Theo's been working in the slave mines for years, and has finally saved up enough to buy a cruiser. Now, if he can just shoot his way through this orbiting traffic, he'll be ready to start his new life. Originally conceived by Christopher T. Rock, with later additional development by Bryson Whiteman, Rush Hour Plus is a short but solid arcade game. It's bifurcated development is apparent in the differing styles of cut-scenes and game action, but it has a nice dose of humor and is the perfect length for a coffee break.

The number of defense games out there is as massive as the hordes of enemies you fight in them, but Bright Sight Team's side view strategy game stands out in the horde's ranks. Epic Stand pins you down at your castle and magic is your only weapon. To defend your castle walls, click on the screen to where you want the spell to be cast and let it work its magic. The level is over when there are no enemies left standing and none of them reach your wizard's final floor.

Sometimes a game doesn't need to reinvent a genre to be just as fun, addictive, and riddled with bullets as we want it to be. In this classic-styled top-down sci-fi shooter, pilot a tiny spaceship against increasingly impossible odds, bigger bosses, and catch coins to purchase upgrades to help your chances. It's familiar, but well polished, and just the right size for some explosive coffee-break arcade carnage.

Massagames brings a calm launch experience in I am Flying to the Moon. Control a little wooden spaceship (upgrades available, of course) as it makes attempt after attempt to propel itself beyond the wild blue yonder. Avoid other flying objects and collect the floating bonuses to most profit from each launch. It's not a game to get your blood pumping, but it'll sure entertain you for awhile.

Jonas Kyratzes has brought us many enjoyable, thoughtful games in bizarre, surreal settings. Well, now he's developed a top-down space shooter, Traitor. Don't get scared, he's still able to cast his powers of storytelling, it's just in a different yummy, gooey, science fiction package. Take on missions to earn credits for upgrades as well as the trust of the rebels. Your ultimate goal: to take down the Augustan Hegemony. Viva la People's Council!

Control an army of monsters and overthrow the evil King in this action strategy game by NTFusion. Discover up to 28 creature evolutions, each with their own unique stats and abilities, and build a squad tailored to your fighting style in order to conquer your way across the map. With a steady difficulty curve and a brutal bonus gauntlet round, Pocket Creature delivers your daily dose of addictive challenge and spooky quirkiness in one tidy package.

Decision is a polished zombie action-defense hybrid from Fly Anvil, and it's a bloody good time. A cool, if slightly repetitive, mixture of serious horror, logistical strategy, frenetic action, and low-key parody, Decision shows that the undead can still pack serious punch.

Dodge bombs, grab balloons and keep the city safe in this multifaceted arcade shooter. Any of this game's three phases wouldn't be all that great individually. Putting them together, though, makes for a fantastic mix. You're not stuck doing one thing for long enough that it becomes stale. Variety is the spice of life, and Bomb Diver just might be your paprika, so all you daredevils out there owe it to yourselves to give it a shot!

Ever wanted to run rampant through hordes of squishy spider bots, monsters, and malevolent steampunk beasties? This simple but chaotic top-down shooter provides some truly frantic action that, while repetitive, delivers a nice dose of KAPOW KAPOW KAPOW to your day.

In Tiny Airships, you'll use your airship to defend your home against the vile Tyrian Empire and hopefully you'll manage it without plummeting to the earth. The various combinations of upgrades add a nice level of depth, since you can customize your craft to suit your play style.

Papa's at it again, sneakily tricking you into running his latest venture... a pancake house! It doesn't matter if you're inexperienced, the customers are at your door and you're going to have to learn that griddle on the fly. Build towers of fluffy golden goodness and decorate them with delicious toppings, earn new items for your menu OR for your shop, and even play a variety of mini-games. It's another dose of the time management action you've come to love from the Papa's series, with all the breakfast artistry you could possibly want. Now I'm hungry...

If you've ever dreamed of being a daredevil (even if it's in a stolen shopping cart), then try out Monkey Want Banana's latest installment in their launch game series, Shopping Cart Hero 3. Learn different stunts, add groupies and pimp your cart as you fly through three worlds with a few boss battles. Just remember to turn your cart upright after a trick... a dead groupie is no groupie at all.

Blast aliens on Planet Blirp, an sidescrolling action shooter from Helmet Games. A very familiar kind of game, though its variety of mission objectives and humorous storyline separate it from the pack. An emphasis on grinding and a steep learning curve mar the experience, but overall it is a solid time-waster.

