Mercury Hg (XBLA) Review
Posted by Dan Watson on 10.17.2011
Come check out if this game is worth your time and $5 or if you should pass and save the money.
Title: Mercury Hg
Developer: UTV Ignition Games
Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Genre: Puzzle
Mercury Hg is a perfect example of what I hope most Xbox Live games are going to be. The game is a fun puzzle game that takes a few hours to complete but allows you to add in your own music and also pick up and play as you like. The game is quite enjoyable and gives you the feel of a few different games combined.
Let’s look a bit further into the game and see what it does right and what it misses its mark on.
The general idea of the game is you are a blob of Mercury that has to get to the finish of each stage without losing to much of your substance. Throughout the game you have to do different things such as change color or combine colors in order to raise or move platforms. The game is pretty basic but adds different difficulty to each stage as you go through.
Visuals
This game has solid visuals and looks similar to an updated Marble Madness or Monkey Ball game. The general stage designs look impressive for such a simple game. Each mission shows the background beating to the sound of the music playing. So you could have your own soundtrack and it will interact with the stages. It works very well here. Additionally, the bright colors are not too much on the eyes and never really seem to bother anyone. I really enjoyed looking at each of the stages as they were put together very nicely.
Sound
The original soundtrack of the game is pretty impressive. It isn’t anything from well-known artists but was enough for me not to worry about importing my own track list for a while. I found myself enjoying many of the tracks and felt it would be a shame to turn them off. The general sounds of the game are great and I would say this was a hit without question. As stated above, what is nice about this game is it takes your soundtrack and interacts with it or takes the current in-game soundtrack and interacts with it. This really makes the sound important and stands out.
Gameplay
Again, the general idea is to move the mercury from start to finish completing different tasks in order to get to said finish. There are a few different bonuses in each stage that include how much mercury you finish with, how quickly you complete the stage, and how many bonus items you collect through the stage. This adds to the replay value as you want to go through and complete each stage completely and compete against friends in doing so. The game has over sixty stages as of right now with future content already promised to be released. No date is known as of yet on the downloadable content and no cost has been announced yet either. The sixty current levels though are enough to keep you playing for hours, and really are a steal for the cost of the game.
This game is a solid game that really doesn’t frustrate you like other puzzlers do. It keeps you asking, is there a different, more efficient way of doing things or did I do it the best way possible. There aren’t many points that make you want to turn the console off and leave the game for a few days.
The gameplay has the feel of Monkey Ball while showing off a great concept of dividing an element and coloring it then combining the two to make a new color to finish the stage all while avoiding conveyor belts or sliding tiles.
Lasting Value
In the end this game really only has replay value to those of us who are competitive and want to make sure they are better than their friends. Also, if you are going to spend the time playing, why not try to improve your scores and see if there are different ways to accomplish the same end goal? Chances are if you are a puzzle fan, you are going to love this game and play it even with all these major titles dropping as of late.
Pros
Sixty levels with more to come makes this game a must have for the price that it is offered at.
Easy controls that allow for anyone to jump right into the game without any learning curve
Sound and Visual coordination work out so well in this game that it truly is one of the best points of the game.
Tough puzzles that leave you wondering if you could improve or if the level really is just that hard keeps gamers coming back for more.
Cons
Once the sixty stages are complete, if you aren’t competitive there is no reason to come back for more
The 411
This game is an awesome price. $4.99 and the full arcade game is yours. With it being such a low price, you really should give it a shot. The game is worth far more than $4.99 and would be an awesome addition to anyone’s arcade lineup. I am extremely happy to have reviewed such a great game that keeps you interested from start to finish. Spend the time to perfect the levels it really is worth it in the end; plus who wants to be last on the leaderboards?
Graphics
9.0
Amazing colors and textures throughout the game
Gameplay
8.5
Solid gameplay and very few issues at all
Sound
9.0
The sound options and original tracks make the sound a major selling point
Lasting Appeal
8.0
If you don't care for going back through stages, you aren't going to come back to this game
Fun Factor
8.5
In the end, it is hard to admit you didn't have a ton of fun with this game
