With the tragedy of 9-11, Firefighters were thrust into the limelight as real American heroes; men and women that went above and beyond the call of duty to save people - the irony being that it took a tragedy for the world to figure out that firemen were, have been and will always be heroes that save lives on a regular basis without regard for their own personal safety. It's nice to see a game that at least delves into the harrowing adventures of these unsung heroes. Monte Cristo's Emergency Fire Response attempts to do just that and goes a long way in giving gamers a pretty decent experience in the front lines of many dangerous situations that firemen might face like forest fires, accidents, search and rescue, etc.

Emergency lets players take control of a variety of firefighters - from basic frontline firemen to specialists - in a top-down squad based adventure through 10 missions that range from putting out basic fires and rescuing victims to going up against full-blown forest fires and saving valuable documents and works of art. The game offers ten missions that take anywhere from 15 to forty-five minutes and offer multiple objectives in real-time, intertwined with story-driven situations. For instance, in one mission you're charged with putting out a fire at a local bank, rescuing employees trapped in various rooms in the structure, locating and saving the bank manager to get access codes to the vault, saving documents and money and rescuing the bad guys that set the fire in the first place. During all this your firefighters have to keep the fire from flaring back up, keep their air and water supply full and avoid being trapped in the blaze themselves. In a perfect world you might be able to achieve all those objectives and have no casualties, but in this game the world is not so full of sunshine and hope - you will lose lives, you will fail some objectives where some important and valuable items will be lost. Luckily, you don't have to save everything to progress in the game, but doing so will reward your firemen with commendations.

Emergency is essentially a squad-based tactical real-time strategy game where you control a handful of units that can do everything from basic grunt work to specialty skills. At the bottom of the hierarchy is the basic firefighter - these are the frontline firefighters that do most of the grunt work; next is the technical officer - he's sort of the on-site fire chief, for lack of a better term. He can drive any vehicle available in the game and has an intricate knowledge of complex (and most times highly flammable) devices and substances; next up is the Paramedic, who is capable of on-the-spot medical attention; next up is the High Risk Specialist, a lightly equipped specialist that uses a grapple to reach inaccessible and most times dangerous locations; Next up is the Specialist in Approach Suit, a firefighter specifically suited to withstand extremely dangerous situations thanks to a fire retardant suit; Finally is the Extrication Specialist, a firefighter equipped with a circular saw (or chop saw) that is handy for retrieving victims from metal or removing metal debris to create passages. All of the aforementioned units can also carry victims to safety and fight fires - though plain old firefighters are best suited for the front lines.

Emergency also lets players control a number of emergency vehicles during the course of gameplay. While the driving is less than realistic, it isn't all that important to the overall gameplay because the areas where you can drive are very limited. If you're looking for some hardcore driving action, then you'll have to look somewhere else. The main roles of the vehicles in the game are to provide outside support for your firemen. Whether it be to re-supply you with air and water, offer medical treatment, give you "cover fire" using a ladder or a vehicle mounted water canon or allow you to reach the rooftops of a building in distress, vehicles are there for you.

Much like controlling your firemen, driving is a simple one-button affair - players hold down the mouse button and drags an arrow which makes the vehicle move. While that experience is less than perfect the control scheme gets the job done. Players will get to control a number of rescue vehicles including the Ambulance, Tanker, Pumper, Water Ladder, Rescue Ladder and smaller vehicles like forklifts.

No matter what you're controlling during a given scenario, you'll never have an idle moment. Players will constantly be challenged to handle tough situations under pressure and make split decisions on what objectives to deal with first; saving a priceless artifact is always a good thing but at the cost of human life? Focusing on objects instead of people is also a juggling act that players will have to face. And that is one of the key elements of Emergency that makes it interesting - players will have to make tough decisions in the heat of the moment that can adversely affect key objectives. Luckily, the game does a good job of not punishing players too much for the choices they make unless it causes a major catastrophe - of course the accolades and rewards are greater if you can accomplish as many goals as possible. Toss in some random factors like flashover, backdraft, exposed electrical wires, dangerous explosive substances, flare-ups and collapsing structures, and you have the makings of a fast paced action-filled adventure.

While Emergency is no DOOM 3, it looks great, offers moderately realistic animations and decent effects for smoke and fire. Vehicle animation isn't that great and the models for most of the vehicles are pretty blocky but the game's overall visual presentation is nice. Likewise the interface and the camera work well with the game, though it would have been nice to be able to zoom in a little closer to the action. Sometimes the camera doesn't allow you to get in close to the action, which can be a real pain but you can pause the game anytime.

While Emergency is a pretty solid game, there are a few minor problems worth noting. One of the biggest gripes I have is that you can't do anything while the game is paused, save looking around. It would have been nice if you were allowed to give out orders while paused out - it certainly would have made the game feel more tactical. The other thing that should have been in the game that wasn't was a pre-planning stage that allowed you to deploy your firemen - or at the very least - dole out orders to take immediately. One other minor irritation is that firefighters often stop what they are doing - even if there's an area ablaze right next to them. This means that after they have accomplished the initial task you've given them, they just stand around and do nothing even if there's something important to do in their general vicinity. That goes for every other unit type in the game. If there's something important to do in their general vicinity they should do it. Unfortunately, players will have to play a real hands-on role with each and every fireman on the scene. While this is by no means a deal breaker, it's obviously an AI issue that should have been worked out.

Emergency is a great tactical real-time strategy game that touches on a unique subject and does it with innovation and class. It's surprising that DreamCatcher is selling this game for $19.99 - which is another reason to pick this game up. The gameplay experience is well worth the twenty dollar price-tag. A lack of multiplayer may hurt it on the rebound in terms of replayability, but you'll get enough gameplay out of Emergency that you'll feel satisfied with the purchase.