Emergency Mayhem is a game many believed would never get released. Originally this game was to be published by Acclaim for the PS2 and original Xbox, but it seemed to disappear into obscurity when Acclaim filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Thankfully, Warner Bros. and Codemasters decided to keep the game alive by updating and releasing it on the extremely popular Wii console. While I am glad Emergency Mayhem was released, the game definitely has its share of problems.

The game takes place in the ridiculously named Crisis City, which is, oddly enough, in a complete state of chaos. You are tasked with trying to reduce the mayhem that is found on every street corner. To achieve this, you will play as all three of the city's emergency response services. No matter which of the three services you are playing as, be it as a policeman, a firefighter or an ambulance driver, the game feels remarkably shallow.

The basic gameplay in Emergency Mayhem feels like a potentially good mix of Crazy Taxi and Wario Ware. Most of this game is spent behind the wheel of one of the three emergency vehicles, with the only exceptions being the slew of mini-games you are forced to complete. You will be given a set amount of time you can use to drive around, pick up collectibles, and find missions. A majority of the missions in the game boil down to driving your vehicle from point a to point b in a certain amount of time or without totaling. The rest of the game is a fairly small collection of mini-games that, while initially fun, become incredibly repetitive and tedious. When you successfully complete a mission, you are granted more time and the loss of some mayhem from your mayhem meter, allowing you to continue your quest to clean up the city.

Each of the emergency services is given their own set of mini-games. The police will be able to cut bomb wires, fix traffic lights, and pump up flat tires. Firefighters will have the chance to put out garbage can fires, herd penguins into a pool, and save jumpers from burning buildings. While driving the ambulance, however, you will get the chance to clean up patients' blood, guide various objects out of patient's digestive tracks, and perform CPR. There are a few more types of mini-games for each emergency service, but they all feel fairly similar in the end. While these mini-games do make good use of the Wii's motion-sensing controls, a larger variety could have made all the difference in this game.