"Inflamous"...Burning Down the House?

Are you sick and tired of the thirty-something man-pear that smells of bodily excretions and Axe Body Spray? Perhaps you should burn him to death along with the rest of your coworkers in this game from Milkstone Studios.



Developer: Milk Stone Studios S.L.
Website: www.milkstonestudios.com
Release Date: 3/28/11
Genre: Action & Adventure
Violence: 2/3
Sex: 0/3
Mature 1/3

As soon as you load up the game you get a great title screen. You'll see a group of immolated people attempting to spread their fate to a colleague running down the hall. This gives you an idea of what to expect from the game--a unique art style with a great idea but little depth or structure.

Your controls are simple, the “A” button gives you a nitro boost to get around and the “X” button creates a “Splosion Man”-like detonation. You use these to set enemies on fire. The enemies include standard office workers, firemen whom flames will not propagate to, and “Windy People.” The Windy People cannot be put out and will run around a little faster once lit. They are key to human bonfires.

If you sit down with it and just play it through it will take you around 45 minutes to an hour. Not a terribly long game, but it also features achievement-like “Awards” and every time you complete a level it tells you where you place on the world leaderboard. There is also a “challenge” tool for competing with your friends. If you get a great score, let them know about it and see what they can do.

I love the looks of the two legged torches you light on fire. They have a bulky office-grunt look that is very fitting. They like to run when you get too close or if they happen to be ablaze--much like you would expect. It 's sickeningly satisfying to watch the single father you just engulfed in flame run in terror and propagate the flames to his cube mates. Unfortunately it will take almost half of the 50 levels before you get to see the soon-to-be orphan's father wipe out any large groups.

I would have really liked to see some more depth to the art--the game looks bland. It's neat to see plugs for Milkstone's other games but I would have liked a more detailed office atmosphere. Maze walls are made from desks and vending machines and not much else. The game could have appeared much more engaging. The addition of actual cubicals that would burn down with everyone else would have been great.

The idea of unleashing terror and death on office workers is a great idea for a game but it's an idea that will live or die on its level design. Most of the levels feel like they have too few targets to utilize the propagation mechanic effectively. The lack of targets and the maze-like obstacles force you to run down single enemies which is wasteful and boring. The game could have really benefited from either a more structured, puzzle-like design or a more populated fire-herding model. “Inflamous” fails to realize either a puzzle or herding concept leaving you with a mixed experience.

“Inflamous” doesn't look too bad and is rather enjoyable once you've dug in. The awards and world ranking will keep you interested for a few more minutes but once you are done with the main mode you're pretty much done. I would like to see what the team at “Milkstone Studios” could do with “Inflamous” if they were to revisit it. The idea is great, but is the game worth it? Yeah. It's just not the first game I would get from this developer.