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I had no idea what career path to aim for when I was at high school but joining the fire brigade was one of the many random things I considered. I’m not sure at what point that idea went up in flames but Flame Over gives me the chance to see what I have been missing out on. Without the salary benefits or putting my life on the line obviously.
Flame Over sees you in control of Blaze Carruthers, a man whose chosen career may or may not have been determined by his first name. Blaze appears to be a self-employed fireman or perhaps the rest of the crew are on strike or have called in sick. He may be lacking in colleagues but Blaze is certainly not lacking in courage and when the emergency call comes in he doesn’t hesitate.
Blaze has 5 minutes to extinguish the raging inferno. Timescales are tight but fire doesn’t tend to be a patient foe. Fail to extinguish all fires within the time limit and Death appears to accept your resignation from the brigade and life in general. It is a little reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and you can delay the inevitable a little but not for long. It is perhaps a nicer way to deal with the ‘flame over’ moment than watching the entire building collapse around our hero.
The fires are raging in 16 randomly generated levels across each of the 4 different environments. The random nature of the levels means there is no memorising a level to fine tune your approach but it does also minimise repetition. And repetition is something this game could suffer badly from as it is no stroll in the park. The cartoon graphics have a charm to them and the colours are bright and vibrant but underneath this is a very challenging game, particularly for the new comer. Still, resolution fans will be happy with the 108p and 60fps first and foremost.
The fires behave like real fires and they will spread if they are not put out. With such short timescales you really could do without the fires spreading. Some of the fires spew out fireballs which help the fire in its quest for domination while sending you into a minor panic. Perhaps Blaze has the timeframe on his mind or perhaps his training was inadequate but he doesn’t close the doors behind him to contain the fire and a rouge fireball can easily go straight through the opening and reignite the room on the other side of the door. The fire is a formidable enemy and will not go down without a fight. Some rooms have a few small fires when you enter whereas other rooms can be completely engulfed in flames. It seems logical to deal with the engulfed rooms first but ignore those rooms with the few and small fires for too long and you’ll have another room completely ablaze before you know it.
Our firefighting hero is a dual weapon wielding warrior. He has his hose with water ammunition and he has his extinguisher with foam ammunition. Both have pros and cons and you’ll need to use both accordingly to clear the fires quickly. The water fires further than the foam but has less spread. The foam puts out the fire quicker than the water but the water cools things and makes items harder to burst into flames again. The foam needs to be used on electrical fires which are identifiable by the dark smoke. To add complication, as if we need anymore, ammunition is limited. The water can be filled up at sinks or water dispensers. The foam can be replenished by fire extinguishers. Both can be replenished at the start of the level. Blaze also has water bombs to complement his arsenal. These are few in numbers but provide a means of blanket soaking a wider area. They won’t extinguish all the flames in a big room but it can give you some breathing space to jump in and work on the flames that remain. With a view from above, the controls are a familiar setup with the left stick for movement and the right stick for aim. The right stick does double as the camera shift and since the view point is not directly above you will at times need to alter the camera which can be a little unwelcome having to come off the hose spraying to do so.
Time is always of the essence and it will pay to know where your nearest ammo refill spot is. There is a mini map which can be blown up to a full map to aid. The map also identifies where the electrical shut off point is which will extinguish all electrical fires with the press of a button. This means a tactical approach to the level is needed. Hitting that button is quicker than dealing with the electrical fires individually but the switch might not be easily accessible. What the map doesn’t show is where the fires are. There is a temperature gauge in the HUD which allows you to see if you are heading towards a heat source or not. It isn’t of much uses at the start of a level as every room is on fire but it becomes invaluable later when you are struggling to find what fire is left.
Blaze has a health meter which depletes the longer he spends too close to the heat. Being close to the flames brings up a circular indicator and let the heat level travel the full 360 degrees and Blaze loses a heart; lose all hearts and it is game over. Moving away from the fire cools Blaze down but when the room is engulfed in flames that may mean leaving the room completely. Leaving the fire unattended means it can spread. And time spend away for extinguishing fires feels like time wasted in a tight time frame so you Blaze may need to be a bit kamikaze at times.
