Fireburst

Fireburst is a third-person racing game set to release Summer 2011 on PC Digital, PSN, and XBLA developed by exDream, a licensed developer for Xbox 360, PS3, iPhone, Android and Windows 7 with over 20 games under their belts. In Fireburst, players ignite the action in this fire-wielding race where if they do not come in first, they burn in last.

Gameplay

The innovative gameplay element of Fireburst is the Fireboost. The Fireboost covers the cars with flames and turns them into a weapon. With the Fireboost players can kill other opponents, but the player's car will explode if the heat level gets too hot.

Plot

Charles Randolph, known as "Hightower", had always work harder than others to achieve his goals because he is often underestimated as a little person. People made fun of him and didn't accepted him because of his size, but he ignored these people and just worked harder. He built an Internet start-up as he began his studies at Stanford University. The company was very successful and Hightower became one of the big .com players. After a couple of years he brought his company to the stock market and got incredibly rich. After a while he lost his motivation in his company and sold it. Now not only was he fabulously wealthy, but had an ego to match. He started several companies, but they did not satisfy him anymore, so he began his search for something new. He decided to buy a professional baseball team, but instead of just being the owner he wanted to take part as a player – an unfortunate decision because he turned out to be the worst baseball player in history. Disappointed and embarrassed he sold the team and searched for a sports challenge where he can prove to be a winner. One day on a motor show, he met Genji and was introduced to his invention, Firecars. This is what he has been searching for: a racing league with these spectacular Firecars would really attract attention, but instead of professional drivers he was looking for interesting personalities that the viewers could identify with, and of course, that Hightower could defeat. So he invented the Fireburst Racing League and is determined to be the first champion in order to restore his dignity and reputation.

