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Rating:  Freeware [ Screenshot ]
Argon is a variation of Asteroids. It is a space shooting game with CGA graphics, but yet it includes SoundBlaster sound effects. (I think that's the first time I've seen that combination.) Anyways, it plays decently, and gets tougher as you progress. Its actually a decent little game but I doubt many will enjoy playing it for long periods of time.
Rating:  Shareware [ Screenshot ]
A cool Asteroids remake. It features great pre-rendered graphics, cool sounds, and new powerup items. Its VGA graphics look great and plays very smoothly. Definitely a fun game, even if you're tired of traditional Asteroids-type games.
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Blast Zone
ZoneSoft Software,
1996 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Blast Zone is, as it is described by its own authors, a "typical shoot'em up game with powerups, hordes of really disgusting aliens and bosses". Although not very technically impressive, this game is still fun to play due to its tight control and short stages which really keep things moving. Bland graphics detract from the enjoyment a bit but this game still would be a shooter of the Space Invaders style variety if played in short bursts.
Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
Cash Invaders is a really cool looking (and playing) Space Invaders variant, which includes 100 levels of shooting action. There are several improvements over the classic space game including raytraced graphics, weapon powerups that can be purchased, and tons of new enemies to battle. This game plays great and looks good too, recommended.
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Evasive Maneuvers
Exaggerated Software (Chris Blackwell),
1994 |
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Rating:  Shareware [ Screenshot ]
A more laid-back shooting game, Evasive Maneuvers has you in control of your space ship, plowing through various high-tech themed levels, shooting and dropping bombs on various obstacles. You must continually collect fuel (by destroying fuel canisters) to keep flying, while avoiding or destroying everything else. (Though as the docs note, "Destroying an object can be more deadly than leaving the object alone." Cuz many will explode.) Decent graphics and sounds too. (NOTE: When playing in DOSBox make sure to set the CPU cycles manually to an appropriate level; using the default "Max" setting will cause this game to crash.)
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Flying Tigers
Jay Kramer,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Flying Tigers is a vertically scrolling shooter game. The documentation describes the story as you being "thrown into the middle of 1942, where the techno bosses are starting a technology transfer to the Japanese Empire." Okay, whatever. The point here is to shoot anything that comes on the screen and try to avoid the bullets. It's a traditional SHMUP with decent graphics and music. One nice feature is that your ship can absorb multiple hits before you die, so there are no one-hit kills as is often the case in this sort of game.
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Galacta: The Battle for Saturn (the game's full name) is a well-done remake of the Galaga or Galaxian type space shooting games. Graphics are smooth and do the job nicely, but aren't that impressive. The gameplay is fast paced and the high challenge level will keep fans of the space shooting genre interested, with each wave being shorter but more active/intense than in the Galaga/Galaxian games.
Rating:  Freeware [ Screenshot ]
This was an early favorite of mine. Its not very complicated, but this game is a fun, simple space shooting game that somehow can seem relaxing at times. Wave after wave of enemies come at you, and you must shoot them all before your fuel runs out. You can earn credits to buy upgrades (hint: if you have a lot of fuel left over, don't refill between the wave for an extra credit!), and every so often a boss battle occurs. Simple but crisp EGA graphics (new enemy design for each wave) and PC speaker sound effects in a tiny 48k package!
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
This game may not be very complicated but it IS fun to play. The game was the first attempt by Cygnus Software (now "Mountain King Studios") to develop a shareware game. They later went on to develop the awesome game "Raptor: Call of the Shadows". This game plays similarly, but is more simple in scope. The graphics, sound, and gameplay are, however, still top-notch. It's simple, but fun to play.
Rating:  Freeware [ Screenshot ]
While the control scheme takes a little getting used to, this game is definitely very polished ... that is, it is very well put together and it's clear that a lot of time has gone into its construction. The graphics are great and so are the sound effects. The gameplay consists of completing various missions by blasting enemy spaceships while having to deal with the gravity pulling your ship down (ie. try to avoid crashing). A tough but well made game.
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Highway Hunter
Safari Software,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Highway Hunter is a vertical shooting game with great production values (animated cutscenes, well-drawn SVGA graphics, paralax scrolling, great music) and intense action. In the game, you must drive along the futuristic roads and blast everything in your path. You will of course collect powerups to upgrade your weapons and new shields to protect your car. It's a top-notch shoot-em-up and shooting fans will definitely want to give it a try!
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Interpose
Webfoot Technologies Inc,
1996 |
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Rating: DEMO! [ Screenshot ]
Interpose is a well designed shooting game with good graphics and sound effects. There's not much story, but as you fly your ship through the various levels you will shoot down a variety of enemies while collecting powerups as well as money, which can be exchanged for ship upgrades in stores. You can also save your progress to load later, which is rare feature in shoot-em-up games. Overall it's a very professionally done game which is worth checking out for fans of the genre.