In addition to the fires there are also occupants of the building needing rescued. These people clearly have no common sense and rather than escape the fire themselves chose to stand and hope for the best. Blaze can lead them to safety and for each person saved you get a bonus minute added to the time which comes in very handy. You aren’t penalised for not saving people but the time bonus is essential. I don’t mean to be sexist but the woman is somewhat more awkward. The woman, whilst needing rescued, will refuse to flee with you unless you find her handbag. I’m sure this is in breach of all fire safety rules and regulations but she is a stubborn one. Should you find said handbag you will get a bonus item to go along with your extra minute. And we must not forget the pets; there are cats in need of saving too. Saving a cat gives Blaze an extra heart of health. The cats are way more obedient than mine but I can’t help but wonder why there are in the office to start with.
Extinguishing fires reaps financial rewards; it is surprisingly lucrative at times. This money can be used to gain extra abilities. So far I’ve been able to afford to boost my chances of finding bonus items and a pair of speed shoes. The wages need to be high because the prices are high.
There is a handy training level which gives you access to all extra such as a means of resuscitating people who have succumb to the smoke. It gives a taster of the types of benefits available to you once you have earned enough to obtain them. The training level also explains everything but at first the messages popping up as you try to deal with the flames can be a bit obtrusive. It is a large level though and it is handy to go back for some practice.
Flame Over is a very challenging game which may get you a little hot under the collar. Like the common trend at the moment for challenging indie games, there is something that keeps you plugging away until you get better and earn the rewards for doing so. The time limits keep things tense and the random levels help with repetition although at times I think I could benefit from knowing the environment inside out.
7
Flame Over sees you in control of Blaze Carruthers, a man whose chosen career may or may not have been determined by his first name. Blaze appears to be a self-employed fireman or perhaps the rest of the crew are on strike or have called in sick. He may be lacking in colleagues but Blaze is certainly not lacking in courage and when the emergency call comes in he doesn’t hesitate.
Blaze has 5 minutes to extinguish the raging inferno. Timescales are tight but fire doesn’t tend to be a patient foe. Fail to extinguish all fires within the time limit and Death appears to accept your resignation from the brigade and life in general. It is a little reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and you can delay the inevitable a little but not for long. It is perhaps a nicer way to deal with the ‘flame over’ moment than watching the entire building collapse around our hero.
The fires are raging in 16 randomly generated levels across each of the 4 different environments. The random nature of the levels means there is no memorising a level to fine tune your approach but it does also minimise repetition. And repetition is something this game could suffer badly from as it is no stroll in the park. The cartoon graphics have a charm to them and the colours are bright and vibrant but underneath this is a very challenging game, particularly for the new comer. Still, resolution fans will be happy with the 108p and 60fps first and foremost.
The fires behave like real fires and they will spread if they are not put out. With such short timescales you really could do without the fires spreading. Some of the fires spew out fireballs which help the fire in its quest for domination while sending you into a minor panic. Perhaps Blaze has the timeframe on his mind or perhaps his training was inadequate but he doesn’t close the doors behind him to contain the fire and a rouge fireball can easily go straight through the opening and reignite the room on the other side of the door. The fire is a formidable enemy and will not go down without a fight. Some rooms have a few small fires when you enter whereas other rooms can be completely engulfed in flames. It seems logical to deal with the engulfed rooms first but ignore those rooms with the few and small fires for too long and you’ll have another room completely ablaze before you know it.
Our firefighting hero is a dual weapon wielding warrior. He has his hose with water ammunition and he has his extinguisher with foam ammunition. Both have pros and cons and you’ll need to use both accordingly to clear the fires quickly. The water fires further than the foam but has less spread. The foam puts out the fire quicker than the water but the water cools things and makes items harder to burst into flames again. The foam needs to be used on electrical fires which are identifiable by the dark smoke. To add complication, as if we need anymore, ammunition is limited. The water can be filled up at sinks or water dispensers. The foam can be replenished by fire extinguishers. Both can be replenished at the start of the level. Blaze also has water bombs to complement his arsenal. These are few in numbers but provide a means of blanket soaking a wider area. They won’t extinguish all the flames in a big room but it can give you some breathing space to jump in and work on the flames that remain. With a view from above, the controls are a familiar setup with the left stick for movement and the right stick for aim. The right stick does double as the camera shift and since the view point is not directly above you will at times need to alter the camera which can be a little unwelcome having to come off the hose spraying to do so.
Time is always of the essence and it will pay to know where your nearest ammo refill spot is. There is a mini map which can be blown up to a full map to aid. The map also identifies where the electrical shut off point is which will extinguish all electrical fires with the press of a button. This means a tactical approach to the level is needed. Hitting that button is quicker than dealing with the electrical fires individually but the switch might not be easily accessible. What the map doesn’t show is where the fires are. There is a temperature gauge in the HUD which allows you to see if you are heading towards a heat source or not. It isn’t of much uses at the start of a level as every room is on fire but it becomes invaluable later when you are struggling to find what fire is left.
