Hoses, trucks, axes and cats ahoy!

Epicenter Studios Announce Real Heroes: Firefighter!

A game to honour the real heroes of the real world? A moral step in the right direction for modern gaming? Just a kiddy flick? Patronising? It would seem it'll be up to the Wii gamer to decide when Real Heroes: Firefighter launches exclusively for the Wii in the summer of 2008.

Real Heroes puts players in the soon-to-be soot-stained boots of a rookie firefighter who has just been assigned to a busy metropolitan fire station. Players will undergo a 'baptism of fire' in an escalating array of emergency situations. It all sounds rather noble, doesn't it?

You want non linear game levels and destructable terrain? Epicenter claim that Real Heroes’ blazes will seem almost alive as they not only attack structures, potential victims and firefighters, but also cause unexpected changes to the environments that will suddenly alter a player’s options and strategies – no two scenarios will play out the same way. Success will depend equally on the player’s mastery of realistic firefighting tools and techniques and on the player’s ability to think and react quickly under pressure. So, if the cat falls into the toilet on one go, you may have to fish it out?

“Combining our unique fire tech with the specific strengths of the Wii was a natural choice for us as we designed Real Heroes,” says CCO Bryan Jury. “The Wii-mote makes spraying down fires with your hose, hacking down doors with your axe and prying victims loose from wrecked cars with the Jaws of Life an absolutely visceral game experience.”

“The Wii is a family-friendly console and we’ve designed Real Heroes with that in mind,” notes Epicenter CEO Nathaniel McClure. “Because firefighting requires a lot more than dousing flames, Real Heroes emphasizes non-violent, game-integral puzzles that mirror the challenges and on-the-fly choices firefighters actually face.”

“We are making every effort to create a game that is intense and engaging, but always respectful to firefighters who, we believe, are real heroes,” states McClure. Sounds like he's running for office!

Epicenter has secured initial funding for Real Heroes and will soon choose a publishing partner. Summer 2008 is the expected release window, so get ready to soak that skyscraper!