Nintendo World Report

Preview

Discuss it in TalkBack!

It's not as fun as breaking open old thermometers, but it is a lot safer.

The original Mercury was one of the brighter spots in a somewhat lackluster PSP launch. The premise of the game is to tilt an obstacle-filled play field and let gravity guide your blob of silver goo to the goal. The concept is not unlike Super Monkey Ball or Kororinpa, except the difference here is that the liquid properties of the mercury you are in control of opens up the possibility for different aspects of level design.

The basic concept is still there for the Wii version of the game's sequel, Mercury Meltdown Revolution (MMR). Players must navigate a blob of mercury through over 150 different levels, getting from Point A to Point B without losing too much mass. Close calls with ledges will siphon off a bit of your blob, and if you lose too much you won't be able to complete a level. That may be easier said than done, especially considering that your hands will be determining which way the blob will move. The Wii remote, as held in the horizontal position, is what you'll need to use to tilt the play field around. For those days you're feeling off-balance you can attach a Wii Classic controller and play that way, as the game will also support analog stick board tilting.

One of the new features to MMR is the different states of mercury you can transform into. Upon activating certain switches in a level, your mercury will change consistency so that it moves around in a different way. Thinning it out will cause it to zip around faster. Thickening it will slow it down, making delicate navigation easier. It can also transform into a solid ball, which is handy for rolling down rail paths to access the next area. In addition to the mercury states, your blob can be painted different colors, which will be necessary to solve different puzzles. For instance, you may happen upon a purple gate, but all you have at your disposal are switches that paint your blob blue or red. What do you do? Split your blob in half, paint each a different color, join them together and roll through the gate. A color combination helper on the game's HUD will let you know what mixes make what colors, seven in total. When you consider the different solidity states and the different color combinations, you can imagine the kinds of puzzles you may be presented with during the course of the game.

MMR will also include a selection of five party games, which can be unlocked as you collect special items in single player mode. All the games are two-player affairs that can be played against the computer or a friend. Race is a self-explanatory mode where you need to beat your opponent to win. Rodeo mode puts your blob on a small play field that rocks about, and you need to stay on for as long as possible. Metrix resembles a more traditional puzzle game where you need to match colored blobs to clear the play field. Shove can best be described as a game that has the layout of a mini golf hole with the sliding and scoring of curling. Finally, paint mode has two players steering colored blobs around a level, leaving a paint trail behind them. The player with the most paint coverage wins.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution has been delayed several times, we're pretty sure that its current late August release date is going to hold up this time. Look for the game on store shelves around then.