Publisher: UTV Ignition
Developer: UTV Ignition
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Before the digital distribution networks, PSN and XBLA, became the showcase for ambitious indie darlings like Braid and Limbo, these cyber storefronts featured a dependable selection of classic arcade titles and addictive puzzlers. In fact, on the day I bought my 360, I logged more time playing the freebie Hexic than I did with the show stopping Call of Duty 2. That’s the beauty of a good puzzle game: if the concept is tight and the execution flawless, the intangible “just one more level” mindset takes root; leaving those speaker-blasting battles to wait another day. Nowadays, the marketplaces are jammed with a vast menagerie of downloadable delights, representing all genres. Where these once bite-sized titles have grown much larger, smaller titles like Mercury Hg exist to tax your brain.

Like many popular puzzle games, Mercury’s origins can be traced back to the popular classics of the form. The game presents players with tiltable levels, upon which they must navigate a blob of mercury through obstacles in order to reach the exit point. The level design is evocative of Marble Madness, and utilizes a similar tiled aesthetic, while the tilt mechanics are on loan from the Super Monkey Ball series. The game also layers in rhythm controls, similar to titles such as Lumines, allowing players to add their own music tracks which effect the “pulse” of the levels.

Boasting over 50 initial levels, and a series of unlockable challenge levels, there is a good deal of game play in this small package. As you work your way through each group of levels, arrayed on a board designed to resemble the Periodic Table of Elements, new variables are constantly introduced into the game. One objective may call for the mercury to change color before exiting – at which point the player must hunt down a device that will alter their hue. In addition, some levels feature multiple mercury blobs that you need to navigate through the levels, causing players to really think through their motions as they tilt the board. The entire time you are racing through each level, trying to avoid the edges which will cause you to lose mercury (as well as various environmental obstacles such as dividers and magnets), a timer ticks down. Success is measured by making it to the Exit Point in time without losing any of the mercury, and bonus points are awarded to players who beat the designated par time with a full compliment of mercury, as well as for collectibles found through the course.

Mercury Hg is a decent budget-sized puzzler that for $5 packs a good amount of game play. The original series of levels should take you a few hours to work through and while none of the levels prove particularly taxing, the game does a nice job of mixing up the objectives and keeping you on your toes. Bonus Levels, which are unlocked through skillful play, demand that the player make it to the end of each level without losing any mercury which makes for a great added challenge. In addition, the Leaderboards provide ample opportunity for players to continue slicing seconds off of their best time.

Mercury is designed to be played via the Sixaxis motion controls or through the traditional dual analogue stick-format, with the left controlling the tilt of the level and the right handling the camera. I found that the analog sticks work best as you need to rely upon a series of quick, subtle movements to maneuver through the tough later levels. The finicky nature of the Sixaxis set-up can cause frustration on those levels that feature narrow real estate. When there’s not much room for error, the slight lagginess of the Sixaxis control scheme does not work as well as the full control afforded using the analog controls. From a visual perspective, Mercury boasts a sharp, clean appearance that looks great in high definition. It’s a simple design but one that is pleasing. The audio tracks included in the game fit the puzzle genre, however the ability to pull in your own songs, which have an effect on the levels, is a welcome touch.

For small money, Mercury makes a big impression. While I tend to spend the majority of my game time in the big AAA rated retail titles, little pick-up-and-play puzzlers like this one make for a nice tonic to the blistering battle royale. Mercury Hg may not introduce anything new to the puzzle genre but it does perform a skillful job of cobbling together elements from past puzzlers into its own winning formula.

Our Score:

Our Recommendation: