Review #724: Rescue heroes - Billy Blazes

 What in the blazes is this?!

 Leave it to WayForward Games to make something decent out of what should've been a dialed-in low-budget, kiddy game. Based on the TV series spawned from a popular Fisher-Price toyline, Rescue Heroes: Billy Blazes is a kiddy game, but with WayForward's usual charm.

 You play as, you guessed it, Billy Blazes, a fireman that must venture forth into the forest, the mountains and the city in order to rescue people and pets from dangerous fires. There's no real combat perse, but as Billy you'll have to keep an eye out on your water reserves in order to put down flames. Some flames stay in place, some move side-to-side, and there are also a few fiery obstacles that you simply can't put out. The objective in each level is to find every single victim, and get into the exit platform. The game is incredibly short, you can probably finish it in under an hour if you know what you're doing.

 Besides his trusty fire hose, Billy will also gain access to other tools: An ax, to break down boxes, a hook to slide down cables, a grappling hook, pretty self explanatory, and a ladder, to climb onto previously unreachable heights. At the start of each level you've only got your hose, so as you explore and search for people needing rescue, you'll also be coming across your tools. No puzzle is too hard, and there's nothing tougher than "Oh! Look, the grappling hook is behind those crates. I'd better find the Ax and come back here to get the grappling hook!". It's a very easy game, but I think kids can have fun with it.

 Putting out fires requires a teeny tiny bit of finesse, since you just can't hold down the B button unless you want to waste a lot of water, instead, most of the time you're better off mashing the B button, so that the water's arc doesn't shoot too far off.  While you can run out of water, it never happened to me, since there were usually fire hydrants around right about the times I was about to need them as I explored the levels. But, if things don't go your way, there's no shame in running back to replenish your water container, there's no time limit, and flames don't come back. "Enemies", consisting of rolling barrels or wheels on fire, do respawn, but they are easy to avoid and the game is generous with health pick ups.

 For me, the worst part about the game is how slow Billy runs! I guess it was made that way so that children wouldn't bump into obstacles if they weren't careful, but as someone who is very impatient, it drove me a bit nuts! Every level ends with a silly auto-scrolling vehicle section. They add nothing to the game, but I guess they offer a short change of pace between levels.

 Y'know, despite it being a kid's game, I'm kinda glad I have this one in my collection. The premise is very original, I mean, we've had Firemen videogames before, but they are rare and far in-between, so something that doesn't involve killing everything in sight is a breath of fresh air.
 5.0 out of 10