When one alien is carted off by the government, it's up to the remaining one to save it. Which isn't nearly as impossible as it sounds, since these aliens are towering colossi with lasers, pincer feets, and a penchant for causing mass destruction wherever they go. A simple but extremely stylish little action game that allows you to indulge the stomping alien beast in you as you set out to rescue your companion while destroying all the buildings, people, and resistance in your way.

There's a zombie apocalypse happening, and only one man can stop it!... maybe... hopefully! Rupert picks up his trusty gun and bowler hat, determined to stop a bitter necromancer and make the streets of London safe once again in this repetitive but quirky and entertaining action shooter with a wonderfully morbid cartoon style.

Launch a bouncy robot into space in Last Robot 2, an action platform game by Karma Team. Dodge bombs, leap from clouds, and continue ever upward to stay alive. Along the way, you can collect coins and purchase up to 24 upgrades to make your robot better - faster - stronger! A handful of achievements and an easy learning curve make for an addictive adventure into the cosmos.

Somehow, we must have missed the episode of National Geographic where they explained how all fish float around frozen, just waiting for explosives to be dropped to free them, so they can then be gobbled up by an opportunistic octopus. It may sound grim, but this frantic, vivid, and colourful chain reaction arcade game packed with achievements and upgrades is anything but.

A fun, pretty and heart-racing forward-scrolling racing game from longanimals, Neon Race 2 is the kind of game you'd be happy to drop five dollars in quarters on at the old arcade. Expect pavement, police cars, turbo-boosts, ramps and random explosions aplenty.

Dungeon King is an action-RPG from Bulletproof Arcade filled with monsters to smash, gold to loot and experience bars to fill, all within a stunning presentation you wouldn't expect to find from a Flash game. Monster genocide earns you experience points and at each level you get five skill points to boost stats like damage, critical rate and armor. There's no cinematic plot here aside from a short introductory cutscene; it's just you, a dungeon and an army of bad guys who need a good axing. Try the free browser demo and see if it doesn't get your fingers twitching for a rampage.

Vanish Rain is a zombie shooter with defense elements. You're helping devoted sister Anna survive for 15 days in zombie-infested Riverhead City as she waits for her brother's return. Wholesale slaughter of zombies will earn you money, which you can spend on new guns, upgrades and repairs during the intermission between each day.

Have you ever had a legion of avaricious specters try to mess with you as you hang out around your money tree, forcing you to break out the ectoplasmic shotguns to fend them off? If so, please let us know what it's like, since it's probably a situation most of us won't encounter in our lives. Still, we can get an incredibly simulation of it in Greed Ghouls, new from Christopher Gregorio. An action game with elements of the shooter and defense genre, it's kind of a miss-mash of competing ideas, but overall, a very entertaining one.

Does your local terrain have too much flatness and nowhere nearly enough ramps? Then come on down and check out Rod Hot's Hot Rod Racing, new from Turbo Nuke, for all your racing action needs. A spiritual successor to the Cyclomaniac series, with all the inexplicable car flipping we've come to expect, the emphasis on customization is cool, even if it comes with a grindy cost.

Mission in Space: The Lost Colony is an extremely customizable turn-based strategy game with an easy-to-use interface and variety of challenges that will please players of any skill level. Plus it has a valuable lesson about the dangers of ventilation ducts. Spoiler alert: they contain aliens.

Will those darn Gummi Bears ever learn? When you steal the wallet of the angry minotaur that's already crushed your comrades once before, there's going to be a reckoning. It's Burrito Bison Revenge, an action launch game from Juicy Beast. It feels a bit more like "Burrito Bison 1.5" rather than "2", but it's still a very fun way to pass the time.

The character of Rinse Games' arena shooter, Mr Gunface, probably heard lots of name calling when it was younger, but now that it's all grown up, it's set to fight! You control the gunface drone to save the planet against the Zenoba invasion by shooting the many guns on its face (surprise). With endless upgrades to your arsenal and 30 levels to battle through, it's up to you whether or not this ends in glorious victory. Either way, prepare yourself for a trip to the principal's office cause drones fight dirty!

TV shows would have us believe that all managers are clueless petty little tyrants. If your superior is one that might be well-served by a kick in the rear, then Origaming has a action launch game for you! My "Dear" Boss stars a set-upon office peon, whose workplace stress reaches such a fever pitch, that his only recourse is to kick his boss through a third story window. For distance. And cash to purchase upgrades. As you might guess, this is a goofy, funny little game, that makes for some good mindless fun.

