In the control department, Mercury Meltdown Revolution is a blast. The Wii Remote is held sideways in the classic style, and the blob of mercury is moved around the maze by tilting the entire level to adjust gravity. The tilt controls are amazingly responsive and fun to use. Pressing the 1 and 2 buttons lets players zoom in and out, the A button switches between blobs when dealing with more than one at a time, and the d-pad rotates the view. There is also support for both the Wii classic and Game Cube controllers, so you can play the game the old PSP way. It seems almost foolish, however, in comparison to the picture perfect tilt implementation. This is how the game was truly meant to be played in the first place.

As players work their way through each level, they'll receive a score based on how fast they complete the course. Extra points are awarded for beating the par course time, picking up bonuses in each level, and finishing without losing any of your mercury. Overall, the level design and puzzle incorporation are excellent. It's almost a shame that you have to rush through them at a near breakneck speed. The time limit can be stressful although you'll still be able to progress as long as you complete the course. Each level is represented by a vial which fills with mercury depending on how much remains at the end of a course. As mercury accumulates from level to level, players will unlock new laboratories, party games, mercury skins, and other goodies. This provides a big incentive to go back and shoot for a better score. A total of five party games can be unlocked, and almost all of them provide a fun, if somewhat brief, addition to the main game. It's just unfortunate no multiplayer options were included.

Mercury Meltdown Revolution finally gets the controls right, and provides a whole lot of bang for a $20 budget priced Wii title. Puzzle fanatics will find it hard to relinquish control of the Wii Remote once they get sucked into the crazy physics and impressively designed mazes.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Freelance Writer

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