Here's a bunch of brand new screens and a movie from Mercury Meltdown, the sequel to one of the best puzzle games on the PSP.
Like Archer Maclean's Mercury, Meltdown will have players tilting each of the stages around in order to guide a blob of mercury around a maze of hazards and obstacles - think Super Monkey Ball, but gone all gooey.
Due in stores August 22, Meltdown features a different graphical style in the form of chunky, cleanly-shaded textures and a big fat HUD. Even if this cel-shaded trend has you rolling your eyes, there's no denying that it makes the game's props and environments stand out more clearly than in the original. Your blob can now enter four different "states" - normal, solid, fast and slow - meaning there's going to be an extra level of complexity involved. Any of you who pulled your teeth out after playing the original's tougher early stages will be glad to hear that Meltdown is also promising "fairer game progression."
A replay mode is offered, the number of levels has doubled to a whopping 160 (hidden stages return too), five minigames are available for knocking blobs with another player and downloadable content is to be provided in the form of extra levels.
It may sound like a mostly typical list of sequel enhancements, but Mercury wasn't a typical game. To get a better idea of what we mean, hit the Movies or Images tabs above.
June 14, 2006
