Preview: Mercury Meltdown Remix (Wii)

The best ideas are quite often the simplest. When the original Mercury Meltdown was first mooted for Sony’s PSP handheld it was to debut with a motion sensitive function. Unfortunately that important addon never saw the light of day, so while thoroughly enjoyable, the game was missing that extra ingredient.

Only now has that wrong been put right with the forthcoming release of Mercury Meltdown Revolution. As you can see from the trailer below, this is the sort of game Nintendo’s Wii was designed for. No minor changes to take advantage of the novel controller, instead the Wiimote is the only way to navigate treacherous obstacles and achieve success.

For those that have missed out on the entries in the Mercury Meltdown series, you’ll need a little introduction. Well, thanks to the joys of physics in video games you control a blob of mercury. Unlike the B-movie monster, the aim is not to terrorise small town American and digest its inhabitants. Instead you must navigate treacherous levels in the style of Marble Madness, but with more fiendish traps and rewards on offer. The colourful graphics and crayon scheme paint a memorable picture, which combined with an effective execution of the motion sensitive controller, promises to be an addictive experience – with a touch of frustration thrown in for good measure.

“The unique control method associated with the Wii means that Mercury Meltdown Revolution will provide the ultimate Mercury experience“, said Peter Rollinson, Product Manager, Ignition Entertainment Ltd. “The mercury series was originally developed with a tilt controller in mind - the Wii has made this possible and the outcome provides the player with unprecedented control and accuracy“.

Of course those that prefer a more generic controller can rest easy, as Meltdown will support the Gamecube and Wii Classic controllers. However why you wouldn’t want the full Wii tilt sensoring experience is beyond us. There is only one real way to trek across each of the levels (totalling over 150), as the trailer confirms. You really wouldn’t be doing your Wii, or your wallet justice. Get ready.

Words by Jason Julier