Difference in Opinion

Mercury Meltdown Revolution sounds sort of like an extreme Sci-fi flick that you could expect Michael Madson and that girl from Terminator 3 to be. Perhaps the name is misleading then, because MMRev is a solid and simple arcade type game where you navigate your way through stages filled with all sort of obstacles. It is similar to games like Marble Blast Ultra and Super Monkey Ball, but offers features and challenges not found in either of those games.

You are a glob of mercury navigating your way through challenging levels, trying to reach the end before your time expires. The fact that you are ball of liquid, and not a solid ball, adds much more of a challenge to squeezing around tight corners and teetering along thin pathways. You can actually lose part of the mass of your ball, which makes you smaller, and can hinder you. Other levels have multiple balls you have to control on them, and can be combined to make an even larger one. The varying ball sizes makes for some interesting problems that you encounter along the way.

Along with your ball size, other attributes of your ball add challenges to the game. To reach certain points, you have to change the color of your ball, essentially dyeing the liquid a certain color that way it can pass through a gate of the corresponding color. It gets really tricky when you have two balls on the screen and you have dye each a different color, pass them through gates, then combine them into a mix of the colors to pass through another gate. That is only an example. Things can get much more complicated than that.

A slurry of obstacles are scattered around the stage to try to make you roll off the level, squash your ball, or make you fail in a number of other different ways. With such a variety of challenges, and many levels that combine them all, it makes for some really challenging stages. The Wii mote seems to be really responsive in this game which makes you feel a little more involved. While other ‘rollers’ have some similar traits, you are not actually tilting the controller to tilt the stage. Think of it as a digital version of Labyrinth, but with many more things to consider.

If you enjoy problem solving games, and arcade games similar to this, then Mercury Meltdown Revolution is right up your alley. From new comers to veteran rollers, it will be sure to test your skills either way. This game is also fun to take turns and play with friends. Do yourself a favor and go and rent the game to see how you like it. It is a fun activity to do with friends on a rainy day.

Final Score
Gameplay: 8 out of 10
Graphics: 5 out of 10