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Invasion of the Mutant Space Bats of Doom
Mike Pooler & Dave Cockerill,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Nice name, eh? Pretty VGA graphics and smooth gameplay make this an above average space shooting game. It's got a variety of 'space bats' to kill and different ship powerups as well. Cool sound effects, too. (Note: I occasionally had some problems when using the keyboard in the game, although when I switched and used the mouse, I had no problems.)
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Island Hopper is a somewhat generic shooting game in which you fly a plane over various terrain and blast your enemies. Similar in style to the 1942/1943 games available for arcade and home systems, the game is not very deep but does include well drawn, clean graphics and excellent controls using your mouse.
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
If you're a fan of Galaxian (or its sequel Galaga) you may want to check out Kiloblaster. This simple EGA shooter seems heavily influenced by those classic arcade games. The aim here is to, of course, shoot down all of the baddies. The gameplay is fairly simplistic, and it is pretty easy to beat, but it could be enjoyable for fans of the shooting genre.
Rating: Full Version [ Screenshot ]
This is a great EGA shooting game from Apogee, who were better known for their "jumping" games like Keen and the original Duke Nukem series. However this game is pretty good. It features frantic EGA graphics and SB sounds/music. There are lots of ship powerups and lots of enimies to fight. The only problem is that sometimes there is so much going on that it's hard to keep track of what is an enemy and what's part of the background. (3D Realms (formerly known as Apogee) recently released the full version of this game as freeware! Download the full version below.)
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Like shooting stuff? Try Overkill. Despite the name, it isn't at all gory. In fact, it's a space shooter in the tradition of Galaga and so many others. It features EGA graphics and SB sounds and music. The gameplay isn't extremely varied, but it has good control and can be fun to play.
Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
It looks quite complicated at first, but this game is basically about shooting stuff. You select your ship, different options, etc, and then enter the battle. The game has some nice graphical effects, but since you usually only fight 1-2 enimies at once it's not very exciting. Still it looks good and there seem to be many different campaigns you can fly on. (PLEASE NOTE: If the game runs too fast for you, it's likely you will have to run this game with the -vga option. To do this, go to DOS and type "pixships -vga" to run the game.)
Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
This game presents a few interesting twists on the classic Asteroids type game. First of all, there are seperate controls for moving and firing, allowing you to fire one direction while moving in another. Also, the game looks great (it features a 3D playing field that looks cool, but takes some getting used to) as well as SB sound effects. Overall a great game!
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Full name "Raptor: Call of the Shadows," I remember playing this for far too long. It's a fairly basic shooting game (gameplay-wise), however, it has nice looking graphics and SB sound effects. It also helps you become more involved, because you earn money for each baddie (ship) you blast, which can be used to buy upgrades for your ship. It's enjoyable if you just feel like blasting stuff. It has a very good "feel" to it which has made it a favorite in the shoot-em-up genre.
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Seek and Destroy
Safari Software,
1996 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Seek and Destroy is an entertaining and well polished shooting game. Using superb VGA graphics and SB sound effects, the object of the game is to complete missions using either a chopper or a tank (your choice before each mission begins). The game controls fairly well and the battlefields rotate 360 degrees around your chosen battle machine. Quite a well done game overall.
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot unavailable ]
I had a bit of a problem putting this game in a category, since it includes quite a bit of adventure elements along with the shooting. You become a space pilot who is sent on various missions, and to complete them you must sometimes destroy another ship (or many ships) or sometimes simply pickup an item, or talk to the captain of another ship. It's well put-together, and includes some smooth-scrolling VGA graphics. A bit like Star Control, I think. I've never really played Star Control, but it seems somewhat similar. :)
Rating:  Freeware [ Screenshot ]
This fanmade space shooting game definitely has the look and feel of an early QuickBasic project (those of you who learned to program in Basic as your first language will know that I mean!) but its also obvious that a lot of work went into this game. Variable difficulty (with plenty of tips in the training mode), several types of aliens to fight and other nice touches help add to this game's overall feel. However, the gameplay itself is not too exciting or deep, and usually doesn't last very long.
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Space Nightmare
Microdem,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
A rare EGA shoot-em-up game, Space Nightmare is pretty well made, including multiple ships you can select, well drawn & smooth-scrolling graphics, and adequate sound effects. There is of course no plot to speak of, but it doesn't really need a storyline: Just shoot everything in sight, collect powerups, and try not to die. Not nearly as hectic as some shooting games, Space Nightmare plays well and probably won't prove to be overly taxing.
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Space Pilot
Yosemite Software,
1993 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Space Pilot is a decent space dogfighting game. The concept is simple: shoot the other ships! ;) The controls are a bit awkward at first (use the Alt/Ctrl keys to rotate and Shift to fire) but aren't so bad once you get used to them. Average graphics, but the game itself seems pretty well put together. A no-frills shooting game with not much to make it remarkable.
Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
A simplistic, yet very playable shooting game. You fly your ship (your 'spiffy' spaceship?) through space shooting at baddies. Sound fun? It gets more frantic later on as the game speed increases. It's got nice, smooth VGA graphics ... however, the sound support is unfinished.