Blaze has a health meter which depletes the longer he spends too close to the heat. Being close to the flames brings up a circular indicator and let the heat level travel the full 360 degrees and Blaze loses a heart; lose all hearts and it is game over. Moving away from the fire cools Blaze down but when the room is engulfed in flames that may mean leaving the room completely. Leaving the fire unattended means it can spread. And time spend away for extinguishing fires feels like time wasted in a tight time frame so you Blaze may need to be a bit kamikaze at times.
In addition to the fires there are also occupants of the building needing rescued. These people clearly have no common sense and rather than escape the fire themselves chose to stand and hope for the best. Blaze can lead them to safety and for each person saved you get a bonus minute added to the time which comes in very handy. You aren’t penalised for not saving people but the time bonus is essential. I don’t mean to be sexist but the woman is somewhat more awkward. The woman, whilst needing rescued, will refuse to flee with you unless you find her handbag. I’m sure this is in breach of all fire safety rules and regulations but she is a stubborn one. Should you find said handbag you will get a bonus item to go along with your extra minute. And we must not forget the pets; there are cats in need of saving too. Saving a cat gives Blaze an extra heart of health. The cats are way more obedient than mine but I can’t help but wonder why there are in the office to start with.
Extinguishing fires reaps financial rewards; it is surprisingly lucrative at times. This money can be used to gain extra abilities. So far I’ve been able to afford to boost my chances of finding bonus items and a pair of speed shoes. The wages need to be high because the prices are high.
There is a handy training level which gives you access to all extra such as a means of resuscitating people who have succumb to the smoke. It gives a taster of the types of benefits available to you once you have earned enough to obtain them. The training level also explains everything but at first the messages popping up as you try to deal with the flames can be a bit obtrusive. It is a large level though and it is handy to go back for some practice.
Flame Over is a very challenging game which may get you a little hot under the collar. Like the common trend at the moment for challenging indie games, there is something that keeps you plugging away until you get better and earn the rewards for doing so. The time limits keep things tense and the random levels help with repetition although at times I think I could benefit from knowing the environment inside out.
7
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I had no idea what career path to aim for when I was at high school but joining the fire brigade was one of the many random things I considered. I’m not sure at what point that idea went up in flames but Flame Over gives me the chance to see what I have been missing out on. Without the salary benefits or putting my life on the line obviously.
Flame Over sees you in control of Blaze Carruthers, a man whose chosen career may or may not have been determined by his first name. Blaze appears to be a self-employed fireman or perhaps the rest of the crew are on strike or have called in sick. He may be lacking in colleagues but Blaze is certainly not lacking in courage and when the emergency call comes in he doesn’t hesitate.
Blaze has 5 minutes to extinguish the raging inferno. Timescales are tight but fire doesn’t tend to be a patient foe. Fail to extinguish all fires within the time limit and Death appears to accept your resignation from the brigade and life in general. It is a little reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and you can delay the inevitable a little but not for long. It is perhaps a nicer way to deal with the ‘flame over’ moment than watching the entire building collapse around our hero.
The fires are raging in 16 randomly generated levels across each of the 4 different environments. The random nature of the levels means there is no memorising a level to fine tune your approach but it does also minimise repetition. And repetition is something this game could suffer badly from as it is no stroll in the park. The cartoon graphics have a charm to them and the colours are bright and vibrant but underneath this is a very challenging game, particularly for the new comer. Still, resolution fans will be happy with the 108p and 60fps first and foremost.
The fires behave like real fires and they will spread if they are not put out. With such short timescales you really could do without the fires spreading. Some of the fires spew out fireballs which help the fire in its quest for domination while sending you into a minor panic. Perhaps Blaze has the timeframe on his mind or perhaps his training was inadequate but he doesn’t close the doors behind him to contain the fire and a rouge fireball can easily go straight through the opening and reignite the room on the other side of the door. The fire is a formidable enemy and will not go down without a fight. Some rooms have a few small fires when you enter whereas other rooms can be completely engulfed in flames. It seems logical to deal with the engulfed rooms first but ignore those rooms with the few and small fires for too long and you’ll have another room completely ablaze before you know it.
