Hi everyone,
Although last week I mentioned that art style would be the subject of this week’s Flame Over blog post, I’ve had a rethink. Given that our concept artist is on a well-deserved break I’ll be discussing the equipment that Flame Over’s hero, Blaze Carruthers, uses to combat the game’s fires instead.
Blaze primarily makes use of three items of equipment: his Fire Hose, Extinguisher and Axe. He also has a very limited supply of water bombs with which to combat those infernal infernos. :) Here’s a breakdown of each:
Fire Hose:
The fire hose operates like a fairly standard gun in a twin stick shooter. It fires in a limited-range beam, aimed using the Vita’s right stick and fired by pressing the R button, meaning you can aim independently of Blaze’s movement direction.
The Fire Hose has a pretty long-but-limited range and any fires within its path will be quickly downgraded in rank until they are extinguished altogether.
The fire hose uses water from a tank on Blaze’s back, giving you a limited supply with which to tackle each level’s flames. Luckily, you can find extra water at sources such as kitchen or bathroom sinks, water coolers, or water fountains. Each water source refills your tank at a different rate, so it pays to be choosy… ;)
Once a fire is out, or if you just want to be extra safe, you can squirt areas of the level that aren’t on fire with the Fire Hose to soak them. Soaking an area means fires will need more time before they can ignite it, buying you some precious seconds to bring the rest of the area under control. This is particularly important when trying to keep more flammable materials like plants and fabric in check.
Extinguisher:
Blaze’s extinguisher can be used to put out fires. It’s very efficient and deals with fires even faster than the hose, but has an even more limited ‘ammo’ supply so should be used sparingly. The extinguisher has a wider ‘cone’ of fire and a shorter range than the hose, so it could be considered as a shotgun to the fire hose’s rifle. ^^ Like the hose, the extinguisher is aimed with the right stick, but is fired via the L button.
The extinguisher’s primary function is for use on electrical fires. Electrical fires have a very nasty habit of helping regular fires spread FAR more quickly, so they need to be dealt with as a priority. It’s therefore advised that you try to limit your extinguisher for use on electrical fires as much as possible.
Once your extinguisher is used up you can look for an extinguisher point (usually in a corridor!) for a once-only resupply, or head all the way back to the starting area, where an infinite stash of extinguishers can be found.
Axe:
Blaze’s Axe is a stalwart companion and is required to access certain areas of the game sealed off by fire barriers. Blaze must swing away at the doors quickly enough to break through them. Each time a door is smashed the axe loses some durability, so Blaze will need to keep an eye out to ensure he doesn’t run out and lock himself out of a room! As with the extinguisher, axe points can be found in some corridors to provide a once-use-only replacement, or you can head back to your starting area for an infinite supply of axes.
Water Bombs:
Blaze’s most devastating weapon against conventional flames is the water bomb. Like a kind of water-based percussion grenade, these detonate on impact and burst over a wide area, instantly extinguishing any fires in range and soaking the area to boot. Water bombs are great for clearing areas to move Blaze into, helping you avoid being cooked in high-danger areas or when too many flames are in close range to deal with safely.
Water bombs are limited in supply and kinda tough to replace, so you’ll need to save them for emergencies! On the downside, they are useless against electrical fires, so bear that in mind.
Well, hopefully that look into Blaze’s arsenal has ‘wetted’ your appetite (you don’t know how it pains me to include an intentional spelling error, but a joke’s a joke!) for more news on Flame Over next week.
Until then, have a Happy Easter. ^^
Al
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