Heaven is just beyond the city skyline! Or at least that's what the mechanical porker starring in this cute but simple launch game believes. Help our hero to fly out of the city to Pig Paradise by shooting him out of a cannon, causing massive property damage along the way, and purchase various upgrades to get you there faster. That'll do, pig.

You know what are always enjoyable? RC Tanks, especially ones that you can use to fire things at your least-favorite sibling. It took Emitter Critter to realize how this universal archetype of fun might translate well to flash form, and the result is the new top-down shooter, Awesome Tanks. It's nothing too complicated: Shoot stuff. Get coins. Buy upgrades. But when so many arena games are drenched with gore or zombie blood (not that there's anything wrong with that!), it's always cool to see polished genre works that are "kid-friendly" without feeling too "kiddy". Awesome Tanks' fifteen levels have the combination of frenetic action and colorful explosions that all ages should enjoy.

Ever wanted to be the king (or queen!) or everything? How about as a reason to blow everything up? This adorable, frantic arena shooter packs tons of action, upgrades, enemies, bosses, and even power-ups into one simple but explosively fun experience to keep you on your toes.

Ever wanted to be the king (or queen!) or everything? How about as a reason to blow everything up? This adorable, frantic arena shooter packs tons of action, upgrades, enemies, bosses, and even power-ups into one simple but explosively fun experience to keep you on your toes.

It never hurts to have a dream. Unless, of course, your dream is to be repeatedly shot out of a cannon, crashing into various boosters and blockers, so as to earn money for the purchasing of upgrades. That might end up hurting quite a bit. Canoniac Launcher is a new Toss The Turtle-style action game. While unbalanced upgrades and unclear objectives mar the experience, its solid presentation and gorgeous art helps it stand as a hilarious blast of a game.

New to the iPad world is the tower defense game we all love to love, Kingdom Rush HD from Ironhide Games, a port of Kingdom Rush for browsers released not too long ago. The team had a bit of a problem when an unauthorized clone appeared on the iTunes App Store weeks before release. The knockoff was spotted and eventually removed (whew), leaving space for this excellent port of an already excellent game to wow and surprise gamers in the iOS device realm!

Farmer Vlad has built a paradise for piggies. He sends a letter to the closest litter, inviting them to vacation in his literal hog heaven. Unfortunately, all sorts of danger lies in their path: bears, wolves, birds, UFOs... A reflex platformer by VladG, 300 Miles to Pigsland takes the non-stop gameplay of Canabalt, sends it through the cute-ifier machine and adds a sprinkling of upgrades, making for a fun, if repetitive, time.

Gameplay in Pinata Hunter is simple and distinctive, as you swing your mouse Wii-mote style to bludgeon your quarry for tasty treats. After a few upgrades it's immensely satisfying (and addicting). Like squeezey stress toys, or inflatable punching bags, no one can accuse relentlessly beating on a colorful elephant sculpture for candy to be a deep experience, but you'll hardly care once you can fill the screen with flying candy.

Alien war rages upon the surface of the moon. But would Santa dare forget those space marines that made it onto the "nice" list? By Kringle's beard, I say thee nay! Even it if means strapping a rocket to his back and launching himself to space, ol' Saint Nick will deliver those gifts if its the last thing he does! Berzerk Studios brings you Santa Rocket, and while not particularly innovative for the arcade launch genre, it is a solid holiday work.

There's plenty of hubbub about saving the whales, but we've really got to be worrying about our own hides. Whales are dangerous, you see., and you'll find out why in this arcade action sequel about causing chaos to ships and upgrading your whale. Moby Dick 2 makes for a great half-hour of destruction. It's also a great example of what will happen if we don't develop anti-whale countermeasures immediately.

Chuck's a sheep, but unlike the rest, he doesn't want to wait around for the farmer to shear him bald. He's hatched a daring escape plan, and it's up to you to help him soar to freedom in this adorable new launch game from jmtb02 and JIMP that features a unique upgrade system, tons of achievements, objectives, and more.

Fun, frantic, and addictive, Mushroom Madness 3 is a kicking tower defense game and a great way to vent all of your inner pent up rage and frustration on a wide variety of animals, insects, and birds. Mushroom Madness 3 has added new levels, new scenarios, and best of all many new weapons and upgrades to the mix, including a fantastic "auto-click" feature that saves the gamers' mouse finger from the muscle cramps that ensue when rapidly clicking to annihilate all of the cute and cuddly yet annoying fauna of the forest.

