RESCUE: Heroes in Action is a strategy simulator that's perfectly suited for mobile [Sponsored]

The latest entry in the popular PC RESCUE franchise, Heroes in Action, launches on Thursday on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone and is the first of the bunch to be mobile-only.

RESCUE: Heroes in Action challenges you to take control of a fire department in a big city as you manage a squad of fire fighter's equipment, complete missions, and save lives.

Just like the previous entries in the franchise, Heroes in Action poses a challenge to even the hardened strategy gamer so you'll need to bring your tactical A-game.

We spoke to Mikko Tyni, Creative Director at Fragment Production, about the challenges of adapting the franchise for mobile, what they prefer about the latest entry, and which platform is the most difficult to develop for.

The RESCUE franchise was originally on PC and Mac only. Was it challenging adapting the gameplay to suit mobile?

Tyni: "One of the biggest challenges was how to ensure that the controls would be intuitive and fluid with just one finger.

"Also, early on, we decided to make the levels smaller than in previous entries but still large enough to follow the multiple mission structure. We wanted each mission to still be meaningful but also suitable for shorter playing times on mobile. That took some time to get right.

Are there any elements you prefer about the mobile versions?

Tyni: "While the controls are streamlined for mobile, they worked out very well and actually a greater level of accuracy than in the PC titles.

"Another of my favourite new features is the visual upgrade and the ability to fully customize your firefighters and vehicles."

Is mobile development limited compared to PC?

Tyni: "Mobile as a platform offers many exciting opportunities but it also has limitations.

"Creating a full living city similar to the freeplay mode in the previous RESCUE was impossible due to technical constraints so we had to make the levels smaller and reduce the overall amount of dynamic assets.

"On the plus side, this helped in our other goal of making the missions more action-packed."

Was development comparable on each platform or was one much easier than the other?

Tyni: "Both platforms have their perks on both the game side as well as the development side.

"Mobile projects tend to be shorter and more innovative, while PC projects have fewer limitations."

Is the RESCUE franchise here to stay on mobile now or are PC titles still in your future plans?

Tyni: "We regard the mobile platform as a new foothold for the series but instead of choosing between just mobile or PC, we're going to continue developing for both platforms since each has their positives and different user groups."

Rescue: Heroes in Action is available now from the App Store [download], Google Play [download], and Windows Phone [download].