Starcom

DOSGames.com Review:  Rating: 4.5
Starcom is a generically named but rather impressive shmup with both horizontal and vertically-scrolling levels. It features smooth-scrolling 256 color graphics, music, and sound effects as you blast enemy ships and ground bases in 21 levels (in the registered version, which you can download here). The storyline isn't important here, so skip it and start blasting the baddies. There are power-ups to collect that improve your shots or refill your health meter. One of the unique aspects of this game is that when you're hit with enemy shots, your ship will move out of the way slightly, presumably to avoid you taking a bunch of damage all at once from multiple shots from the same enemy. It's an interesting approach but since I didn't realize it was happening initially I thought there was something wrong with the controls. You can also use a joystick instead of the keyboard if you take the time to set it up. Overall this could be considered a "hidden gem" for shmups in the DOS realm.