Meltdown is certainly challenging, that’s for sure, but the learning curve is relatively gentle with new concepts being taught for the first lab (the levels are split into different laboratories) and then a whole host of tough levels featuring the mechanics are laid out in the rest. Luckily, you don’t have to do the levels in order, so if something is specifically hard, you can leave it and come back.
The game is frustrating, but you’ll never blame it on the control scheme or the designers, the game is always fair, and if you fall off or get hit by an enemy then it’s entirely your fault; you won’t be throwing the PSP across the room, but instead you’ll be forced to hurl yourself.
Outside of the puzzle mode, most of your enjoyment will lie in the multiplayer section. While limited to two players, there is a whole host of power-ups to collect and fun to be had, it’s a lot more comprehensive than the first.
There are also addictive party games, the first pitting your blob, standing on a pillar, against many fans trying to blow you off as you desperately try to collect the power-ups the turn the fan’s power down! These are especially fun for passing around with friends, seeing who can get the best score.
While the change from Mercury’s overly realistic graphics to Meltdown’s over the top and wacky cel-shaded visuals was to pull in a wider crowd, it hasn’t sullied the vision of the game. The graphics are impressive, with dancing blobs, wacky backgrounds, cute effects and an overall comic pastiche, but nothing too special. They hold up well on the PSP though, and while the HUD is large, there is still a giant play window.
Mercury Meltdown is an essential upgrade over the first; don’t be fooled by its childish visuals, there is a very challenging game beneath the surface. Meltdown thrives on its massive amount of content from the 160+ levels to the unlockable skins to the party games to the multiplayer mode, and the completists out there may never stop playing this game. If you only have room for one puzzle game in your UMD wallet, it’s got to be EXIT or Mercury Meltdown, and with downloadable content promised, my vote is swaying towards Ignition and Awesome Studio’s baby.
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