In this sequel to the original strategic tower defense hybrid, the titular dark lord you controlled in the original is back! It's your job to show him what happens to dark lords (hint: it's not tea and cookies.) Your goal is to claim the enemy's castle at the opposite side of each stage from your own, getting cash and building units, while casting spells of your own to help out directly.

If you weren't satisfied with your previous victory over You Have to Burn the Rope's Grinning Colossus, then try Gama11's shmup, Grinning Cobossus. You'll be taken through several stages toward defeating the titular bad guy, and along the way will earn skill points to upgrade your ship. So hop to it and get to work. There's bound to be a tune you can find to hum along the way...

Zombies Ate My Phone, a Phones4U advergame developed by Koko Games, isn't the first top-down zombie action shooter we've ever featured on JIG. It's probably not even the first top-down zombie action shooter we've featured that's set in a mall. However, it is, in all probability, the first top-down zombie action shooter wherein you can chuck vintage LPs at a mummy. And you know what? Sometimes that's enough.

Recently, we've seen a bit of a mini-renaissance of quality casual releases set underwater, defying the conventional wisdom that games get terrible when they go down the drain. Fisher Diver, an action game by Eli Piilonen, keeps the quality but darkens the tone. On its surface, it's a retro-styled fishing game about a little ball that hopes to follow in it's father's profession. However, like the ocean, there are some unsettling things to be found below the surface.

As the Baroness Milena, you command the last of the troops of the kingdom of Emaeron, which has fallen to the forces of a demon horde. Using your mouse to control the various aspects of the game, it is your duty in Menara Games' turn-based strategy/tower defense mix, Demonrift TD, to restore the empire and send the enemy back to whatever depths from which they came.

The city is under attack! Regular citizens have gone red-eyed with uncontrollable rage, security robots are running amok, mutants are smashing up storefronts, and sales of crowbars and health syringes are through the roof. Could it possibly have something to do with all those high-frequency broadcasting towers that the mysteriously menacing GlobalTek Industries have constructed all over town? Well, there's only one way to find out. Put together a party, load up on weapons, fight or sneak your way past the psychos and start causing massive property damage! Legends of Kong, new from Nerdook, is a randomly generated action-RPG that never plays the same twice.

The cactus is back-tus! Cactus McCoy, spikey green distributor of western vengeance is back, and this time he has competition. He's met up with technicolor bird lady Ella Windstorm who spins him a tale of the Volados: a fallen civilization laid waste to by a mysterious cult known as the Reptaras. It seems that there's a secret vault that contains the lost treasure of the Volados, including the magical Serpent Blade. With Ella kidnapped, it's up to McCoy to find the vault before the Volados and their Enemigo henchmen, recover the Serpent Blade, save his possible love interest, and make out like a cactusy bandit with all the loot he can carry. A worthy sequel to the earlier installment released in March, Flipline Studios' Cactus McCoy 2: The Ruins of Calavera will steal as many hours of action-platforming as the original did, pardner.

Even with the promise of super-abilities, volunteering to undergo tests performed by mysterious organizations is the kind of thing that seems like it could go either way. That said, it's already too late for the mild-mannered and slightly-jerkish Melex Archer: he's signed his name on the dotted line and, with the influence of radioactive Thelemite, he's been given a ton of power and no particular sense of responsibility. Sure, he'll spring into action and brawl his way through waves of mutants, but it's sure as heck not because mission control is telling him to. No sir. In this fun little retro fighting game from Sos, the hero is as much a danger to the town as the monsters he faces.

Raze 2 by AddisonR and Juice-Tin is the latest in a long line of action shooters with spacey-marines and/or one-word non-indicative titles. Let's count them off: Doom, Quake, Halo, Descent, Unreal, and, uh... Haze. It's surprising there are any alien-demon-zombie menaces left to battle considering how quickly we're able to deploy a near-endless supply of Master Chiefs. It's a good thing then that Raze 2 has the quality gameplay and presentation to distinguish itself from the competition.

You're in a cave full of monsters, which is bad. But you have a sentient gun to help you, which is good! But you seem to have run afoul of a mad scientist, which is bad. But Arkeus' newest action platform shooter is a ton of fun, which is good! Gather diamonds to upgrade yourself and your weapons, unlock new play modes, drink in the fantastic retro aesthetic, and discover the truth in this impressive reboot of a Ludum Dare entry!

