Real Heroes: Firefighters

true <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/12441422256p7z1vb1Bi.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/12441422256p7z1vb1Bi.jpg" height="412" alt="" width="550" /></a> I’m probably the last guy you’d expect to find playing a first-person shooter-esque game on the Wii where you’re a firefighter. Truth be told, I’d be the last guy to play that game on the PS3 or 360 as well. When we got a review copy of Real Heroes: Firefighter in the office, I happened to be mired in the middle of my slowest review week, so the chore of playing the game fell unto me. Strangely enough, after about an hour with the game, RH: Firefighter started to grow on me.  Real Heroes: Firefighter places you in the role of the newest recruit of an extremely busy fire company. Along with three other firefighters, you’ll be taking on blazes of all shapes and sizes in an effort to save the day. Your skill set isn’t just limited to pointing a hose at a crackling inferno, though. The game also gives players tasks like rescuing people trapped by debris or ventilating smoke-filled buildings. Firefighter has plenty of dangerous encounters lined up for your company, and you’ll find yourself fighting fires across varied locales ranging from a residential neighborhood, to a mall, to a high-rise office building, and more. Each of the jobs is different enough that you won't get bored, particularly when you’re challenged by more complex and in-depth (read: lengthier) missions. Using a control scheme very similar to The Conduit, players walk with the analog stick, and control all of their tools with the remote. It’s a bit disorienting at times depending on your controller's sensitivity, but the controls work well for what you’ve got to do. <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1244142169YKnChjTtzb.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1244142169YKnChjTtzb.jpg" height="412" alt="" width="550" /></a> There’s a handful of tools at your disposal for each mission, with two others making appearances when necessary. Armed with an axe for breaking windows and chopping beams, a fire extinguisher to put out small fires as you search areas unreachable by the more powerful hose, and a crowbar for busting open locked doors, you’ll be able to tackle nearly any challenge the game puts before you. Fire hoses will frequently be part of your arsenal as well, but have a slightly limited range. By slightly, I mean that it is barely limited at all. You’d be amazed not just by how far you can make it with the hose, but also by how many enviornmental objects you can pass through. The range of the hose is one of the more fantastical elements of the game, but is easily forgiven once you remember it is just a game, and some liberties with reality must be taken for the sake of playability. Additionally, there’s a large circular saw to use at pre-selected points, and you’ll get to use the Jaws of Life whenever the game calls for it. The circular saw mini-game is tedious as all hell, while the Jaws game is easy and intuitive. The game has a unique living flame engine that is pretty remarkable considering this is a budget title. While the fire graphics themselves aren’t anything to write home about, the way the fire dominates a location is. Small fires will grow larger if you leave them unchecked, and larger blazes refuse to die unless continually oppressed by the blast of water from your hose. Even the slightest tiny embers on the ground can grow to envelop a room you thought previously cleared. The game does a nice job of keeping you on your toes, and making sure you take the time and effort to completely eliminate the threat. While putting out a fire is nothing more than holding your hose/extinguisher on it long enough, you do get a pretty good sense of what it would be like to be a real fireman. Firefighter even goes so far as to have dense smoke populate an area so you will be forced to crawl your way through areas in order to not be overcome by smoke inhalation. About the only difference between the way this game portrays the firefighting career is the way in which you can jump right back into fight (at the last checkpoint) should you die in action. <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1244142161K5WpyWK5Br.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1244142161K5WpyWK5Br.jpg" height="412" alt="" width="550" /></a> Being a budget Wii title lends this game some leeway in the presentation department, but there’s actually nothing that wrong with what Epicenter Studios has done. The voice talent is surprisingly impressive, boasting talent like James Marsters, John DiMaggio, and… um, Jamie Kennedy. You’ll hardly notice the latter’s prescence. Trust me. Dialogue doesn’t exactly stick with you, but it’s never annoying. Even though the score isn’t in Dolby Digital 7.1, the composition does an excellent job of drawing you into certain moments. The way it draws you in during more intense moments is very subtle, and for once it was nice to have a game’s soundtrack not beat me over the head with obviousness. Graphically, the game suffers through mediocre textures and animations. The water effects don’t live up to the fire effects, which is a shame considering you spend so much time looking at water shooting out of your hose. It’s by no means an awful looking game, but one has to wonder just what a little more money and time could have done for this game’s look. I’ll admit I didn’t have high expectations for Real Heroes: Firefighter. I’ll also admit that after spending a lengthy amount of time with the game, it has won me over. The sum of all the parts is much greater than the individual pieces, and I hope that strong word of mouth gets this title into more homes. It certainly doesn’t deserve to be counted among the tons of shovelware currently populating shelves at most retailers. The highest compliment I can pay this game is that Epicenter Studios has made a third-party game on the Wii worth playing. Now, get back out there and make another one. <img src="/contributed/1239819862Bhc2x2btRr.jpg" height="125" alt="" width="245" /> review

2009-08-28T15:39:06-04:00

<a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/12441422256p7z1vb1Bi.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/12441422256p7z1vb1Bi.jpg" height="412" alt="" width="550" /></a> I’m probably the last guy you’d expect to find playing a first-person shooter-esque game on the Wii where you’re a firefighter. Truth be told, I’d be the last guy to play that game on the PS3 or 360 as well. When we got a review copy of Real Heroes: Firefighter in the office, I happened to be mired in the middle of my slowest review week, so the chore of playing the game fell unto me. Strangely enough, after about an hour with the game, RH: Firefighter started to grow on me.

9185

10363

2009-10-05T20:44:55-04:00

false

2009-08-28T15:39:06-04:00

12306

7.0

real_heroes_firefighter_nintendo_wii published Fire, Smoke She Is A Rising. Real Heroes: Firefighters - Wii

2009-10-05T20:44:55-04:00

825