{tag [Review]} {tag [Wii]}

Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a middle-of-the-road game with mediocre sound and graphics, but great use of the Wii’s versatile controller giving players a preview of how future games could be played.  Though I wasn’t a huge fan of the game, with a few tweaks it could be a lot of fun.  The challenge of the controls has a certain allure to it.

Gameplay: 80%
The basic principle of MMR is to guide a blob of mercury around a maze avoiding the many obstacles and solving the puzzles to get to the finish. Points are awarded for speed and accuracy. You have to try not to lose any of your mercury blob over the edge of the maze. The more mercury you have left when you complete the maze the bigger your bonus will be.  If you lose too much, the game will end.  The amount remaining is indicated by the size of your blob and the mercury meter

While those are the basics, there are a great number of obstacles to overcome as you make your way to the end of each maze. Some obstacles will harden your mercury like a marble (causing it to move slower and be less likely to break apart) some heat the mercury increasing viscosity    (making it faster and more susceptible to separation), and some work like magnets and will attract or repel the mercury.  But the worst obstacles to navigate are ones that will “eat” your mercury if you pass too close.

Another twist is the multiple paint booths used to change the color of your mercury.  You may have to break apart the mercury and mix colors to open various doors.  To make things even more difficult there are various air shafts, escalators and pendulums that cause an even bigger challenge.  These factors, combined with touchy controls and sometimes a very narrow path, make for a challenging and sometimes addicting game.

Controls: 90%
The controls for this game are fun and easy to use.  You have to hold the Wii Remote as if it were the NES controller.  In this configuration, you then tilt the controller front, back, left and right which tilts the table (maze) that the mercury is on.  The 1 and 2 buttons are utilized for zooming in and out.  The Wii Remote is surprisingly sensitive on this game.  Thus you can only blame yourself if you fail to make it through the maze.  They don’t make it easy though.  The narrow passes and slanted areas make it easy to slip and fall off the maze.

Tuitorial: 80%
The tutorial is very helpful.  You are able to experience many of the types of obstacles that will come your way throughout the game.  The options menu also gives you hints that are helpful.

Although not part of the tutorial, the playground can be used as a learning tool.  This is an area that has many of the obstacles all on a screen that you can’t fall off.  There is no time limit and you can just play around to get a better feel for the controls.

Graphics: 70%
The graphics of this game are limited by the nature of the game.  There isn’t a lot to work with but the fluid motion of the mercury is pretty cool.  The way it moves and how the movements change as the consistency of the mercury changes is pretty impressive.  The colors are very vibrant, but at times played tricks with my eyes.

Sound: 50%
The sound for Mercury meltdown was…well…it was okay.  The music is your standard fare and although the sound effects change based on obstacles in each level are nothing more than passable.

The real problem occurs in the more difficult levels.  One level in particular I struggled through has some especially annoying music.  Being a difficult level, I found myself having to repeat the level numerous times, and consequently having to suffer through the same horrible song over and over again.  The music became so nauseating I finally just turned the game off.

Summary: 74%
Overall, Mercury Meltdown Revolution is an okay game.  It is the type that you can play for hours and hours letting days slip by, but also the type you could easily drop and not play for months.  It is a good stable game to come back to when you have some time to kill.