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Emergency Mayhem will be surrounded by appropriately wacky and family focused marketing, including a promotion on TV and online with Jetix, (a leading pan-European integrated children’s entertainment company). Advertising and competitions will also appear in children’s magazines like The Dandy.
More quirkily, Codemasters will put a copy of the game and a Wii in the busiest fire stations across the country, where fire fighters will be able to play in spare moments. We’ve also been promised still more smart ways of marketing the game, involving an actual monkey delivering review code to games journalists.
In a socially aware move, Codemasters will also be supporting the Community Warden Scheme who will take the game to educate kids to stop anti-social behaviour and promote possible career choices in the emergency services. All of this will be backed up with community and in store trade activity too.
| Release Date | April 18 2008 |
| Format | Wii |
| Publisher | Codemasters |
| Developer | Codemasters |
| Price | £39.99 |
| Distribution | Gem |
| Contact | 01279 822822 |
Emergency Mayhem
What’s in a name? You might say that anyone living somewhere called Crisis City was asking for trouble, or maybe they couldn’t resist the low house prices.Either way, Emergency Mayhem sees Crisis City very much live up to its name with all manner of troubles erupting across the metropolis; from raging fires, unexploded bombs and, perhaps most disturbingly, monkeys taking over the supermarket.
Clearly, this city needs help, which is where the humble gamer comes in. The title consists of over 30 mini-games and Emergency Mayhem manages to offer not only pick-up-and-play instant gaming, but also an extensive single player career and challenge mode, over a huge metropolis of mayhem. Sedating rampaging monkeys, herding escaped penguins to safety and capturing criminals are all in a day’s work and there’s not a moment to waste before it’s time to get to the next emergency.
The whole city is at risk and the panicked citizens of Crisis City need rescuing wherever they are, from the fairground at the beach to the downtown sky-scrapers, in eight different diverse environments.
With such a big city to navigate, gamers better put their foot down. Players get to put the pedal to the metal in three vehicles and blare the siren, via the emergency vehicle trio of fire truck, ambulance and police car. Gamers will also have to keep an eye out for sneaky short-cuts, in order to arrive at the latest emergency within the time limit.
There may be crises flying around, but there’s no grim reality here, it’s all in the name of slapstick fun. Hayley Holland, UK marketing manager for Codemasters, points to the family- friendly, good natured feel of the title: “It’s perfectly matched to the console and the fun element will engage both kids and families alike. It is huge amounts of fun, with loads of mini- games and it really is hilarious to watch someone playing it.”
The game cleverly makes it easy for younger members of the family to get involved, as Holland explains: “The good thing is that the controls are not laborious and text-heavy which again is ideal for the younger consumer.”
In fact, this fun slice of metropolis mayhem is perfectly suited to the Wii console, with a family-friendly feel and a four-player party mode for frantic rescuing sessions. The game makes good use of the unique Wii remote too; players will pump the controller to practice CPR, use it to point water from a powerful hose, and aim tranquiliser darts at those pesky monkeys.
Codemasters has high hopes for the title, as Holland explains: “Our family and entertainment category is growing rapidly and this is just the beginning. We believe Emergency Mayhem has all the right ingredients to perform extremely well at retail.”
Rob Burman, UK PR executive for Codemasters, noted that at a time when the national media has been casting a critical eye over gaming, Emergency Mayhem can be seen as an optimistic and timely release: “There’s a real chance for Emergency Mayhem to be seen as a very positive game for kids. The game’s about making a difference by helping out the community.”
So with a positive message, slapstick comedy, family appeal, Wii multiplayer madness and monkeys, the future looks like chaotic fun for Emergency Mayhem.
