The devil’s in the subtle details sometimes in what makes one game worth a purchase over others. For “FireFly Vegas”, what’s intriquing about it is the subtle additions to a crowded genre.
It’s a twin-stick shooter, but bear with me for a moment as this isn’t the same-old, same-old. In addition to all the things it pretty much has to have (pixel-perfect control, attractive graphics, tonnes of particle effects, multiple modes of play), it has a few things I haven’t seen before. Enemies drop collectible bits of energy, and you fly over them to pick it up, but the innovative part is that you must *stop shooting* to pick them up. If you choose to take risks to get those pellets then they’ll seriously boost your score. I love choices like that, and I always love it when a shooter gives you a reason not to lay down on the fire button for the entire game.
There’s a default control set that’s easy to control, and an alternative control set that’s harder to use but potentially offers slightly better control (using a shoulder button for thrust). An interesting visual innovation is that the borders of the play area aren’t visible until you get fairly close to them, supporting the illusion that you’re truly in the void. Another point that stood out for me is that power-ups are both offensive and defensive in nature, which is also not always the case for these games. Finally, a game that first launched at 240 Microsoft Points can now be had for 80 MSP, which helps incentivise a purchase. Credit to the developer for managing to do something different in a genre with so many offerings in it.
Here’s what the developer (ROCKMINT) has to say about the game:
“FireFly Vegas – an intergalactic themed casual twin stick arena shooter with action packed retro arcade gameplay, vibrant graphics, a frenzy of visually impressive particles systems and custom atmospheric audio. Developed using the R.A.C.E (RockMint Application Construction Engine) and bespoke music by Phatso Records, providing an intense, immersive and highly playable dynamic gaming experience.”
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