I'm always willing to play games that try new things, so when I saw Konami's Firefighter F.D. 18, I jumped at the chance to play it. Since I was a kid, I've had fantasies of putting out fires, and thankfully, F.D.18 is a cool game that, despite a few minor quibbles, satisfies that desire.

In F.D. 18 you play as the tough-as-nails firefighter Dean McGregor, a man haunted by the memory of a burn victim he could not save. Throughout his adventures he's reminded of her through flashbacks and the sight of an attractive news reporter, Emilie Arvin, who can't seem to keep herself out of trouble. The game's missions are divided into sections, and each one carries a similar purpose: to wade through raging fires and rescue victims. The game uses a Metal Gear-style radar to locate them so you shouldn't get lost, but unlike other games, losing just a single life results in mission failure. While it bothered me at first, I grew to like it as any lost victim is a personal failure.

So let's talk fire! Don't let the firefighting mask fool you. F.D. 18 is a simple shooter not unlike the classic Max Payne. Of course, instead of cappin' bad guys in the face you're using a fire hose to extinguish flames. The fires are all out of control and running amok, and all you have to do is point your hose at the flames and put them out... easier said than done.

Most times, the fire swarms around you and there's a constant fear of explosions and assorted nastiness. Konami did a great job making the fire more than just a tangible thing by instilling it with personality. This is especially apparent during the boss battles, where the monsters (which manifest themselves as various types of infernos) growl at you and perform special attacks (seriously), and none of the battles are easy. There's a strategy involved and patterns to figure out, and most times, as our life bars plummeted, it was either the fire or me. The important thing here is that Konami took a risk and it didn't turn out to be corny. If you have reservations, don't worry about it too much, since it's only during boss battles that the fires snarl at you. Otherwise, they're just your everyday, run-of-the-mill blazes.

I found the game's graphics to be a little disappointing. While they're certainly passable, I thought Konami could've done a lot better. F.D. 18 looks more Silent Hill than Metal Gear. That's not a bad thing, but I would've liked to see the designers tax the PS2 hardware just a bit more. However, concerning the fire, there's not much to complain about other than it could've been made to look a little more realistic, but that's a small gripe. It swarms across and consumes the environments terrifyingly quick, and before you know it Derrick is surrounded by a gorgeous sea of yellow and red.

F.D. 18's audio is top notch. The crackle of the fire as well as other sounds, such as glass popping and power lines buzzing are very well done, and all of it's complimented by a fantastic soundtrack scored by Klaus Badelt, whose credits include Pirates of the Caribbean and K-19: The Widowmaker. Upbeat and dramatically heroic, it perfectly sets the tone. Sadly, the game's dialogue isn't too great, but the actors do a better than average job reading the lines, and it's not really a problem since the game's so enjoyable.

While F.D. 18 is very fun to play, it uses stupid old-school conventions that keep it from greatness. For starters, Dean has an axe but he can't chop through any wall, and there are tons of locked doors yet he can't get through those either. Also, the electricity doesn't go crazy when water touches it, and when you rescue people they simply disappear. You can call for backup when you're in a jam, but said backup just appears out of nowhere and then vanishes. Why weren't they with you all the way? Lastly, you can't map functions to the digital pad, so every time you need to use the axe you have to access the equipment screen, select it, use it, then do the same thing over again so you can switch back to the hose. It gets very annoying.

The experience is short (less than 10 hours), so at $39.99 it's a difficult purchase to recommend. However, what Konami's put together is very solid and I liked it a lot. Firefighter F.D. 18 is definitely a classic weekend rental, but those of you who love putting out fires may want to consider purchasing this one.

Our Final ScoreMediocre

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