Our firefighting hero is a dual weapon wielding warrior. He has his hose with water ammunition and he has his extinguisher with foam ammunition. Both have pros and cons and you’ll need to use both accordingly to clear the fires quickly. The water fires further than the foam but has less spread. The foam puts out the fire quicker than the water but the water cools things and makes items harder to burst into flames again. The foam needs to be used on electrical fires which are identifiable by the dark smoke. To add complication, as if we need anymore, ammunition is limited. The water can be filled up at sinks or water dispensers. The foam can be replenished by fire extinguishers. Both can be replenished at the start of the level. Blaze also has water bombs to complement his arsenal. These are few in numbers but provide a means of blanket soaking a wider area. They won’t extinguish all the flames in a big room but it can give you some breathing space to jump in and work on the flames that remain. With a view from above, the controls are a familiar setup with the left stick for movement and the right stick for aim. The right stick does double as the camera shift and since the view point is not directly above you will at times need to alter the camera which can be a little unwelcome having to come off the hose spraying to do so.
Time is always of the essence and it will pay to know where your nearest ammo refill spot is. There is a mini map which can be blown up to a full map to aid. The map also identifies where the electrical shut off point is which will extinguish all electrical fires with the press of a button. This means a tactical approach to the level is needed. Hitting that button is quicker than dealing with the electrical fires individually but the switch might not be easily accessible. What the map doesn’t show is where the fires are. There is a temperature gauge in the HUD which allows you to see if you are heading towards a heat source or not. It isn’t of much uses at the start of a level as every room is on fire but it becomes invaluable later when you are struggling to find what fire is left.
Blaze has a health meter which depletes the longer he spends too close to the heat. Being close to the flames brings up a circular indicator and let the heat level travel the full 360 degrees and Blaze loses a heart; lose all hearts and it is game over. Moving away from the fire cools Blaze down but when the room is engulfed in flames that may mean leaving the room completely. Leaving the fire unattended means it can spread. And time spend away for extinguishing fires feels like time wasted in a tight time frame so you Blaze may need to be a bit kamikaze at times.
In addition to the fires there are also occupants of the building needing rescued. These people clearly have no common sense and rather than escape the fire themselves chose to stand and hope for the best. Blaze can lead them to safety and for each person saved you get a bonus minute added to the time which comes in very handy. You aren’t penalised for not saving people but the time bonus is essential. I don’t mean to be sexist but the woman is somewhat more awkward. The woman, whilst needing rescued, will refuse to flee with you unless you find her handbag. I’m sure this is in breach of all fire safety rules and regulations but she is a stubborn one. Should you find said handbag you will get a bonus item to go along with your extra minute. And we must not forget the pets; there are cats in need of saving too. Saving a cat gives Blaze an extra heart of health. The cats are way more obedient than mine but I can’t help but wonder why there are in the office to start with.
Extinguishing fires reaps financial rewards; it is surprisingly lucrative at times. This money can be used to gain extra abilities. So far I’ve been able to afford to boost my chances of finding bonus items and a pair of speed shoes. The wages need to be high because the prices are high.
There is a handy training level which gives you access to all extra such as a means of resuscitating people who have succumb to the smoke. It gives a taster of the types of benefits available to you once you have earned enough to obtain them. The training level also explains everything but at first the messages popping up as you try to deal with the flames can be a bit obtrusive. It is a large level though and it is handy to go back for some practice.
Flame Over is a very challenging game which may get you a little hot under the collar. Like the common trend at the moment for challenging indie games, there is something that keeps you plugging away until you get better and earn the rewards for doing so. The time limits keep things tense and the random levels help with repetition although at times I think I could benefit from knowing the environment inside out.
7
Flame Over sees you in control of Blaze Carruthers, a man whose chosen career may or may not have been determined by his first name. Blaze appears to be a self-employed fireman or perhaps the rest of the crew are on strike or have called in sick. He may be lacking in colleagues but Blaze is certainly not lacking in courage and when the emergency call comes in he doesn’t hesitate.
Blaze has 5 minutes to extinguish the raging inferno. Timescales are tight but fire doesn’t tend to be a patient foe. Fail to extinguish all fires within the time limit and Death appears to accept your resignation from the brigade and life in general. It is a little reminiscent of Bubble Bobble and you can delay the inevitable a little but not for long. It is perhaps a nicer way to deal with the ‘flame over’ moment than watching the entire building collapse around our hero.
The fires are raging in 16 randomly generated levels across each of the 4 different environments. The random nature of the levels means there is no memorising a level to fine tune your approach but it does also minimise repetition. And repetition is something this game could suffer badly from as it is no stroll in the park. The cartoon graphics have a charm to them and the colours are bright and vibrant but underneath this is a very challenging game, particularly for the new comer. Still, resolution fans will be happy with the 108p and 60fps first and foremost.