People of Earth, beware, for the doughnuts are finally coming for us in Fodo!, an action arcade planet defense game. The game is pure fun, and charming to boot. It gets high marks for originality and has a decent replay value, and I know those dapper doughnuts in their fancy bowler hats and monocles don't stand a chance against you. Now get out there and save the planet!

Get ready for the ultimate hybrid of addictive genres in this new game from Arkeus! Originally created in just 48 hours for Ludum Dare but already being improved, Glissaria combines tile-matching, resource management, tower defense, and RPG elements with a vaguely retro flair for one impressive bit of gaming that has enormous potential.

As Dr. Wesley MacGregor, you've developed a poison that will kill an alien menace which you must deliver in Dustin Auxier's side-scrolling shooter, Parasite Strike. Your defeated enemies burst into different colored orbs which go toward the purchase of a staggering amount of options in the choice of your plane, weapons and gadgets. At a length of just six missions, Parasite Strike may feel short, but six additional secret missions, four ranks to achieve in each mission and four difficulty settings keep this game interesting enough to kill all the aliens again and again.

After a tough morning of crushing, it seems only fair that an Aztec-Warrior-Viking should be able to sit down and enjoy a comically large meat-leg. Sadly, it seems the fates have conspired to rob you of your spoils. Such a theft cannot go unpunished! It is your right, nay your duty as the strongest of your Viking-Aztec-Warrior clan to launch yourself into action and en-sword all who stand between you and your vengeance. It's Titan Lunch Retaliation by Berzerk Studios, and it's an action game that deserves a place on anyone's list of what is best in life.

Riding Shotgun is a Western-themed, turn-based strategy game on an 8 x 8 board where you must win shootouts against different computer opponents. Move your wagon onto different icons to attack your enemy and defend against attacks. It's a nicely-stylized and unique take on a traditional style puzzle game.

MercX is a retro action adventure sidescroller where you control a pixelated hero on an epic mission to rescue a biologist's daughter and save the world. Take out numerous enemies and strong bosses across six missions in different environments. With its 1980s-style graphics, music, and controls, MercX is simple old-school shooting fun.

Ahoy ye barnacle-blistered land-lubbers, and welcome about the JayIsGames galleon! Today we be featurin' Frantic Frigates, a top-down action shooter from Berzerk Studio. Thar be rumors of sharks, pirates, and alien ghosts swarming the seas, and they've been leaving folk mighty groggy. Only ye and yer motley crew of constantly firin' cannon firers even stand hope to make the waters still. Those looking for a treasure chest of frenzied fun will find it here, I swear by my tattoo.

Look at that coinbox. All smug. Smiling. Withholding its shiny goodness. Teach it a lesson why don't you, in jmtb02's latest absurd arcade game chock-full of upgrades, coins, heavy weaponry, and polka music. Though fairly repetitive and slow to start, it's a silly, frantic game with a surprise ending that might just catch you off guard.

It was a time of peace. The tribe was ruled by a fair and just leader named Bold, a ruler known across the plains for his fairness and generosity. However, trouble was brewing in the Mountains of Moira: Rangor the Terrible had raised a dread army of conquest, and sprung an attack in which no prisoner was taken. With his village decimated and his son kidnapped, Bold once again took up the garments of a warrior to lay siege to the hordes pillaging the land. Oh... and by the way, Bold is a Beaver. That would presumably explain why the name of Rob Almighty's new RPG-brawler is Battle Beavers. 'Twould only make sense.

In SilenGames' latest defense shooter Granny Strikes Back, you'll help the eponymous Granny as she fends off snowmen commanded by aliens who need her raspberry jam to fuel their spaceship. Yes, you read that right. Well... what else do you use jam for? If you're a fan of the genre, you'll be hard pressed not to like this one; it's silly, beautifully designed, fun, and just like Grandma used to make.

Geez, you win a few races and you think you can take on the world! robotJAM and longanimals have gone mad with power and are using their new theme park, Ninja World, to train deadly ninja assassins... your former competitors, in fact! Set out to stop them the only way you know how (namely, through stunts, minigames, and sweet, sweet air time) in this wonderfully silly racing game packed with secrets and unlockables.

