<s>
Archer	B-Application
Maclean	I-Application
's	I-Application
Mercury	I-Application
is	O
a	O
2005	O
puzzle-platform	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
developed	O
by	O
the	O
eponymous	O
British	O
game	O
programmer	O
,	O
Archer	O
Maclean	O
and	O
Awesome	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Mercury	B-Application
,	O
the	O
goal	O
is	O
to	O
guide	O
a	O
drop	O
of	O
mercury	B-Application
to	O
its	O
appointed	O
destination	O
by	O
tilting	O
the	O
stage	O
,	O
in	O
a	O
similar	O
fashion	O
to	O
Super	B-Application
Monkey	I-Application
Ball	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
conceived	O
when	O
Archer	O
Maclean	O
used	O
a	O
previous	O
minigame	O
from	O
Jimmy	B-Device
White	I-Device
's	I-Device
Cueball	I-Device
World	I-Device
and	O
added	O
a	O
liquid	O
metal	O
physics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
designed	O
to	O
have	O
motion	O
controls	O
by	O
using	O
a	O
tilt	O
sensor	O
peripheral	O
for	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
but	O
was	O
never	O
released	O
due	O
to	O
technical	O
constraints	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
,	O
titled	O
Mercury	B-Application
Meltdown	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
,	O
then	O
revised	O
and	O
ported	O
onto	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
and	O
Wii	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
sequel	O
,	O
titled	O
Mercury	B-Application
Hg	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
and	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercury	B-Application
is	O
a	O
puzzle	O
video	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
manipulate	O
a	O
droplet	O
of	O
mercury	B-Application
to	O
move	O
in	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
desire	O
direction	O
by	O
tilting	O
the	O
stage	O
using	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
's	O
analog	O
stick	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
player	O
can	O
use	O
the	O
directional	O
buttons	O
to	O
toggle	O
between	O
focusing	O
on	O
all	O
mercury	B-Application
droplets	O
or	O
a	O
single	O
droplet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objective	O
of	O
each	O
level	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
to	O
navigate	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
around	O
the	O
stage	O
and	O
reach	O
the	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
HUD	O
is	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
a	O
time	O
limit	O
,	O
a	O
mercury	B-Application
level	O
gauge	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
beacon	O
count	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
clear	O
a	O
level	O
,	O
all	O
beacons	O
on	O
the	O
level	O
must	O
be	O
activated	O
within	O
that	O
level	O
's	O
time	O
and	O
mercury	B-Application
limit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
Mercury	B-Application
on	O
the	O
level	O
drops	O
below	O
the	O
limit	O
or	O
time	O
runs	O
out	O
,	O
the	O
level	O
ends	O
and	O
must	O
be	O
restarted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
stage	O
has	O
hazards	O
and	O
obstacles	O
designed	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
amount	O
of	O
mercury	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mercury	B-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
split	O
into	O
separate	O
parts	O
by	O
using	O
sharp	O
objects	O
or	O
other	O
hazards	O
in	O
the	O
stage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paint	O
Shops	O
are	O
floating	O
devices	O
that	O
change	O
the	O
color	O
of	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
once	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
is	O
under	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
switches	O
and	O
doors	O
only	O
activate	O
if	O
interacting	O
with	O
mercury	B-Application
of	O
a	O
specific	O
color	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
is	O
split	O
up	O
,	O
the	O
two	O
droplets	O
can	O
be	O
colored	O
differently	O
;	O
if	O
the	O
two	O
then	O
merge	O
,	O
they	O
form	O
a	O
new	O
color	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Race	O
levels	O
prioritize	O
completing	O
the	O
level	O
as	O
fast	O
as	O
possible	O
more	O
than	O
mercury	B-Application
count	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Percentage	O
levels	O
emphasize	O
preserving	O
Mercury	B-Application
over	O
quick	O
completion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercury	B-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Awesome	O
Studios	O
with	O
Archer	O
Maclean	O
as	O
the	O
lead	O
designer	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
inspired	O
by	O
tilting	O
puzzle	O
games	O
similar	O
to	O
Super	B-Application
Monkey	I-Application
Ball	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
conceived	O
when	O
Maclean	O
used	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
minigames	O
from	O
Jimmy	B-Device
White	I-Device
's	I-Device
Cueball	I-Device
World	I-Device
and	O
implemented	O
a	O
"	O
liquid	O
metal	O
physics	O
"	O
prototype	O
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maclean	O
chose	O
to	O
study	O
the	O
physics	O
of	O
mercury	B-Application
by	O
obtaining	O
a	O
bottle	O
of	O
real	O
mercury	B-Application
taken	O
from	O
barometers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
