Archer MacLean's Mercury Review

Archer Maclean's Mercury was originally released in 2005 for the PlayStation Portable on UMD. However, the game has returned once again and it has been re-released on the PlayStation Network. The game was originally developed by the aptly named Awesome Studios and is essentially a puzzle game that combines an interesting mix of player control and quick thinking.

Initially the game may seem very similar to Marble based puzzle games, but it's actually very different. Since the controlled object isn't a solid, but instead a liquid, it adds a whole new experience to getting around a level. It's very easy, for example, to have the Mercury separated into smaller pieces by going around a corner the wrong way. However, will the mercury stick to together long enough to make it worthy of being a solid title, or will it just slide away over the edge?

The game itself focuses on three major types of level: Race, Percentage and Task. There are also six worlds which can be played on, each with numerous levels. It makes for a good level of variety, as no two levels are the same. Obviously there are only three types, but the nature of achieving the desired objective varies so much it's impressive. For example, it would be easy to assume that Race type levels only require getting from A to B as quickly as possible, but maintaining a certain amount of Mercury is also paramount on some levels, in order to activate pressure switches.

Percentage levels require a more patient approach, as the key to completing this type is to keep as much Mercury as possible. Lose too much, and it won't be possible to complete the level. However, these are ultimately similar to Race, except much more caution is required. The level design itself though continues to impress and although it may seem easy to just get to the end of a level intact, it's anything but.

The final type is Task and this epitomises Mercury to a tee. This type starts to introduce some of the more complicated puzzle elements, as it's possible to change the colour of the Mercury. Gates appear that can only be passed through if the Mercury is a certain colour, and this can be made even more complicated by having to split the Mercury into smaller blobs, changing their colours independently and navigating them through the level at the same time. These different coloured blobs can then be merged to make new colours. It definitely requires a lot of thought and makes for a great challenge.