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Starfire
Paul Turbett,
1992 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
An average shooting game. The screen scrolls vertically, and you blast stuff. It also includes bombs that you can drop as well as your typical lazer. Somewhat bland VGA graphics and sounds, and the controls take awhile to get used to. Only for shooter fans.
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Stargoose
S. Cain and G. Everett,
1988 |
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Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
StarGoose is a classic freeware up-scrolling shooting game. I remember downloading this and playing it many many years ago from a local BBS, and it's still pretty cool now. Besides the shooting action, there are also short bonus stages where you can pickup more ammo by flying through a pseudo-3D corridor. Kinda fun in short bursts I should think.
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Stargunner is a little known shooting game (shoot em up) from Apogee, creators of other great games like Commander Keen, Duke Nukem and (related by genre to Stargunner) Raptor: Call of the Shadows. Stargunner is a bit more simplistic than Raptor, but generally its no less fun to play, and includes decent low-res VGA graphics and booming sound effects. Levels are repetitious but thats somewhat expected from the genre. Overall its a well made shooter for fans of space shooting games along the lines of Gradius or Raiden.
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Star Hammer
Silver Lightning Software / HomeBrew Software,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
The space shoot-em-up includes simplistic mission-based gaming with an emphasis on blowing stuff up. The game is presented quite nicely, even though the graphics in the actual game are not extremely impressive. The combat sequences are slightly hard to control, due to the limited range of view. If you enjoy mission based space combat Star Hammer might be worth a try.
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Star Mines II
Jari Karjala,
1995 |
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Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
Star Mines 2 involves your quest for "Bonusoids". You are given your spaceship (with unlimited fuel and ammunition) with which to shoot your way through many maze-like levels. While the controls take a little while to get used to, after a short time you'll be able to control it without too much difficulty. There's a good variety of enemies to shoot, powerups and so on. With many missions, this game should keep you entertained for awhile.
Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
For a game that describes itself as "stupid", Super Stupid Space Invaders is actually a very well made game. It uses text-mode (ASCII) 'graphics' to give a new spin to the classic Space Invaders game. Surprisingly it plays quite well, and although the gameplay, graphics and sounds are quite simple, it can still be enjoyable to play in short bursts. (And the zip file is only 15k!)
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Traffic Department 2192
Safari Software,
1996 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
This solidly built mission-based action shooting game is well made, features good graphics and sound effects and an interesting storyline. In the game you play a "Traffic Cop", but what you usually end up doing is just blowing up all of the enemy ships around. The game is fast-paced and fun, with good controls, although sometimes its a little hard to figure out where you're going.
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Tubular Worlds
DongleWare,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Sidescrolling shooting games aren't as popular now as they once were. Back in the days of the NES (and early SNES too) these sort of games were all the rage. Tubular Worlds is a pretty good space shooting game, where the screen scrolls left and you shoot wave after wave of enemies while collecting powerups for your ship. Nice graphics and SB sounds/music. (Note: It ran a bit choppy on my system, I assume that this was probably due to an incompatibility with my hardware.)
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Tyrian is a shooting game that is somewhat similar to the Apogee offering "Raptor: Call of the Shadows". The object is, as so often the case for this particular genre, to blow everything up! It's a detailed and graphically intense space shoot-em-up with advanced (for the time) graphical effects and great sound/music. It also features an interesting plotline (for a shooting game) and many secret levels/bonuses to find. Tyrian 2000 (full version) has now been released for free by GOG.com.
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Xatax
Pixel Painters,
1994 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Xatax is a sidescrolling space shooting game from Pixel Painters, a virtually unknown but very talented group of shareware game programmers. Xatax has good graphics, smooth scrolling and the usual shoot-em-up enimies and powerups. The difficulty curve seems tough but not impossible.
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Xolo
Eric and Mark Riel,
1993 |
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Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
I like this game! You fly your little ship around the screen (Asteroid-like physics are used) but instead of blasting asteroids, you attack one ship which sits in the middle of the screen, and is guarded by shields. It sounds dumb, but it's actually quite fun, and it gets tougher quickly. Nice graphics and sound, too.
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Zeroth Zone
Binary Spells Industries,
1999 |
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Rating: Freeware [ Screenshot ]
A rather slow paced shooting game. As you fly along, you have to avoid running into the rocky ground and shoot the missles which fly up occationally. You have to be careful not to shoot the fuel tanks, which you need to keep going. Okay graphics, and average SB sound effects.
Rating: Shareware [ Screenshot ]
Another classic game from Epic Megagames, this is a shooting game with smoothscrolling graphics and a "driving techno soundtrack", the object of which is to destroy everything. You fly your ship around the 360 degree playfield, shooting everything in sight. Could be a nice twich game for shooting fans. (Note: This game does not seem to run well on newer (read, Windows) computers. Play from DOS mode if possible.)
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