Mercury Hg is the successor to the PlayStation 2 game Mercury Meltdown, it’s is a puzzle plat former released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 for all audiences.
Mercury Hg is based around the chemical element or mercury, you play as a large glob of mercury placed, where you are given control over the way the map leans and tilts, this allows you to shift the blob around the level.
Players are tasked with the simple goal of getting their blob across the finish line, any monkey ball players will feel reminiscent of tilting the map to move. Player can also collect large atoms dotted around the map to further increase their experience bar to unlock new levels. Each level players are rated around how well they pick up the atoms, their finishing time, and how much of the blob can cross the finish line.
As stated this is a puzzle game, many level include modifiers making. The blob can change colours by going under machines; depending on your colour you can activate certain pads and other sections. Sharp corners can split the blob, at this point player’s controls becomes substantially more difficult to control also allowing two different coloured blobs to merge and become another colour, aiding in puzzles. There are a variety of different puzzle based obstacles, and modifiers to keep you interested and giving the game a good replay value for high scores, or “gold medals”.
Mercury offer levels for each element in the periodic table (a nice touch) and goes further to add challenge and bonus maps, this gives the game a massive game length especially for a downloadable game. The game also has Downloadable content available if you felt the current mound of levels isn’t enough.
One of the better effects in Mercury is how tilting the map can affect the level. As players tilt, tiles will roll over revealing traps, or even parts of the map unfolding as you move towards the. These tiles are also affected by the music playing in the background. Mercury has a substantial track list, with a wide variety of chill out and like techno music.
Gameplay
The game play was almost entirely solid, however the game’s controls can be slight hassle as the camera can feel like the tilting is too much, making it a little confusing when quick reactions are needed. The puzzles are well thought out, but there wasn’t enough diversity in what puzzle elements were used, so some levels didn’t feel that different.
Presentation
Nice refined graphics, fairly minimalist which didn’t leave me with anything special, however levels are effect by the track that is playing, which for some levels are proves astounding, also as the map tilts tiles and pads will revolve revealing certain parts of the map, or creating obstructions.
Longevity
Lots of levels, however a level builder wouldn’t have gone amiss and would have really extended its life, as leader boards aren’t for everyone.
Overall
A fairly good game, it provides a nice aesthetic, not for everyone, but some might love. The game has loads of levels offering hours, and hours of gameplay, and well worth the asking price.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
