Mercury & Mercury Meltdown Combo is a puzzle game that guides a blob of mercury or several blobs through various mazes by tilting the game world. Hazards try to zap, attract, repulse, eat, or blow you up along the way. The game features a new vibrant visual style, many new stages, and a free-look camera. It also includes ghost mercuries and replays for best times that can be saved. The mercury can change into three states: normal, fast, and slow, and can turn into a solid state with the use of certain items.
The game is split into themed "Labs" rather than "Worlds". There are 10 Labs with 168 stages in the PSP version, and over 200 in the PS2 game. Players can unlock and play all the stages included in each Lab right away. Attributes show how well you do in the game. The best performance is awarded with a golden cork based on four conditions: high score, bonus items found, 100% mercury, and completing the level within time limit.
The top right corner shows a color chart to help with mixing colors in the game. This can also be done in the paintshop. There are now five party games, which are unlocked by collecting bonus stars in the main game.
The party games include Metrix , puzzle games where colored blocks need to fit inside a pre-defined grid; Paint , a game where players must move the mercury to paint the tray as much as possible against their opponent; Race , a game where players guide the mercury around a speedy track with boost pads and avoid falling off; Rodeo , a game where players must tilt the playing area to keep the mercury on the field while a fan tries to knock them off; and Shove , a game where players aim for the center spot of the target.
All the party games can be played in multiplayer over Wi-Fi on the PSP. The tutorial is now separate from the main game, and there is an additional Playground mode where players can test the different items in the game.
 (v1.01).png)
