Old game? Sure. But this is an old blog. So hush.
Emergency Dangerous: Fire Fighter is one of those titles I tend to mention to people when they ask me about games on the iPhone, only to get a blank stare in return.
I understand. It doesn't have the pick up and play appeal of Doodle Jump, the instant recognizability of Bejeweled, or the appealing cutesy-insanity of Angry Birds. In fact the nearest reference point I could think of for it is the Exit series of games by Taito. There, as a 'professional escapologist' named Mr. ESC, you made your 2D way through boldly coloured cutaway buildings during various emergencies (fire, flood, earthquake) in order to rescue survivors from certain death as a timer counted down in the corner. The game was quirky, challenging and funny, even if Mr. ESC controlled like a drunk washcloth.
ED has a similar premise. You control an expanding team of fire fighters tasked with rescuing people from large burning buildings while a timer counts down. As the game goes on the buildings and flames get bigger, and you're expected to rescue more and more of the distressed occupants.
To accomplish this dangerous (or should I say EMERGENCY DANGEROUS) task you'll steadily order your fire fighters to take one of four actions: bust down doors, put out fires, apply first aid to survivors, and of course rescuing them from the building itself. The catch is each member of your team of fire fighters can only carry out one given action at a time. Strategizing becomes essential as the clock ticks away: should you put out that raging fire on the third floor or rescue the slowly dwindling survivor locked away on the second?
Actions are given out through a simple tap interface. Tap a fire fighter to bring up their selection of abilities, tap again on the one you'd like them to use, then tap on the section of the building you'd like them to perform the action. Once complete, the fire fighter will return to the bottom of the screen waiting for your next direction. Though it can be hard to retain a cool head under fire (wahey), choices must be made carefully. If you ask the fire fighters to perform a task that they can't complete (such as rescuing a survivor from a still locked room) they will spend valuable time making their way to the spot, give you a confused look, then walk back to the bottom.
Fortunately you are not without aid in your struggle. As you complete missions you earn points to be spent at an Item Shop where you are able to upgrade your various abilities and stats, as well as adding up to two additional members to your motley squad.
Looking around the level is equally simple, but almost unforgivably never explained by the game itself. Scrolling up or down on the screen will move your view to the various floors of the building. A small red arrow indicator appears in the corner to warn you when there are floors out of your sight with survivors on it. However, you'd never know it if you leapt straight into the game. In no tutorial or help menu does ED mention this aspect of the gameplay. It's a small point of presentation, but is a surprising omission nonetheless considering how key it is to the game past the first few stages.
ED's graphical style is a 2D sugar rush of eye popping comic book drama. From the flaming title screen with letters that make their presence known by screaming at you in garish colours to the angular buildings jutting out of the ground, the design is silly and fun. There isn't a mammoth amount of design variation over the course of the game, but in some ways this is a good thing. This is a game focused on snap decision making, and by keeping the look familiar throughout the levels the experience is kept streamlined and at your fingertips. It serves the gameplay first and acts as visual flash second.
The music, while entertainingly epic and exciting, has slightly less excuse for its repetition. Fun though it is to have thundering drums, choppy electric guitar and synth choral voices soundtrack your first missions, it starts to feel far less dramatic when you've heard the same three loops sampled to death an umpteen amount of times.
In terms of replay value the game offers a small set of unlockable trophies and the main globe trotting campaign comes in three flavours of difficulty, the highest of which must be unlocked. Admittedly, this doesn't seem like a particularly big lifespan. However I would also point out that ED was very clearly designed with the short bursts of play characteristic of gaming on the iPhone in mind, so arguably that helps balance things out a bit.
Overall, Emergency Dangerous is fun, addictive, and surprisingly fast paced for a game requiring you to take things strictly one step at a time. It's easily worth the £1.20 ($1.99), and there's even a trial version for those of you left unconvinced by my gushing.
So go! Buy! And feel safe in the knowledge that you too will now get blank stares when you mention the game to your friends. Enjoy.
-Dashiell 'Not Quite An Emergency' Asher
Images courtesy of Mad Orc Team, 2009
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