The fires behave like real fires and they will spread if they are not put out. With such short timescales you really could do without the fires spreading. Some of the fires spew out fireballs which help the fire in its quest for domination while sending you into a minor panic. Perhaps Blaze has the timeframe on his mind or perhaps his training was inadequate but he doesn’t close the doors behind him to contain the fire and a rouge fireball can easily go straight through the opening and reignite the room on the other side of the door. The fire is a formidable enemy and will not go down without a fight. Some rooms have a few small fires when you enter whereas other rooms can be completely engulfed in flames. It seems logical to deal with the engulfed rooms first but ignore those rooms with the few and small fires for too long and you’ll have another room completely ablaze before you know it.
Our firefighting hero is a dual weapon wielding warrior. He has his hose with water ammunition and he has his extinguisher with foam ammunition. Both have pros and cons and you’ll need to use both accordingly to clear the fires quickly. The water fires further than the foam but has less spread. The foam puts out the fire quicker than the water but the water cools things and makes items harder to burst into flames again. The foam needs to be used on electrical fires which are identifiable by the dark smoke. To add complication, as if we need anymore, ammunition is limited. The water can be filled up at sinks or water dispensers. The foam can be replenished by fire extinguishers. Both can be replenished at the start of the level. Blaze also has water bombs to complement his arsenal. These are few in numbers but provide a means of blanket soaking a wider area. They won’t extinguish all the flames in a big room but it can give you some breathing space to jump in and work on the flames that remain. With a view from above, the controls are a familiar setup with the left stick for movement and the right stick for aim. The right stick does double as the camera shift and since the view point is not directly above you will at times need to alter the camera which can be a little unwelcome having to come off the hose spraying to do so.
Time is always of the essence and it will pay to know where your nearest ammo refill spot is. There is a mini map which can be blown up to a full map to aid. The map also identifies where the electrical shut off point is which will extinguish all electrical fires with the press of a button. This means a tactical approach to the level is needed. Hitting that button is quicker than dealing with the electrical fires individually but the switch might not be easily accessible. What the map doesn’t show is where the fires are. There is a temperature gauge in the HUD which allows you to see if you are heading towards a heat source or not. It isn’t of much uses at the start of a level as every room is on fire but it becomes invaluable later when you are struggling to find what fire is left.
Blaze has a health meter which depletes the longer he spends too close to the heat. Being close to the flames brings up a circular indicator and let the heat level travel the full 360 degrees and Blaze loses a heart; lose all hearts and it is game over. Moving away from the fire cools Blaze down but when the room is engulfed in flames that may mean leaving the room completely. Leaving the fire unattended means it can spread. And time spend away for extinguishing fires feels like time wasted in a tight time frame so you Blaze may need to be a bit kamikaze at times.
In addition to the fires there are also occupants of the building needing rescued. These people clearly have no common sense and rather than escape the fire themselves chose to stand and hope for the best. Blaze can lead them to safety and for each person saved you get a bonus minute added to the time which comes in very handy. You aren’t penalised for not saving people but the time bonus is essential. I don’t mean to be sexist but the woman is somewhat more awkward. The woman, whilst needing rescued, will refuse to flee with you unless you find her handbag. I’m sure this is in breach of all fire safety rules and regulations but she is a stubborn one. Should you find said handbag you will get a bonus item to go along with your extra minute. And we must not forget the pets; there are cats in need of saving too. Saving a cat gives Blaze an extra heart of health. The cats are way more obedient than mine but I can’t help but wonder why there are in the office to start with.
Extinguishing fires reaps financial rewards; it is surprisingly lucrative at times. This money can be used to gain extra abilities. So far I’ve been able to afford to boost my chances of finding bonus items and a pair of speed shoes. The wages need to be high because the prices are high.
There is a handy training level which gives you access to all extra such as a means of resuscitating people who have succumb to the smoke. It gives a taster of the types of benefits available to you once you have earned enough to obtain them. The training level also explains everything but at first the messages popping up as you try to deal with the flames can be a bit obtrusive. It is a large level though and it is handy to go back for some practice.
Flame Over is a very challenging game which may get you a little hot under the collar. Like the common trend at the moment for challenging indie games, there is something that keeps you plugging away until you get better and earn the rewards for doing so. The time limits keep things tense and the random levels help with repetition although at times I think I could benefit from knowing the environment inside out.
7