The best shoot 'em up games
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Darius Gaiden
Windows XP/98/9519984.4/5 Taito
Star Control 2
DOS1992protected4.2/5 Toys for Bob
In The Hunt
Windows XP/98/9519934.2/5 Irem Software Engineering
Rotox
DOS19914.2/5 Creative Materials
Super Stardust
DOS19964.2/5 Housemarque
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
DOS19944.2/5 Electronic Arts
Seek and Destroy
DOS19964.2/5 Safari Software
Seek and Destroy was a shoot'em up published by the well known Epic Megagames in 1996 that tried to change the usual shoot'em up gameplay for the better. Instead of wave after wave of enemies to shoot down, you are given short missions to accomplish with your helicopter or your tank (yes, you can choose). At first, missions could seem a bit repetit...
Space Federation
DOS19944.2/5 Interplay Productions
Taito's Super Space Invaders
DOS19914.2/5 Taito
Defender
DOS19834.2/5 Williams Entertainment
Ack-Ack Attack!
DOS1995remake4.2/5 PLBM Games
Jungle Strike
DOS19954.2/5 Electronic Arts
Xenon 2: Megablast
DOS19904.2/5 Bitmap Brothers
Xenon 2: Megablast is a classic shoot'em up developed by Bitmap Brothers and released by Image Works in 1990 for DOS and for a plethora of other systems. Xenon was good, Xenon 2 was far better. Compared to today standards Xenon 2 is perhaps a mediocre shoot 'em up, but at the time every shooter fan loved it. Plus, it was developed by Bitmap Brother...
Airborne Ranger
DOS19884.2/5 MicroProse Software
Invaders 78
DOS2000freewareremake4.2/5
Raiden
DOS19944.1/5 Seibu Kaihatsu Inc.
Raiden is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up game developed by Seibu Kaihatsu and first released in arcades in 1990 and later for many home computers and consoles. Raiden follows the classic vertical scrolling shoot 'em up format. Players control a spaceship known as the R-9C "Red-Ray" and navigate vertically scrolling levels filled with wave...
Solar Winds: The Escape
DOS19934.1/5 Stone Interactive Media
River Raid
DOS1995freewareremake4.1/5
Soviet
DOS19904.1/5 Opera Soft
Tyrian 2000
DOS1999freeware4.1/5 Eclipse Software
Tyrian 2000 is an old DOS science fiction classic shoot'em up, developed by Eclipse Software and designed by Alexander Brandon, Jason Emery, Daniel Cook. Tyrian 2000 is one of the most popular shoot'em ups ever published for DOS and it's still remembered by retro gaming fans to this day.
Star Wars 2
DOS19894.1/5
Flying Tigers
DOS19944.1/5 Ticsoft
Flying Tigers is an abandoned vertical-scrolling sci-fi themed shoot 'em up game developed and released by Ticsoft in 1994 for MS-DOS only. Flying Tigers is the first chapter of the two parts Flying Tigers video game series.
Raptor: Call of the Shadows
DOSWindows XP/98/95Mac1994protecteddemo4.1/5 Cygnus Studios
Raptor: Call of the Shadows is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed by Cygnus Studios and published by Apogee Software. The game was first released in 1994 for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms. In Raptor, players control a fighter jet through various levels filled with enemy aircraft, ground targets, power-ups and boss...
Tempest 2000
DOS1996remake4.1/5 Atari
Spacewar
DOS19854.1/5
Spacewar is one of the earliest digital computer games and is often considered the first interactive video game. It was created in 1962 by Steve Russell, Martin Graetz, and Wayne Wiitanen at the MIT. The game was developed on the PDP-1 minicomputer; this is a DOS port, released in 1985.Spacewar! features two spaceships, controlled by players, that ...
Sopwith
DOS1984freeware4.1/5 BMB Compuscience
Space Invaders
DOS1995remake4/5
Xatax
DOS19944/5 Pixel Painters Corporation
Wings of Fury
DOS19894/5 Broderbund
Star Goose!
DOS19884/5 Logotron
Star Goose is a classic video game developed by Logotron and released in 1988 for various home computer systems of that era, including the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, and Amstrad CPC. It is a top-down, vertically scrolling shooter that combines elements of shoot 'em up gameplay with exploration and power-up mechanics.