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Torus Trooper

Developer: Kenta Cho

A shmup classic from the master, Kenta Cho, based vaguely on Tempest and other old-school tunnel shooters. Your ship flies forward through an infinite torus at ever-increasing speeds, while you dodge incoming fire and do your best to blast baddies from the walls. In still screenshots it doesn't look that impressive, but combine Cho's trademark polygon graphics and an incredible sense of speed, and the result is a truly hypnotic shmup experience.

Lethal Judgement 4

Developer: Bgames

A horizontal scrolling shooter firmly in the R-Type vein, this fourth entry in the Lethal Judgement series combines high-resolution 2D graphics with some cool 3D effects to make it one of the more attractive clones in town. Sequences where your ship transforms into a truck add a little extra variety, and while the visuals have a few rough edges and the gameplay isn't as consistent as it is in the classic Irem series, the game still hits all the right nostalgia buttons. Well worth a look.

Mono

Developer: Binary Zoo

Another Asteroids/Geometry Wars-inspired shmup from Binary Zoo. However, this one comes with an original premise: instead of blasting chunks of space rock into dust, you're firing away at blobs or colour. Grind them down and they end as a splash of pigment on the screen. Layer red, green and blue shades on top of each other and you create areas of white. Fill the whole screen with white, and you crack the level. The effect of this simple mechanic is that it doesn't just matter what you shoot, but where you shoot it; building up white in the middle is easy, but getting the corners covered is something else. What's more, every time your ship gets hit, the screen pulsates more wildly, making it impossible to concentrate properly (or keep down your lunch). A psychedelic shoot ‘em up delight.

Titanion

Developer: Kenta Cho

We could have picked Gunroar, PARSEC47, Mu-cade or the superb Tumiki Fighters as our Kenta Cho game of choice, but we went for this one - Titanion - a rip-roaring homage to the likes of Phoenix and Galaxians. As waves of fast-moving aliens descend, hailing bullets down on your vulnerable ship, sitting still and shooting up isn't likely to get you anywhere. Play in Classic mode for the old-school experience, or choose Modern if you want a faster-paced, less predictable game. Titanion is everything a contemporary Galaxians should be.

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