When the PSP launched, way back in 2005, there were a few games that attempted to replicate the PS2 experience on the handheld. This wasn’t the case with those that ended up as the best PSP launch titles, where a great portable game experience was chosen instead of overly technical and complicated control and gameplay setups. Games like Lumines have stood the test of time on the system, and Mercury shares the same qualities that make it a recommended purchase on the platform. At just £4.49 on the PSN store however, it should be illegal not to own Mercury.
As a puzzle game, Mercury features the usual traits of the genre. The premise is very simple, and by combining elements of the game, and adding constraints to your actions, it becomes a much more in depth experience. On a basic level, you guide a blob of Mercury-the only liquid metal in existence- around a maze, to reach a goal with as much of your Mercury as possible. The unique properties of this material however make for a liquid that can be split into tiny parts, and mixed together to create larger shapes. This mixing also affects the colour of said Mercury, with a basic knowledge of the colour wheel a handy tool for getting through the tougher levels of the game. For example, mix red and blue Mercury together, and you’ll end up with purple, a colour that may be required to go through a colour gate, or activate a colour specific switch.
The game starts off with obvious signs where you should change colour, but later on, when you are battling against a time limit, keeping enough Mercury on the stage, and mixing multiple blobs simultaneously, it becomes more difficult. This progression is seen in the way the game splits itself into three main disciplines, mixing them in the same way as the Mercury does to create sub disciplines.
The first of the three disciplines in the game is Race, a pretty self explanatory event, which sees you directing a piece of Mercury to a goal in a certain time limit. Unlike all other events, this time limit will often be very small, which means you’ll have to be less stringent on keeping you mercury together in one blob, and more focused on performing speedy moves across the stage. These are the easiest stages in the game, seen by their placement at the left end of each of the 6 ‘worlds’ the game takes you to.
The second discipline is Percentage, arguably the toughest, and most frequently frustrating-in a good way-of all the areas of the game. Your focus must be on being careful around corners and other obstacles, some stages have enemies that eat Mercury, as you have to refrain from losing Mercury across the stage, with a certain percentage marking the point at which you will fail the level. This can get very tricky later on, especially with obstacles like an electrical conductor that zaps away huge amounts of your Mercury if touched, to spring loaded pads that will push your blob off the edge if you’re not paying careful attention. The final event, Task is the most simple of the three. There will be various switches you need to press to complete the level, as opposed to just one in these. The difficulty comes in changes of colour on the switches, and working out the correct order of tackling them.
All three stage types give their own unique aspect to the game, but in the grand scheme of things, these are mere training for the toughest challenges of all. The Combo and Boss sections of the game are where the real trauma can occur, these combining two, or even all three disciplines into a single stage. Having to be fast, and watch out for losing Mercury is hard enough, but when having to change colour and activate multiple goal switches at the same time, the game is truly in its element. The 18 levels that incorporate this are where the real Mercury gameplay is, and while the other 54 levels are by no means a mere tutorial, they don’t capture the energy and excitement that the tougher ones do, which is disappointing. One thing that isn’t though is the visual style, which is undeniably sleek, even if graphically the game has lagged behind the recent insurgence of amazing visuals on the system. The Mercury moves in a realistic way (if this game is at all realistic?), and the soundtrack features the right mix of synth and trance to suit any puzzle gamers needs.
Even though the amount of levels is disappointing, at £4.49, Mercury is a steal and is more essential than it was back at the PSP launch. With the download only PSP GO! just weeks away, this will be a game that should be saved on all PSP’s ready for a spare minute or two. One of the best games on PSP just got better.
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