Scuba is a 2D, side-scrolling game of exploration, diving, mining, and crafting in the tradition of Minecraft and Terraria. Control your diver-character as you collect 10 types of resources above ground and underwater. Combine items in your inventory to craft parts that will eventually help you make an engine to get home. Scuba's random world generation gives you a different game environment each time you play.

Immortal Souls: Dark Crusade is a browser version of the downloadable strategy-RPG by Comic Book RPG. You play John Turner, a reluctant vampire armed with guns, claws, a baseball bat, and a sense of vengeance. In this turn-based game, you form chains of multi-colored icons to attack hordes of richly-animated bad guys in a comic-book like world. A new class system and added features enhance the gameplay over the original.

Hey! Orcs, skeletons, giants, mosquitoes, bunnies, and evil bees! Those acorns are mine! Armed with a bow and arrows and a few other more boom-inducing weapons, Elliot Pace's Defend Your Nuts is a fast-paced defense game that puts you in the furry shoes of a squirrel perched on a tree. As evil minions tromp in from the right side of the screen, take aim and fire to send them back to the flames of Hades where they belong, keeping your winter stash safe and secure from their muck-covered paws!

Kingdom Rush has itty-bitty visuals but an ogre's worth of style and strategy. In this fantastic tower defense game, protect your kingdom's roads and countrysides against incoming hordes of goblins, bandits, wulves, and other nasties. Build towers, upgrade your army in and out of battle, take on challenges, and enjoy all the POW SOK SHUNT battling you can handle while you're at it.

Make ready thine lance, young knight! And then make ready to hand it off to thine children, because thou art about to get thine hind end kicked. Joust for the ultimate price (the fabled "the lance") against powerful knights and the king's own Champion in this adorable action game that's a snap to play and a joy to behold.

Mega Miner is a mining game that's all about repeated trips to the underground that challenge you to balance your fuel levels and item capacity for maximum efficiency, all so you can make your drill-bot the best it can be. There's something wildly addictive about unearthing gems, and let me tell you, one hip cat to another, I dig it. Can you dig it?

Helios Minor is under attack, and you're the only one close enough to respond to the distress signal! Fortunately, it's nothing you can't handle... just hundred and hundreds of vicious, fast, resilient enemy fighters and thousands and thousands of space bullets! Upgrade your ship and go up against the tide of foes in this vertical scrolling shooter!

An excellent metroidvania style puzzle platformer that's easy enough to jump straight in, but has a ton of hidden secrets for experts to find (especially if you want the best ending)... along with a few locked doors that just beg for further expansion. Legend of Kalevala has that perfect mix of old and new, alien and human, story and action.

You start off on ice, which is rather natural for penguins, but soon enough you'll be sending your rampaging army into the jungle and beyond. This is a game where turtles are evil. And can hide under the ground sometimes. And also carry military-grade weapons on the backs of their shells. Look, turtles bad, penguins good, alright? You've got to upgrade la resistance manchot if you're going to stand a chance. Say by hacking off the beak and replacing it with a zombie beak.

You must sprint, kick, and bribe your way to athletic glory! Refusal to use exclamation points is counterrevolutionary! Grab a bowl of rocky road or double chocolate chip some morning and double your pleasure and/or fun by accompanying it with this game.

About as epic as any game about snails can be, Snailiad will take hours from you, and you'll be glad to see them gone. It's action-packed and adventure-filled, completely unlike the lives of real snails, who mostly sit around hoping they don't become escargot.

They pushed you down, then kicked you while you were there and stole your lunch money! Stupid Forces of Goodness! Can't tolerate a little badness at all, can they? Well now it's your turn to make them pay (and then some) in Cellar Door Games' quirky, addictive strategy title that puts you on the other side of things in a typical tower defense game.

A young boy is cruelly mocked. Years later, he becomes a mad scientist and seeks to destroy the world by breeding giant rampaging monsters. If you've ever taken a Godzilla figurine and stomped it around a sandbox while providing your own terrified shrieks for the GI Joes and Barbies in your wake, Days of Monsters will provide that service while sparing your vocal cords.

Can you beat the evil black space rectangle in the bullet hell vertical shooter? In Boss Battle, you will guide your ship through endless bullets and obstacles as you pump thousands of bullets and missiles into a boss that gets stronger each round. The game employs simple graphics and gameplay, but is ultimately a fun, short break game.

