Compelling and original
While visually crude and unimpressive Fire Fighter must be applauded for its concept and for attempting to do something different, so if you're looking for an original, albeit less than flashy, experience, you would do well to check it out. The basic premise is that you, as the titular fire fighter, must respond to woodland flare-ups and quickly and efficiently put them before they can do too much damage. Levels are randomly generated each time you play while you have three main tools at your disposal in order to complete your task. These are water drops, firebreaks and backfires and you have to consider factors such as wind speed and direction when using them as their effectiveness depends on the specific conditions under which they are being used. The game is played out in turn-based fashion, with the player choosing their action and then sitting back to see how their plan plays out. You won't see results instantly, so an element of strategy is needed and you have to think several turns ahead in order to be successful. It's this aspect which is most appealing and fans of chess or cerebral turn-based games in general are the ones most likely to enjoy this. The game's random nature means there is always a new approach to try out and which should keep fans coming back for more. The simple visual nature might prove off-putting but if you can get over this, there is a surprisingly compelling game to experience here which offers armchair fire fighters plenty to mull over. For a slightly different take on fire fighting, check out Pyro 2, a similarly retro experience but which is played from the perspective of starting fires, not stopping them.