Characters

• Hightower - Charles Randolph, known as "Hightower", had always work harder than others to achieve his goals because he is often underestimated as a little person. People made fun of him and didn't accepted him because of his size, but he ignored these people and just worked harder. He built an Internet start-up as he began his studies at Stanford University. The company was very successful and Hightower became one of the big .com players. After a couple of years he brought his company to the stock market and got incredibly rich. After a while he lost his motivation in his company and sold it. Now not only was he fabulously wealthy, but had an ego to match. He started several companies, but they did not satisfy him anymore, so he began his search for something new. He decided to buy a professional baseball team, but instead of just being the owner he wanted to take part as a player – an unfortunate decision because he turned out to be the worst baseball player in history. Disappointed and embarrassed he sold the team and searched for a sports challenge where he can prove to be a winner. One day on a motor show, he met Genji and was introduced to his invention, Firecars. This is what he has been searching for: a racing league with these spectacular Firecars would really attract attention, but instead of professional drivers he was looking for interesting personalities that the viewers could identify with, and of course, that Hightower could defeat. So he invented the Fireburst Racing League and is determined to be the first champion in order to restore his dignity and reputation.
• Miss April - Miss April is the personal secretary and bodyguard of Hightower. She is very grateful that a successful man like him gave a girl like her a chance. She was once a girl from a poor family and her mother was working for one of Hightowers companies. As her mother got sick, Miss April pretended to be her mother and tried to replace her mother at work to earn enough money for her family. As this became public, Hightower recognized her skills and was impressed by her will and effort. He decided that this girls is someone he likes to work with and gave her the chance to study. Besides having a Master's in business and economics she also has a black belt in Karate. For Hightower she is a perfect mixture of will, intelligence and strength. And she has totally sacrificed her life to work for Hightower 24 hours a day and 7 days a week because the is still very thankful for the chance that Hightower gave her...Secretly she is also in love with him, but she is far to shy to confess this to him and does not want to risk her job.
• Brooke - Brooke is the ex-wife of Hightower and wants him to pay the money he owes her. She and her boyfriend, Sonny want the money from the divorce to start a life in pure luxury. Hightower offered Brooke a lots of extra money if she and her new boyfriend take part in the races. And of course he will pay her the money he owes her. For having the chance to take revenge on the track and for another entertaining story for the viewers it is worth the money. Brooke really hates the Fireburst Racing League but she and her boyfriend Sonny love the money. So she can not refuse to accept Hightowers offer.
• Shawn - Shawn was once a famous and successful race driver on his way to the championship. But all of a sudden he had a breakdown. As the championship was in reach the pressure of his team, the sponsors, the media and fans became too big for him. From one day to another he just disappeared. First, the team, friends and media thought we was kidnapped and the whole world was looking for him. They even stopped the championship season to orevent any cheating. But then he unveiled that it was his decision to leave his former life. He was not tough to handle all the presser the people are putting on his sholder. Everybody was totally shocked and got very angry on him. There was not ways to ever come back to professional racing...Even his girlfriend Cammy turned gainst him and left him. But Hightower gave him a second chance. Shawn has been hired by Hightower to help him win the Fireburst championship. And this will be Shawns comeback in racing...even if it's more like a show than professional racing. To motivate Shwan and to have more gossip Stories to tell, Hightower hired his ex girlfriend Cammy, too.
• Cammy - Cammy was once a grid girl in the racing circus and became the girlfriend of Shawn, the rising star in racing. She was very ambitious and wanted to become more than just a beautiful grid girl and just the girlfirend of somebody famous. She just wanted to get famous, too. She wasn't sure if she want's to be an IT girl like her friend Vicky. After Shawns breakdown she wan't sure if she really wants to be an IT girl like her best friend Vicky. She thought she should get more serious and broke up with Shawn the loser. The friendship between her and Vicky cooled down as Cammy refused to got to every party and play her stupid party girl role. But this was not really working out for her because the media just recognized her as party girl and best friend of Vicky. So she was very happy as Hightower offered her a seat as a race driver in the Fireburst Racing league...But Hightower kept quiet about that he has hired Shawn and Vicky as well.
• Samantha - Samantha is a young biker girl and rides with Moses and his friends. She is the daughter of the famous rock star Izzy. But Izzy was never a good father for her. Most of the time he was on tour so she just saw her father once or twice a year. Izzy really lived a rock star live: he had dozens of girls and loved to have lots of alcohol and other drugs. But the extreme drug abuse really destroyed the band and they quit. Samantha was very ashamed of her father and does not want to have anything to do with him. As a friend of Moses and the daughter of Izzy Hightower invited Samantha to join the Fireburst Racing League as they chased trucker Jimbo that destroyed Moses bike. Hightower thinks she could add some extra spice to the drivers and the struggle between her and Izzy could be very entertaining for the viewers.
• Izzy - Izzy was once a famous rock star that toured the world. Izzy and his buddy/roadie Moses had great times with lots of parties, girls, and alcohol. But later the drug abuse of Izzy and his band went totally wrong. It destroyed the band and they had to quit. All of them lost their jobs from one day to another. Due to his rock star life and drug problems Izzy has a very bad relationship to his daughter Samantha. He just wasn't there for her and when the band was quit, he was just a wreck that wasn't even able to care for himself. After several long detoxifications Izzy tries to have two comebacks: he want's to push his career as rock star and he truly longs for a better relationship to his daughter. As Hightower offered him a seat as dirver in the Fireburst League, he hopes to show Samantha that he has changed!
• Moses - Long time ago Moses was a roadie of Izzy and his band. He traveled with them all over the world and had a great time. He and Izzy really became friends. But the alcohol and drug abuse destroyed the band and they had to fire everybody, even Moses. The friendship between Izzy and Moses cooled down. Moses had a good connection to Izzys daughter, Samantha, and was a father figure for her because Izzy wasn't there. When she was older she even joined his biker gang. One day they stopped at a diner and Moses bike was destroyed by the trucker Jimbo. Jimbo was bringing some Firecars to the race track and Moses and Samantha were following him to take revenge. As Hightower heard the story he invited all of them to races. He told them they can take revenge in the races and with the price money Moses can buy a better bike. Hightower's motto is always "more trouble, more entertainment". As Hightower recognized Samantha as the daughter of the former rock star Izzy, he knew who needs to be invited as well...more trouble, more entertainment.