Goin Up is a new vertical-scrolling arcade platformer by Comix. Well... when I say "new", I guess I mean "recent" more than "novel". In truth, its gameplay feels more like a mish-mash remix of the mechanics of other releases than its own creation. However, what Goin Up lacks in innovation, it more than makes up for with style. After all, if I'm going to be steering my player-character into bombs to be propelled higher for the hundredth time, those bombs had better be darn pretty. And well... they are.

You like Dino Run SE, right? And Nanotube? Well, imagine a game that's nothing like either of those games but co-created by the makers of each. Imagining that? Now stop and check out Super Space Rubbish, a game that satisfies the wildest fantasies you've had since starting this review, and does so with a fantastic retro style. Super Space Rubbish looks a lot like the classic Asteroids game on the surface, but really it's a mining/upgrading sort of experience where you customize your ship using materials extracted from asteroids smashed with your turret.

The goblins are angry... again! They're rolling out the big runs to crush the humans beneath their very literal wheels. Big Block Games serves up an impressive new rendition of their original action physics shooter with this massive overhaul that brings awesome new weapons, minigames, new enemies, new areas, and much, much more, all wrapped up in one beautiful, snarky package.

It's not just apocalypse, it's the pocalypse, and zombies aren't the only thing you have to worry about in this beautiful, quirky little defense shooter from newcomers Green Pixel. Defend the city of New Hammerston against zombies, mutants, plant monsters, robots, and even vampires with an array of powerful weapons and abilities, and spend the cash you earn to upgrade your butt-kicking prowess.

If you've ever had sand kicked in your face at the beach by a vending machine, then this ridiculously over-the-top arcade game will provide some much needed closure. Unleash a massive array of upgradeable abilities and weapons, including volleyballs, lightning, guns, magic scythes, and lightsabers, to showcase the most "epic man vs vending machine" brawl ever.

I appreciate the specificity of Space Arcade: The Game's subtitle. I was seriously worried for a couple minutes that I was going to have to deal with Space Arcade: The Hit Broadway Musical. However, as much as I crave toe-tappin' hits and elaborate choreography, I enjoy Galaga-inspired pixel shooter action even more. This appears to be music-meister Matt McFarland's debut game release, and it's so much fun that maybe he should consider quitting his day job.

Nostalgia returns in Ragdoll Parashooter, a modern-day version of the classic games like "Sabotage" and "Paratrooper." Control your turret to take out waves of enemy paratroopers, helicopters, and transports. Upgrade your weapons and survive across six levels, playing minigames and earning achievements along the way.

Spite Cannon Reloaded is a truly casual game where you shoot cannonballs at various shapes with eyes and mouths. Play through 80 levels, complete with upgrades and a level editor. Can you unlock the lemur cannonballs and beat the game?

Forget Tremors and Sarlacci, you've got Death Worms to worry about! Indie developer Play Creek brings 2007's smash arcade hit to your browser with sleek new graphics, fifteen levels, achievements, upgrades, thirty different enemies, and all the fanged, gaping maws you've ever wished for.

You can keep your CGI mippy-maps and digitally inserted explosions. In my mind, what the best movie stunts need is non-negotiable: An actual dude, in an actual car, making actual jumps (possibly with an actual dude hanging from the rear axle with an actual whip). I suppose then it's a little contradictory that I turn to computer gaming to recreate this real-life experience, but Stunt Crazy, the new physics driving game by The Podge definitely has the right spirit... and a ton of stuff that goes boom. Can't forget that.

Since the dawn of time, man has collected. This arcade platformer plays right to this compulsion by encouraging players to load up on diamonds like it's going out of style as they try to climb to the top of an endless cavern. This isn't a pretentious art game or a brain-wracking escape, this is down-and-dirty arcade action through and through and it succeeds spectacularly on that level.

Take up the mantle of Gem Keeper and protect your glittery hoard from all comers in this official level pack from tower defense maestros Iriysoft. Make strategic use of three different terrains and towers, upgrading your offensive capabilities to stand firm against hordes of powerful enemies, each with their own unique abilities. Just remember, when the going get tough, the tough rain down a fiery hail of massive meteorites.

Monster Castle Defense is a retro-styled 2D tower defense game with cute little pixel graphics and a level of difficulty that will certainly get your attention. In order to keep the princess safe, you must deploy a series of creatures to fight off ever-advancing evil soldiers. Upgrade your warriors to bigger, badder fighters, and keep the hallways clear as you try to survive wave after wave of attacks!

