Defender

Defender is an arcade video game developed released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional (2D) graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis's first video game project, and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Williams planned to display the game at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) trade show, though development delays resulted in the team working on the game up until the show started. Defender was commercially successful, selling over 55,000 units to become the company's best selling arcade game. Praise among critics focused on the game's audio-visuals and gameplay. It is frequently listed as one of Jarvis's best contributions to the video game industry, as well as one of the most difficult video games. Defender was ported to numerous platforms, inspired the development of other games, and was followed by sequels and many imitations.

Defender put players in charge of a ship sent to protect mankind from wave after wave of attacking alien forces. Armed with smart bombs and the ability to use hyperspace to move quickly around the planet, the player ship must fight against Bombers, Pods, Swarmers, Baiters, and Landers - that can capture the humanoids and transform them into deadly and relentless Mutants. Fail to save the humanoids from freefall or Mutant transformation, and the planet is destroyed. Defender is a port with modern enhancements of the original 1981 arcade title released on Xbox Live Arcade on November 15th, 2006. On February 17th, 2010 Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced on Twitter that nine Midway Games had been removed from Xbox Live “due to publisher evolving rights and permissions”.

Released in conjunction with a 3D update of the classic arcade game on consoles, the Game Boy Advance version is also an update of the original, but retains its side-scrolling gameplay. The cartridge includes several variants of the game. The main mode is called "XGP". Its basics are the same as in the original: The player's spaceship flies left or right over a scrolling landscape that wraps around after a few screens. The goal is to destroy all invading aliens before they can capture the humans sitting on the ground. Besides updated graphics with various backgrounds and sprites for the enemies and humans, there are other differences as well: players can select from different ships, all with slightly different weapons and ratings for shields and speed. The XGP mode offers six different levels to complete. It can also be played by two players over the System Link. The cartridge also includes "Classic" mode, which is a port of the original arcade game. Finally, "XG" mode is the same gameplay-wise as Classic, but has been updated with graphics similar to the XGP mode.

A tropical paradise seethes with hidden evil in Far Cry, a cunningly detailed action shooter that pushed the boundaries of combat to shocking new levels.Freelance mariner Jack Carver is cursing the day he ever came to this island. A week ago, a brash female reporter named Valerie had offered him an incredible sum of cash to take her to this unspoiled paradise. Shortly after docking, however, Jack's boat was greeted by artillery fire from a mysterious militia group swarming about the island. With his boat destroyed, his money gone, and the gorgeous Valerie suddenly missing, Jack now finds himself facing an army of mercenaries amidst the wilds of the island, with nothing but a gun and his wits to survive. But the further he pushes into the lush jungle canopy, the stranger things become. Jack encounters an insider within the militia group who reveals the horrific details of the mercenaries' true intentions. He presents Jack with an unsettling choice: battle the deadliest mercenaries, or condemn the human race to a maniac's insidious agenda.

Armed to the teeth, players begin as Neptune in an unworldly 8-bit space dimension ravaged by creatures who burst endless waves of bullets. Shoot, dodge, and defeat the boss in six unique bullet-hell worlds.

One of the defining characteristics of the Gradius series is the use of a "power meter." The power meter is powered by a power-up item, whose purpose, when collected, is to move a highlight to the next power-up on the power meter. When a power-up that the player wants becomes highlighted, he or she may activate it, also causing the highlight to reset.

Soda Crisis is a fast-paced side-scrolling shooter game. You play a mysterious character of unknown origin, equipped with advanced high-tech gears and fierce combating skills - definitely the chosen one for this rescue mission!

Thunder Cross is an Action game, developed and published by Konami, which was released in 1988.

Space shooter

Moon Shuttle is a scrolling arcade space shooter.

Discover the Smell of the Game with Guilty Gear: Strive! Immerse yourself in new gameplay mechanics designed to be simple and welcoming for fighting game newcomers, yet deep and creative for veterans. Ride the Fire into a heavy metal inspired alternate future full of over-the-top action, style and fun!

"Forbidden Planet" is a Space Strategy and Tower Defence like Game. You control a small spaceship and your main goal is to protect your own home planet. Explore the universe for resources. Colonize other planets. Defend from the asteroids.

Unleash a fury of powerful weapons as you blast your way through armies of Alien forces hell-bent on taking you down! Battle through 14 intense levels and prepare to face a barrage of beastly-sized bosses that will test your every skill. Each of your 10 weapons comes with two firing modes and you’ll need all of them! Battle hardened Alien forces will attack you from every direction using various flanking and attack moves. Built with powerful up-to-date graphics technology, awesome physics, destructible environments… experience a truly intense, oldschool styled shooter game!Key Features Wide variety of Alien enemy forces including Infantry, Warriors, Flying Drones, Spiders Huge boss fights – Over 21 enemy types including 8 beastlysized bosses to challenge and destroy through 14 Levels Strong thru-the-gun experience with 10 powerful weapons each with two firing modes Skill shots, head shots and shooting accuracy heavily rewarded Player-triggered destruction of environments and cover helps to advance through levels Built with powerful up-to-date graphics technology, awesome physics, destructible environments