I would like to point out a little gem of video game history today. At its core, it is a top-down shooter in the vein of Alien Breed or maybe Shadowgrounds, to name a more modern title. It was released by Human Entertainment on the Super Nintendo back in 1994 and completely sticks out among its genre brethren by having an unusual premise: You're a firefighter and your weapon is a hose. This may sound somewhat unspectacular—sure, it's kinda cool; along with astronauts and vets, firemen are right on top of our children's future occupation wishlist after all—but what do you do in this game, run around and extinguish fire? Yeah, you do. Except it's not just fire, but what appears to be an army of tortured souls set ablaze by Satan himself and sent straight from hell to mercilessly chase you down until there's nothing left of you but a sad little pile of ashes and whiffs of wasted opportunities.
Yes, The Firemen is a difficult game. Guileless at first, but out to kick your ass as soon as you let down your guard, and
in later stages you'll constantly be scrambling about madly to find a single safe spot of ground to stand on and defend yourself. Getting killed again and again can become incredibly frustrating,
but despite its rock-hard difficulty, it must be said with gritted teeth that it's an absolutely fair game. Every time you die, it's your fault. The challenge is based almost entirely on skills
acquired throughout the game, and there's very little room for sheer luck. So with every new attempt you get better and better, until you finally manage to complete the stage and come one step
closer to beating this bastard. At least that's what happened to me—I have no idea how often I had to restart a level, but every time I did, it
felt like I was approaching the ideal strategy for that one nasty section and gaining the skill to pursue it.
So you're a dude that makes fire go away. Anything else? Yup! There's one thing that I particularly like: the setting. It's refreshingly simplistic and personal. You're not some random nameless superhero tasked to save an entire civilization from the all-encompassing domination of the evil überfire, you're Pete, a run-of-the-mill firefighter captain with family, subordinates and—most importantly—a personality and a voice. There's a lot of engaging dialogue going on, and while there aren't any literary awards being won here, it definitely matches the atmosphere, and best of all: it's very rarely distracting. The story is charmingly plain: It is Christmas time, and a fire has broken out in the headquarters of a company producing chemical agents. Pete and his team set out to take care of it, and this is all there is to it.
As you progress from room to room toward each new destination within the building, you come across lots of different enemy types requiring different kinds of treatment to defeat. The big hulking flames are disposed of with a long straight splash while weaker enemies or those sticking close to the ground are more vulnerable to the low and wide spraying. You are in constant radio contact with your comrades outside and hastily discuss what actions to take in prospect of the ever-deteriorating situation, and it feels positively intense. Every once in a while, you come across a wounded person in need for help, and if you stray from your path to lend assistance, you'll not only have that sweet sensation of satisfaction, but you'll also be miraculously healed. And make no mistake, you'll be needing that.
Looking at the screens I've provided, you'll notice that the graphics are pretty damn amazing for its time. The entire game is a joy to look at, so if—in the middle of all that stuff out to kill you—you find the time to take in your surroundings, you'll be rewarded with some very impressive work of pixel art. The musical accompaniment is solid but none too special. The sound effects, on the other hand, the whooshing of fire erupting and the blast of your water launcher constitute an entire beautiful melody of their own. But in the end, the awesome shoot 'em up gameplay is what shines most brightly, so I strongly advise you to go grab this game and give it a whirl. It's really tough to find a reasonable price for The Firemen, as it's a bit of a collector's item, but nobody's gonna slap your fingers too hard if you go ahead and enjoy it on an emulator. It's an old game after all.
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