A missile defence game protecting six cities

City Shield is the missile defence game on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba. Missiles rain down on six cities, and you click to burst interceptors in their path to keep the lights on. It's free, original and plays offline, drawn in an 8-bit home computer style.

It's a game of quick aim and quick thinking, where a single well-placed blast can take out several missiles at once.

Bursting interceptors

Click where an interceptor should burst. The nearest base with rounds left fires. The blast destroys any missile or bomber flying through it, and can set off more blasts. So the trick is to aim not at a missile but at where it will be, and to place blasts where several missiles cross.

With the keyboard, the arrows aim and Space fires from the nearest base. The keys 1, 2 and 3 fire from the left, centre and right bases.

Rounds and bases

Each base has ten rounds a wave. That's not many when the sky is full, so don't waste them. One blast in the right place is better than three in a hurry.

Using the right base matters too. The nearest base fires by default, but choosing a base with 1, 2 or 3 lets you save one base's rounds for later in the wave, or fire from a base that's closer to a missile's path.

Bonuses

At the end of each wave you get a bonus for cities and rounds left. So saving rounds pays twice: it keeps you safe and adds to your score. And there's a bonus city every 10,000 points, which can replace one you've lost.

Chain reactions

Because blasts can set off more blasts, the best moments in City Shield come from chains: one blast catches a missile, which bursts and catches another. Look for clusters of missiles and aim at the middle of them.

Bombers are worth catching in a blast too, since anything left flying keeps threatening the cities. And watch the edges of the screen, where missiles can slip in unnoticed while you're busy in the middle.

Waves grow harder as you go, so the rounds and cities you save early are what carry you through later. A steady player who places each blast carefully, uses all three bases and keeps a few rounds back for the end of the wave often outlasts one who fires quickly. Don't forget the bonus city: a long game can bring a lost city back, which is a good reason to keep going even after a bad wave.

The 8-bit look keeps everything clear, with bright trails against a dark sky, so you can always see where each missile is heading.

Playing City Shield

Find City Shield on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba, or press Ctrl+F and type shield. The title card explains how to play, F1 explains it again, Esc pauses and F11 makes it full screen. If you switch windows the game pauses itself.

Your best score and plays are kept on the game's tile, in a scores file on your PC. There are no adverts and no accounts. If you like defending from below, Sky Raiders on the same shelf has rows of raiders marching down towards your tank.