Emergency Fire Response Review
I like a good shooter as much as the next guy and I enjoy leading hordes of little units into battle, but I must also admit that it's nice to see a game come along every once in a while where the object is to save lives instead of to take them. Emergency Fire Response is one of these games. Emergency Fire Response is a real-time strategy game that puts you in charge of a company of firefighters that must face some very dangerous, but very real, disaster situations. There are no kitten-stuck-in-tree rescues or trash bin fires here - industrial arson, hostage situations, and nuclear power plant fires are just a few of the emergencies that you will face.
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| Water cannons are a fireman's friend. |
Each mission begins with a brief background of the events leading to the emergency and then provides you with your goals for the mission. While it is always your goal to put out the fires caused by the disaster, each mission has its own unique set of objectives which can include determining the cause of a fire, preserving criminal evidence, and preventing damage to goods, files, and data. You'll also often encounter people trapped by fire and it will be a high priority to get them out before they succumb to the flames. Some goals are mandatory for mission success, others will be used to determine your efficiency when rating your performance after a mission's completion (you can retry any mission to try to improve your performance). The missions also take place in phases, so after completing a set of goals you may be presented with a new set of tasks.
The game is played from an isometric overhead camera view that is standard for many strategy games. You are given a group of firemen at the beginning of a mission and usually some support as well in the form of specialists, medical vehicles, or special equipment such as a water cannon or ladder truck. Also, additional firefighters or equipment may arrive as reinforcements during a mission. You control your firemen with a point and click interface that will be familiar to strategy game players - click to select one or more firemen and then right click on the location to which you want them to move or on the object with which they will interact. The right click orders are context sensitive, so clicking on a fire will cause the fireman to spray it with water while clicking on a door will cause him to break it down with his ax. The game provides a tutorial to help get you up to speed on issuing orders. The interface works well and the firemen behave intelligently while carrying out your orders. They'll also work to put out nearby fires while waiting for their next order instead of idly standing around. One thing I did have an issue with was that sometimes the hotspot for an action can be hard to pinpoint. For example, it can be tough to find the right spot to place the cursor to break down a small door when the door is obscured by smoke and fire.
