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Mercury Meltdown Revolution Review for the Nintendo Wii

Mercury Meltdown Revolution Review for the Nintendo Wii

Fun With Poisonous Substances

Few games seem more perfectly suited for tilt controls than the Mercury puzzle series. Indeed, a motion sensor device for the original PSP title was planned, although it unfortunately never came into fruition. 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. 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. 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.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution screenshot

Few games seem more perfectly suited for tilt controls than the Mercury puzzle series. Indeed, a motion sensor device for the original PSP title was planned, although it unfortunately never came into fruition. 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. 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. 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 mercury physics are a delight to see in action. 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. 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. 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. 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. The way the mercury interacts with various obstacles throughout the game’s many levels is incredibly unique and often entrancing to watch. The bright, cartoon-style visuals look great, although they’re not revolutionary by any means.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution screenshot

Levels start out easy enough as players are gradually introduced to new elements and mechanics. It won’t take very long, however, before they begin to elicit a “they want me to do what?” kind of reaction. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution screenshot

In the control department, Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a blast. The Wii Remote is held sideways in the classic style, and the blob of mercury is moved around the maze by tilting the entire level to adjust gravity. The tilt controls are amazingly responsive and fun to use. Pressing the 1 and 2 buttons lets players zoom in and out, the A button switches between blobs when dealing with more than one at a time, and the d-pad rotates the view. There is also support for both the Wii classic and Game Cube controllers, so you can play the game the old PSP way. It seems almost foolish, however, in comparison to the picture perfect tilt implementation. This is how the game was truly meant to be played in the first place.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution screenshot

As players work their way through each level, they’ll receive a score based on how fast they complete the course. Extra points are awarded for beating the par course time, picking up bonuses in each level, and finishing without losing any of your mercury. Overall, the level design and puzzle incorporation are excellent. It’s almost a shame that you have to rush through them at a near breakneck speed. The time limit can be stressful although you’ll still be able to progress as long as you complete the course. Each level is represented by a vial which fills with mercury depending on how much remains at the end of a course. As mercury accumulates from level to level, players will unlock new laboratories, party games, mercury skins, and other goodies. This provides a big incentive to go back and shoot for a better score. A total of five party games can be unlocked, and almost all of them provide a fun, if somewhat brief, addition to the main game. It’s just unfortunate no multiplayer options were included.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution finally gets the controls right, and provides a whole lot of bang for a $20 budget priced Wii title. Puzzle fanatics will find it hard to relinquish control of the Wii Remote once they get sucked into the crazy physics and impressively designed mazes.

Features:

  • Full interaction using the Wii Remote tilt sensor.
  • Support for the Wii Classic and Nintendo GameCube controllers.
  • Advance rendering techniques for improved graphical quality with 480p support.
  • State of the art blob physics.
  • Over 150+ challenging levels with hidden labs and many bonus feature to unlock.

    RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.6 Graphics
    480p support is nice. The Cartoony visuals are a good match for the game, but they simply down pack a punch in terms of “wow” factor. 4.8 Control
    Amazing tilt controls are darn near perfection. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
    A big variety in terms of music, yet most of it is of the irritating electronic variety. 4.0

    Play Value
    Though portions of the game are frustratingly difficult, it’s still highly addictive and massively entertaining in mid-length bursts.

    4.0 Overall Rating – Great
    Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

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