Shoot First Rocks Your Noggin
July 11, 2010
by Eric-Jon Rössel Tairne
Shoot First is, officially, a “co-op Action Roguelike” by the creator of Action Fist, Beau. If Desktop Dungeons is a cross between Nethack and Minesweeper, Shoot First is a cross between Nethack and the overhead-view stages of Super Contra.
The presentation is dusted with artifacts of retro glam grime. The simple three-button controls (shoot, strafe/use/pick up, and map) are snappy and responsive. Collisions and sound effects are crunchy and squelchy. On a superficial level it’s all very cozy and warm to sink into. Scattered in treasure chests are equipment and various weapons, each with its own uses. As you shoot enemies and collect stuff, your character levels up. As you level up, your weapons upgrade in various ways. Also along the way you can find or rescue followers, who trail after you and mimic your actions rather like Gradius Options.
I’m not so sure about the level design; it’s full of dead ends without so much of the hidden promise of Nethack. It seems like every three steps a boulder will fall from the sky and threaten to crush the player. Some of the boulders even explode or seek the player out. Keep the boulders down to at most one or two events per level, and throw in a “search” function (perhaps again overloaded on the strafe key) that would lend the dead ends some possible purpose, and there would be little to complain about. As it is, the presentation and feel carry the game pretty well.
You can download Shoot First here. If you take issue with screen resizing (and who doesn’t?), best go for the second download.
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