development	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
challenges	O
Awesome	O
Studios	O
had	O
was	O
emulating	O
real	O
mercury	B-Application
physics	O
,	O
how	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
would	O
split	O
and	O
merge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
play-testing	B-General_Concept
stage	O
of	O
development	O
,	O
Awesome	O
Studios	O
noticed	O
potential	O
shortcuts	O
in	O
the	O
level	O
layouts	O
and	O
adjusted	O
the	O
level	O
design	O
to	O
allow	O
more	O
of	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Maclean	O
chose	O
to	O
release	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
as	O
it	O
could	O
make	O
the	O
game	O
more	O
noticeable	O
for	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
have	O
a	O
tight	O
production	O
schedule	O
to	O
match	O
the	O
launch	O
of	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
Portable	I-Operating_System
,	O
causing	O
the	O
developers	O
to	O
cut	O
corners	O
in	O
the	O
production	O
and	O
resulted	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
not	O
be	O
as	O
refined	O
as	O
Awesome	O
Studios	O
intended	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercury	B-Application
was	O
published	O
by	O
Ignition	O
Entertainment	O
and	O
released	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
on	O
April	O
6	O
,	O
2005	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
distributed	O
by	O
Atari	O
for	O
the	O
European	O
version	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
Europe	O
on	O
September	O
1	O
,	O
2005	O
as	O
a	O
launch	O
title	O
for	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
;	O
it	O
was	O
followed	O
by	O
an	O
Australian	O
version	O
with	O
its	O
release	O
date	O
of	O
September	O
21	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
limited	O
edition	O
bundle	O
was	O
released	O
with	O
its	O
sequel	O
,	O
Mercury	B-Application
Meltdown	I-Application
on	O
October	O
19	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mercury	B-Application
received	O
"	O
generally	O
favorable	O
reviews	O
"	O
according	O
to	O
the	O
review	B-Application
aggregation	I-Application
website	O
Metacritic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GameSpot	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
gave	O
compliments	O
towards	O
the	O
physics	O
of	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
on	O
how	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
stretched	O
,	O
reassemble	O
and	O
squeeze	O
together.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
made	O
comparisons	O
to	O
the	O
Lumines	O
series	O
stating	O
,	O
"	O
Lumines	O
is	O
more	O
fun	O
to	O
play	O
,	O
but	O
Mercury	B-Application
is	O
more	O
satisfying	O
to	O
beat.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Edge	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
praised	O
the	O
difficulty	O
,	O
stating	O
,	O
"	O
Mercury	B-Application
exhibits	O
a	O
perfect	O
hierarchy	O
of	O
challenge	O
and	O
reward	O
,	O
the	O
two	O
remaining	O
poised	O
throughout	O
and	O
ultimately	O
growing	O
to	O
the	O
point	O
where	O
they	O
touch	O
and	O
become	O
one	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Archer	B-Application
Maclean	I-Application
's	I-Application
Mercury	I-Application
inspired	O
two	O
sequels	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
sequel	O
,	O
titled	O
Mercury	B-Application
Meltdown	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
PSP	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
to	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Device
2	I-Device
titled	O
Mercury	B-Application
Meltdown	I-Application
Remix	I-Application
and	O
to	O
the	B-Operating_System
Wii	I-Operating_System
called	O
Mercury	B-Application
Meltdown	I-Application
Revolution	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
second	O
sequel	O
,	O
titled	O
Mercury	B-Application
Hg	I-Application
,	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
Eiconic	O
Games	O
for	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
adds	O
in	O
60	O
new	O
levels	O
,	O
an	O
online	O
leaderboard	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
music	O
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
the	O
mercury	B-Application
blob	O
and	O
stage	O
to	O
pulsate	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
also	O
features	O
ghost	O
racing	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
share	O
replays	O
,	O
and	O
Sixaxis	B-Device
tilt	O
controls	O
for	O
the	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
version	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
downloadable	B-Protocol
content	I-Protocol
(	O
DLC	B-Protocol
)	O
packages	O
were	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
DLC	B-Protocol
titled	O
"	O
Heavy	O
Elements	O
"	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
October	O
19	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
and	O
contains	O
thirty	O
discovery	O
mode	O
levels	O
,	O
ten	O
bonus	O
levels	O
,	O
and	O
five	O
challenges	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
DLC	B-Protocol
titled	O
"	O
Rare	O
Earth	O
Elements	O
"	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
November	O
29	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
and	O
contains	O
the	O
same	O
amount	O
of	O
content	O
as	O
the	O
previous	O
.	O
</s>
