[Mini-Review] Mercury Meltdown Remix
Remix is rehashed, but only if you haven't played the PSP games.
Published: December 9, 2006
[The Good]
Mercury Meltdown on the PSP is one of those games that sort of sneaks up on you and sinks its hooks in. Updating the old two-knob Labyrinth gameplay for portables was a brilliant move, though the original Mercury was insanely difficult later on, something that MM largely repaired by smoothing out the difficulty curve. It also updated the interface, added a ton of mini-games, and offered multiplayer. In short, it was the perfect sequel that offered more of the same without feeling over-recycled.
And now it's available on the PS2, home of the dual analog stick. Hooray!
Honestly, that is the biggest change. The recently renamed Awesome Studios (now sharing their pappa company's moniker as Ignition Banbury) more or less moved everything to the twin analog sticks, and freed from the overly-tight analog nub, the game does feel more... fluid (ew, that was too punny even for me). Along the way, they also added in two entire labs (think worlds) and remixed a handful of levels from the first game and sprinkled them between the normal stages.
[The Bad]
Unfortunately, that may not have been the smartest move. Because of the difficulty of some of the old stages, things can spike a little too soon, then drop right back down to where they were before. It's a minor complaint, but it might turn some newcomers off. There's also the issue of the game looking like a PSP title; no progressive scan or widescreen options hurt things -- particularly when we're talking about a game that relies on being ready for what's coming at you.
There's also the inescapable feel that the game is something of a rushed port. Yes, there's more content to go around, but you still get the distinct feel that the game controls as if it were still being played with the PSP's analog nub. It's not a huge deal, but I ended up playing the game with the same light taps rather than using the full range of the stick. The camera was also a rush patch, still stuck on the stiff 90 degree turns rather than being a smooth-sliding extra analog stick. Granted, some of the challenge this time around was in picking the right angle for a move (something that was actually a big issue in the first game), but why use the right analog stick if it's still replicating face button actions?
The biggest sign that this was simply a quick and dirty port is in the omission of multiplayer. Finding someone else who had a copy of MM was hard enough, but the Party Game Mode instantly made up for this, and it gave real incentive to unlock the mini-games, whereas with the PS2 version, it's not really there.
[The Verdict]
Despite some issues with the laziness of the port, there's no denying that the game is still fun. It's a serious puzzler with some serious growing pains as it stretches to fill the increased head room of the PS2 hardware. To top it all off, the game is $10 more than the PSP version yet, mysteriously, doesn't play as well as you'd expect given the better controller. It's a shame, but if you don't yet have a PSP and still want access to one of the better games on the system, you're probably not going to mind some of the nagging issues that those of us with a frame of reference have.
Still, here's a thought, Ignition: release the game with tweaked controls, a fully working camera and tilt support for the PlayStation Network. On the PS3 and for a good $10, the game could be one of those titles that everyone has just to properly show off the SIXAXIS. At that price and with 1080p support, the game could be a perfect impulse buy. As it stands on the PS2, though, it's anything but.
Mercury Meltdown on the PSP is one of those games that sort of sneaks up on you and sinks its hooks in. Updating the old two-knob Labyrinth gameplay for portables was a brilliant move, though the original Mercury was insanely difficult later on, something that MM largely repaired by smoothing out the difficulty curve. It also updated the interface, added a ton of mini-games, and offered multiplayer. In short, it was the perfect sequel that offered more of the same without feeling over-recycled.
And now it's available on the PS2, home of the dual analog stick. Hooray!
Honestly, that is the biggest change. The recently renamed Awesome Studios (now sharing their pappa company's moniker as Ignition Banbury) more or less moved everything to the twin analog sticks, and freed from the overly-tight analog nub, the game does feel more... fluid (ew, that was too punny even for me). Along the way, they also added in two entire labs (think worlds) and remixed a handful of levels from the first game and sprinkled them between the normal stages.
[The Bad]
Unfortunately, that may not have been the smartest move. Because of the difficulty of some of the old stages, things can spike a little too soon, then drop right back down to where they were before. It's a minor complaint, but it might turn some newcomers off. There's also the issue of the game looking like a PSP title; no progressive scan or widescreen options hurt things -- particularly when we're talking about a game that relies on being ready for what's coming at you.
There's also the inescapable feel that the game is something of a rushed port. Yes, there's more content to go around, but you still get the distinct feel that the game controls as if it were still being played with the PSP's analog nub. It's not a huge deal, but I ended up playing the game with the same light taps rather than using the full range of the stick. The camera was also a rush patch, still stuck on the stiff 90 degree turns rather than being a smooth-sliding extra analog stick. Granted, some of the challenge this time around was in picking the right angle for a move (something that was actually a big issue in the first game), but why use the right analog stick if it's still replicating face button actions?
The biggest sign that this was simply a quick and dirty port is in the omission of multiplayer. Finding someone else who had a copy of MM was hard enough, but the Party Game Mode instantly made up for this, and it gave real incentive to unlock the mini-games, whereas with the PS2 version, it's not really there.
[The Verdict]
Despite some issues with the laziness of the port, there's no denying that the game is still fun. It's a serious puzzler with some serious growing pains as it stretches to fill the increased head room of the PS2 hardware. To top it all off, the game is $10 more than the PSP version yet, mysteriously, doesn't play as well as you'd expect given the better controller. It's a shame, but if you don't yet have a PSP and still want access to one of the better games on the system, you're probably not going to mind some of the nagging issues that those of us with a frame of reference have.
Still, here's a thought, Ignition: release the game with tweaked controls, a fully working camera and tilt support for the PlayStation Network. On the PS3 and for a good $10, the game could be one of those titles that everyone has just to properly show off the SIXAXIS. At that price and with 1080p support, the game could be a perfect impulse buy. As it stands on the PS2, though, it's anything but.