• Jimbo - Jimbo is just a simple trucker that was hired by Hightower to transport the Firecars from racetrack to racetrack. On his way to the first Fireburst race Jimbo accidentally run over the bike of Moses as he was looking for some food. As Moses recognized his bike was completely destroyed he and Samantha tried to chase him. As Jimbo stopped at the race track Hightower recognized the trouble and interfered. He loved that story and invited all of them to join the Fireburst racing league. Jimbo just thinks that will be great fun as long as he gets enough food. And he needs to be here anyway because he will be responsible to bring the Firecars and the equipment from one location to another. Additionally, it could be great fun to burn the stupid biker, Moses.
• Genji - Genji is an inventor and the owner of Genji Motors. He works together with the mechanic, Jules. He invented the Firecars and licensed them to Hightower. He takes care of his younger sister Hanako as their parents died in a terrible accident. Ages ago he came from Japan to the United States cause he was a big fan of the American way of life. And of course he loves Elvis and tries to live the American dream. As he came to the U.S. Genji met Jules and joined his car workshop. As a very talented mechanic and inventor, Genji once created the spectacular Firecars. At a motor show Hightower was totally excited about his invention and came up with the idea of the Fireburst Racing League. So he licensed the Firecars and hired Genji, Jules, Melvin and Hanako for the Racing League. So it seems the American dream is coming true for Genji and he is really excited about the Fireburst Racing League. He is just a little worried about his sister Hanako cause the raced may be to dangerous for her. On the other hand, the cars should be safe cause he and Jules constructed them.
• Hanako - Hanako is the younger sister of Genji, the inventor of the Firecars. Hanako grew up in Japan. Her brother Genji left the family and immigrated to the U.S. ten years ago cause he was a big fan of the American way of life. Unfortunately, her parents died in a terrible accident when she was 10. So she followed her brother Genji to the U.S.where he worked as a car mechanic and as an inventor. She was raised up by Genji and his best friend and coworker, Jules. Both became Hanako's family. The first years in the U.S. were very hard for Hanako. It was not easy for a shy Japanese girl in an American High School. Over time the adapted to her new world and made some friends. One of her friends is the programming genius, Melvin and introduced him to Genji and Jules. With Melvin's programming skills, Genji could finally finish the fire control program for the Firecars. As Hightower took a look at the Firecars, he hired the whole crew right away. Now Hanako is really excited to take part in the Fireburst Racing League.
• Melvin - Melvin is a programming genius that developed the software for the Fireboost Cars. He goes to the same school and is in the same classes as Hanako. As Genji and Jules were looking for a programmer to write the control software for the Firecars Hanako introduced Melvin to Genji and Jules. Genji was very excited about the programming skills of young Melvin. So Melvin became the programmer of the Firecars and part of the team. Later, Highower hired all of them to create all the Firecars and take part in the races. Secretly, Melvin has a crush on Hanako but he is far too shy to talk to her about this. Unfortunately, Hanako is also very shy, so this makes thinks more complicated. Melvin hopes to succeed in the races to impress Hanako to show her he is more than a geek.
• Jules - Jules is a car mechanic and works together with Genji. Jules was once one of the mechanic that worked for Shawn's racing team. But after the Shawn suddenly left the team was not able to get back on their feet so everybody lost his job. So Jules is still very angry at Shwan. But Jules is a very positive being and started an own car workshop. As Genji came to the U.S. Jules was fascinated by Genji's passion about American cars and his technical skills. So Jules offered him a job in his work shop and soon he made him his partner. Jules was very pleased that Genji invented the Firecars and that Hightower created the Fireburst Racing League. Jules is very happy to be back in the racting circus. A big plus for him is that he can take revenge on Shawn. Besides Shawn, Jules is a good friend of Hanako and Melvin and will try to protect them in the races. He also is a good friend of Jack the bounty hunter, but no one really knows how these guys once met.
• Jack - Jack served for his country in the Persian Gulf War. After 10 years in the army he decided to quit and tired to get back into a civil life. But this was not easy for him. He had several jobs as a bartender and a bouncer. Later, he worked at a debt collecting company and Jack was really successful in this job. After a couple of years he decided to work on his own. His latest job is to get money from Sonny. Sonny's creditors hired Jack to get their money back. And Sonny owes them a lot of money. Jack knows that Sonny has by far not enough money to pay his debts. In a closer and physical discussion, Sonny promised that Jack will get his money soon. Sonny told him he and his gilrfirend Brooke will receive lots of money from Hightower if they are attending the Fireburst Racing League. Additionally, Brooke will get all the money from the divorce from Hightower. So she will be rich very soon and he will marry her and will pay his debts. But Jack didn't trust Sonny and forced him to organize a seat in the League for him. So Sonny won't have a chance to run away.
• Sonny - Sonny is an easy man who likes to party, have fun with girls, and spend money. What Sonny does not like to do is work. He met Brooke shortly after her divorce from Hightower. As he heard she will get lots of money he decided that she is the right girl for him. So he might keep or even improve his easy life with her money. To get the money and a big bonus from Hightower he offered Sonny and Brooke to join the Fireburst Racing League. Brooke hates it but she and Sonny like the money Hightower promises them. And after Brooke got rich he will propose and tries to marry her...cause he really loves her...and her money. But lazy Sonny has still one big problem and that is the debt collector, Jack. He hunts him to get lits of money that Sonny owes to some strange guys. Sonny tells him that he's not able to pay him at the moment but after taking part in the Fireburst Racing League and after he marries Brooke he can pay him. Jack forces Sonny to organize him a seat in the drivers grid as well so that Sonny won't be able to get away. Jack will stay on Sonnys side until he pays.
• Vicky - Vicky was just a young party girl that wanted to become famous. Vicky was once the best friend of the grid girl, Cammy, and was even a good friend of Shawn's. They went to dozens of parties and the media loved them. So Vicky decided to become an IT girl: getting money for attending parties. Vicky and Cammy becam quite famous. But then Cammy decided to get more serious and refused to go to every party. Vicky became very angry at Cammy cause this could be a bad for her party image and her status as IT girl. And life was really getting tougher for Vicky because there were no party performances with Cammy anymore. Alone she was less interesting then when the two of them were together. As she heard about the Fireburst Racing League, she convinced Hightower to hire her as well. She longs for revenge to pay Cammy back what she has done to her and her career as an IT girl.

Development

Fireburst was designed and developed by exDream with Unreal Engine 3 for XBLA, PSN, and PC Digital.

Audio

The Fireburst soundtrack contains rock tracks of bands like Hawthorne Heights and Halo Stereo.