Emergency 2016 is a real-time simulation strategy game for PC and another installment of the budget Emergency 5. It was developed by Sixteen Tons Entertainment, a German studio that established the series and has been developing it ever since.
Plot
In the game, we assume control over specialized emergency services including the fire department, the police, paramedics, and technical services. Our task is to nullify the effects of accidents, natural disasters, and other threats that happen in four German cities: Berlin, Cologne, Munich, and Hamburg.
Mechanics
The gameplay mechanics remain unchanged in comparison with the vanilla Emergency 5. The player’s task is to skillfully and promptly react to changing circumstances and to coordinate the activities of the emergency units involved. Every mission is focused on a different event, and the situation changes dynamically, forcing the player to make difficult decisions and a number of optional tasks. In every case, not only the speed counts but also minimizing the number of potential victims —should it exceed a given value, the mission will have to be replayed.
Emergency 2016 features the full set of campaigns and scenarios that were previously available in Emergency 5 Deluxe (including the bonus city of Cologne) as well as all post-launch updates for the vanilla game. The production also comes with a previously unavailable vehicle. The main highlight of Emergency 2016 is the completely new minicampaign entitled “Plague in Cologne”, set in Cologne during the time when the city was ravaged by Black Death. It starts from a unique scenario set in the 14th-century Cologne in which the player has to tackle the dangerous disease using only the contemporary means. In the further course of the game, the deadly epidemic comes back in modern times, and our task is to stop it from spreading throughout the four metropolises.
Game modes
As far as game modes are concerned, Emergency 2016 is no different than Emergency 5, so apart from the classical single player, the title also offers an extensive multiplayer, which appeared in Emergency 5 for the first time in the history of the series. Here, players face various dangers while cooperating or competing against one another.
Technical aspects
The graphics of Emergency 2016 for PC haven’t changed since the release of the previous major installment of the series. The developers at Sixteen Tons focused primarily on implementing all technical fixes released thus far and the new scenarios that were created for the purposes of the said production.
