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Archer Maclean's Mercury Review
Written by Modojo Staff on Thursday, April 14, 2005
Very fluid gameplay and an impressive look to the animated mercury.
A bit lacking in extra modes, and multiplayer is a bit weak.
Had enough of Lumines, you say? Well, you're either delirious, crazy, or just seeking something that makes further use of your PSP. Since I couldn't really say something about the first two reasons (after all, I don't know what kind of effect Lumines has on someone besides myself and a few crazy co-workers here at the office who insist how hypnotically awesome it is), let me suggest something for those who fall into the third.
Enter Arthur Maclean's Mercury, an interesting puzzle game that lets you take control of a puddle of ooze - yes, that's right, a puddle of ooze - as you cavort around a series of pre-set mazes, avoiding obstacles and flipping switches to get from point A to point B within a time limit. Think Marble Madness, but instead of a marble, you have a part left over from the T-1000. You'll get the idea.
The game puts you through its paces with over 70 levels, ranging from platforms where you have to cavort across without losing a certain percentage of your mercury content, to other levels where you have to hit switches to open doors and avoid the likes of the Mercroids, little sphere-like creatures who have a habit of munching on mercury (oh, come on, was taffy not available?). The game is a bit easy at first, as it walks you through the basic tutorial levels to introduce you to the play methods involved. The difficulty soon builds, asking you to perform such tasks as sleek your way across door openings and mesh different colors of ooze together to form unique colors that would otherwise not allow you to get you through a certain doorway.
If there's a problem with Mercury, it's that it never really evolves in itself. There are no bonus games to take advantage of, and I couldn't find too much competitiveness in the multiplayer mode. Nonetheless, it still provides a great deal of challenge, especially where the later levels come into play. These levels are more than likely going to eat you alive, shortening the time limit to a maddening pace and forcing you to think quickly past gaps or traps to survive to the next level. It definitely has replayability to spare.
The game's design is superb, and kudos to Mr. MacLean for that. The animation effects, while simple, are true to the nature of the game, right down to how the little gobs of mercury break up when you hit a divider or go around a wall a bit too fast. You can see the little globs just slide around, eager to rejoin with the main form. The design of each level involves a great deal of tricks and devices, like transporters, electric traps, painting stations, and more, and each one comes into play just as it should. The graphics look good, but the camera system sometimes goes a bit out of whack, going to a far away angle when an up-close view would have sufficed.
As far as gameplay, again, it follows a simple rule of nature but again works with wonderful results. It takes a little getting used to at first, especially where the camera system and the ability to divide your mercury into several groups is concerned. But once you have that dialed in, the game will certainly challenge you. It's nice that each stage has a separate music track to back it up as well, adding a sense of diversity to the whole product. The sound effects are cool as well, especially the cybertronic screams the mercury lets out when it loses too much of its mass.
Considering we don't have a Marble Madness game for the PSP, this is the next best thing, featuring a microwaved marble of sort just trying to solidify itself into the next level. The gameplay and graphics succeed in their goal, and the game will last long enough to give you some enjoyment. So ooze it into your system and see how it suits you. You might be surprised how well it gels with you.
