Awarded the
official Smokey Bear license, Wildfire teaches its players about fire safety in
the execution of a fire fighting strategy game. Take control of hotshots,
helicopters, and backburners, as you attempt to find the fastest and most
effective way to extinguish the scorching fires. Whether bulldozing ditches in
an attempt to cut off the fire or attacking from air with water dropping
helicopters, you decide who does what and how it should be done.
Wild Fire is a far
cry from the traditional real-time strategy. The game offers an initial appeal
similar to others found in the genre, though fighting fires turns out to be
entertaining for only so long. Because of the implementation of fighting fire
in place of enemies, the game’s learning curve can vary. Though the game is
rather self-explanatory, entering with a prior knowledge regarding fire fighting
tactics is a definite plus.
Despite the fact
that the game drops you into a fully rendered 3D world, its graphics are
comparable to the price you will be paying. The graphics may have been
impressive a few years back, though I have grown to expect much more since
Blizzards release of War Craft 3. Perhaps worst of all is the game’s fire,
represented by a yellow and orange glow. It envelops its surroundings and can
make the terrain around very difficult to make out. Regrettably, the most
impressive graphical feature that the game has to offer is the smoky particle
effect.
Wild Fire
introduces a pivotal camera system that can be manipulated in a variety of ways.
It can be zoomed in and out, panned horizontally, and rotated a full 360
degrees. Though the camera is quite impressive, the implementation and controls
are far from intuitive and feel quite unconventional.
As for the music
and sound effects, there is little to note. You’ll hardly be heading out first
thing in the morning to pick up the sound track, though the music and sound
effects do fit in well and are more than appropriately situated throughout the
game.
The actual game
offers two modes of play. First off is the “Play Challenges” mode in which you
can begin your career and advance through the ranks. Challenges range from an
easy to difficult setting, allowing you to select more difficult missions as
your rank rises. Aside from allowing you to choose your own difficulty, the
“Random Scenario” mode offers four maps with nine unique seeds (fire
placements).
Did you know that
Smokey the Bear has his own zip-code!? In the “History of Smokey the Bear”
section, you can learn about the New Mexican cub that was saved during a wild
fire and later dubbed the official “Smokey the Bear”. Over the years, Smokey and
the fire prevention committees under his name have gained so much publicity and
mail that the U.S. Postal Service has supplied them with their own zip code.
If knowing is half
the battle, then this game deserves two thumbs up. If you’ve ever wanted to
parachute out of a plane and tackle a blazing fire, then this game can ‘show and
tell’ you what it’s like. Serving the strategy genre as a stealth education
game, Wild Fire teaches basic fire safety principles through its loading screens
as well as in depth definitions as to who does what.
Ultimately,
Wildfire is a surprisingly interesting game that applies an innovative approach
to the realm of stealth education. Unfortunately, due to having so few units
and only 16 defined challenges, there is a high probability of the player’s
interest dieing early.
Review Scoring Details |
Gameplay: 7.4
Offering a strange
initial interest, Wild Fire can be played for hours on end. Just be careful not
to comprehend all of the game’s play aspects too early… Once the player
understands what works best and where, routine protocol replaces the ingenuity
that had been the game’s original appeal.
Graphics: 6.1
Regrettably, the
game’s graphics are hard pressed to match others of its genre. Oddly enough,
even Wild Fire’s pre-rendered CG sequences seem to run choppy on a system that
does more than match the requirements.
Sound:
7.0
The music blends
very well with the overall gameplay, although little stands out in any
remarkable fashion.
Difficulty:
Medium
Choose your own
difficulty when playing “Random Scenarios” or master them all as you select
“Play Challenges”, working your way through the ranks.
Concept:
8.7
Fighting fire in
place of opponents provides an impressive twist to the classic real-time
strategy genre. This title also includes an outstanding implementation of
stealth education.
Overall: 7.2
Raises the bar as
to what can be expected from an educational title, but offers little in the
realm of entertainment. Alas, addiction is hard to come by and even the initial
interest dies quickly as the player experiences all that the game has to offer.
