Mercury Meltdown review

Though it's hard to tell from the game's cover, Mercury Meltdown is quite a bit more fun and complex than your momma's marble rolling game... which, considering it was probably just "marbles," may not be the ringing endorsement we originally thought. But still - the game is good.

In this sequel to the PSP launch title Archer Maclean's Mercury, you use the PSP's mini thumbstick to tilt game boards and safely maneuver a gooey blob of the silver stuff through more than 160 Rube Goldberg-style space mazes… mazes full of tunnels, obstacles and narrow passages teeming with predators.

Yeah, it's tricky. Luckily, your wad o' shiny liquid metal can break into smaller, speedier pieces, roll faster and slower, turn colors and even become a solid pinball while rolling around the 3D, multi-tiered levels. You'll need these powers to keep as much of the toxic glob intact as possible without letting the whole thing drip over unguarded edges or die at the metaphorical teeth of nasty baddies like Mercoids, Spectoids and Jerkoids (we really didn't make up that last one). For those who've played the first title and don't recall all of those creatures, you're right: there are more. Apparently, evolution has yieldedadditional organisms whose physiologies revolve around the consumption and metabolism of liquid metal.Too bad they don'tlive inside tuna fish...