Emergency Call 112 – The Fire Fighting Simulation 2 is a sequel to The Firefighting Simulator, which originally came out in 2016. Like many other titles in the genre, Emergency Call 112 is known for its authentic, and mechanically deep representation of a fire fighting squad. Sadly, the sequel doesn’t do much to improve on the first title, and the current state of the game itself is fairly buggy. In this The Fire Fighting Simulation 2 Review, I’ll be looking over where I think the game succeeded, and where it falters. A simulation title isn’t exactly a traditional game, and thus, has to be judged based on how immersive the experience itself is.
Gameplay and Controls
The game goes into a surprising amount of detail setting up the workday of a typical firefighting station. Players have to go through necessary checks before starting vehicles. The missions also start with a pep-talk (albeit in German). After inspection, you’ll start your ride to the location under fire. You can either drive to the location yourself or let an AI or other player do that for you. The actual driving controls aren’t that great, and despite the game telling you to be careful, there’s no real risk of driving unsafely. You can bump into world objects, vehicles, and there’s no impact at all. It feels dated in execution, and can really dampen the immersion aspect.
The location to reach is marked on your mini-map, without a highlighted marker, or a GPS-controlled route. One added feature is that you can switch between different roles on the fly. This is a useful addition, and the AI will take over the role you left. After reaching the location, you’ll interact with a Tactical mode. This allows you to give orders and set a line of action. This adds a lot of depth to how you want to assess and then handle the situation. Based on the situation, you can choose different tools from the firetruck. You will have to give orders through it and extinguish fires, with generally functional controls.
Now, while there is some depth in the actual firefighting part, everything around it is fairly buggy. Characters get stuck in repeating animations all the time and obstruct paths. You might have to start the mission altogether in some cases.
Characters don’t have enough idle animations, and the general movement is very stiff. At the moment, the game doesn’t have controller support either, which would help it quite a bit.
Visuals
Sadly, this is where the game struggles quite a bit. The visuals and audio are simply not up to par. Textures are flat, character models feel extremely dated, and the game feels unfinished in multiple areas. This isn’t because the game has to look as good as other simulators on a technical level, but the art direction is generally dull too.
Buildings don’t have any extra detail, and the lighting doesn’t seem to work properly in most rooms. The inside of vehicles are fairly detailed, however, and that really stands out from the rest. It’s impressive how many buttons and functions were added in each different vehicle. This is where the game shines, and generally speaking, the first camera perspective actually works in the game’s favor.
Audio
The game has different sound effects for various vehicles, and their individual features. However, there is something wrong with the actual mix, and how sound travels. For one, these sound effects are extremely loud, and that is probably the first thing you want to turn down.
The voice acting is decent, however, but nothing to write home about. Generally, the sound design is a bit unimpressive, and a greater variety of effects would have gone a long way to improve the experience.
Verdict
Emergency Call 112 – The Fire Fighting Simulation 2 is an unimpressive simulation title and a disappointment. There are a staggering amount of bugs, which can be game-breaking at times. The visuals aren’t up to modern standards, and the game has extremely bland art direction. The core gameplay is engaging, but the controls can feel a bit stiff, and the driving isn’t well realized.
Hopefully, the developers take note of these bugs and patch them soon. The game is a hard sell, but if you are interested in the genre, there are some redeeming qualities, especially when it comes to the core gameplay.
The title is currently available through Steam, and you can purchase it here for $30 (depending on your Store region). While you’re here, check out our review for Paradise Lost, a narrative-driven adventure, that we had a lot of fun playing.
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This review is based on the PC version of Emergency Call 112 – The Fire Fighting Simulation 2. The key was provided by Aerosoft GmbH
