Holding the line in Sky Raiders, Games by Zaweba
Sky Raiders in Games by Zaweba: rows of raiders march down the sky, faster as they fall; shoot them from your tank behind the crumbling shields.
Rows of marching raiders creep down the sky in Sky Raiders, getting faster as they come, and you hold the line from a tank at the bottom of the screen, sheltering behind shields that crumble as the battle goes on. It's an 8-bit game in the style of a 48K home computer, on the Retro arcade shelf of Games by Zaweba, and it's about as simple and as tense as arcade games get.
Moving and firing
Left and Right, or A and D, move the tank. Space or Z fires. With the mouse, move to steer and click to fire. Whichever you choose, it's the same job: get under a raider and hit it.
Raiders that speed up
Shoot every raider before they reach the ground. They speed up as their numbers fall, so the last few are the fastest and hardest to hit. That changes how you play a wave. Early on the raiders are slow and easy, and that's the time to be steady and accurate. Near the end, the last raiders are moving quickly and you need to lead your shots.
Some players like to thin out a whole column at a time, so that the formation has less width to sweep across the screen. Others work along the lowest row first, since those raiders are the closest to the ground. Either way, having a plan beats firing at whatever's nearest.
The shields
Shields soak up bombs but wear away. They're your cover, and they don't last. Tucking in behind a shield while raiders bomb you is the safe move, but every bomb that hits it takes a little away, and a shield full of holes doesn't protect much.
That makes the shields something to spend wisely. Using the same one all the time wears it down quickly, while moving between them spreads the damage. And since the raiders get faster as the wave goes on, the shields are often most valuable near the end, so try not to wear them all out early.
The mystery saucer
There's a mystery saucer to watch for as well. Hit it for a surprise bonus. It's worth a shot if you can take it without leaving yourself open, but don't let it distract you from raiders closing in.
Spare tanks
An extra tank comes at 1500 points. That's an early milestone, and reaching it gives you a little breathing room for the rest of the game.
Pausing and best scores
Esc pauses, F11 gives you the whole screen, and the title card and F1 explain the controls. Games by Zaweba keeps your best score and plays on your PC, and shows your best alongside your score when the game ends, so every wave you clear adds to a number you can try to beat.
If you enjoy shooters, the shelf has others with very different feels: City Shield, where you defend six cities from falling missiles, and Rock Blaster, where you spin and thrust among drifting rocks. All of them are drawn and made in code and run offline. In Sky Raiders, shoot steadily while the raiders are slow, use the shields without hiding behind them for ever, and be ready for the last few raiders to move quickly.