Front Runner's protagonist would rather sit unaccosted on his asteroid outpost, playing his space-recorder, but all the quirky locals just won't leave him be. And as arcade games have taught us for years, such aggravation can only be answered by taking the wheel of an absurdly overarmed runabout and showing all comers what-for. It takes the vastness of space and turns it into a strange, colorful neighborhood of oddly shaped planets and goofy, irksome monsters. Empty space is rarely this lively, or this silly.

The shooter lives! Matt Roszak's Epic Battle Fantasy series steps out of its genre and into the shoes of the "bullet hell" arcade action greats. Unlock new characters, improve your abilities, earn challenging medals, or just last as long as you can in Survival Mode. Bullet Heaven is a fantastic example of the shooter genre doing what it does best; making you squeal "ohgeezohgeezohgeez" over and over again while you sweat bullets to match the hundreds onscreen.

Two years ago, Antony Lavelle released Upgrade Complete. A mix of shoot em up and space invaders, the games main purpose was to unsubtly parody one of the more obnoxious aspects of modern gaming: the inclusion of unnecessary and convoluted upgrade systems. Everything came at a price and had to be bought: weapons, graphics, music, buttons... even the pre-loader and Armor Games intro animation. However... it turns out that the developers weren't quite done... After all, what is an upgrade system without a sequel that requires you to restart your progress from the beginning? Thus comes Upgrade Completer, a game that advances the original's premise as much as its humor.

Fly and Blast asks you to choose between piloting a jet, a helicopter and a super-powered heavily armed flying exoskeleton within minutes of loading the game, all of which will serve you well in this side-scrolling shooter. Give Fly and Blast a shot if you enjoy flying or blasting. Just don't be surprised when you find yourself drawn to the battle suit.

Not Your War is a classic-style vertical shooter that feels like Robotron or Smash TV. Use the mouse and keyboard to control your small craft as you survive through 11 levels, taking on waves of enemy drones, fighters, and ships. Upgrade your ship and take down the Rhean forces in this challenging arcade title.

Notebook Wars 2 returns you to the world of sketch-drawn ships and fighters in an epic vertical shooter by Francisco Ferreres and Dream Forge. Control one of ten hand-drawn ships across 13 levels that look like something out of a teenager's sketchbook. Blow away the bad guys to earn cash to upgrade your craft and fly to victory.

You'd think it'd be clear by now that you shouldn't pick up a shiny gem when the statue holding it warns you of a curse. Sadly, Cactus McCoy, the titular protagonist of the new platformer from Flipline Studios, does just that, and the result is that he's been transformed into a walking, talking, punching Saguaro. So now, if he ever wants to make balloon animals again, he must return the gem to its proper location across the beautiful landscapes of the old west... all the way pursued by the mercenary gang that hired him to swipe the gem the first place. An excellent game for fans of westerns or beat-em-up adventures in general.

The winner of the 2011 Stanford Hackathon represents the theme of benevolence by putting you behind the wheel of a truck making deliveries for the local food bank. Stop in as many green areas as you can before time runs out to earn cash to upgrade your vehicle in simple ways. It's a simple but solid step in the right direction for new developer JacobG, and as his prize included a review by us, we talk about what was done right, and what could be improved.

Play a grim, roided-out minotaur in spandex briefs, kidnapped by the fascist oligarchs of Candyland to fight in their gladatorial combats, and resolved to launch himself with the combat ring's elastic ropes and propel himself to freedom, via grit, rocket shorts, and the gummi, pliable sproinginess of Candyland's fleeing citizenry. Top that, future launch game developers and purveyors of the bizarre!

GemCraft returns with this latest installment in the popular series that blends RPG elements with strategy and classic addictive tower defense. Descend into the labyrinth for your greatest test, with more skills, more achievements, more abilities, and more of the classic action that GameInABottle has perfected.

When a seed meteors into the ground, it finds itself in hostile terrain. Nasty-looking plants sit nearby, easy to provoke by the slightest bit of resource gathering. Defend your plant from the invading species in this fun take on tower defence games. You might even learn a thing or two...

If there's one sci-fi rank that has the highest level of awesome associated with it, it's "commander". Some of the greatest protagonists of all space-time have it appended to their name: Riker, Sisko, Adama... Keen. So it's only fitting that when puzzle-master Johnathan May chooses to surprise us with rocking a vertical-side-scrolling space shooter, that he should dub it Cosmic Commander. And let me tell you, it has a challenge more than worthy of its station.

Cactus takes weirdness to a whole new level in this game about car racing without any actual cars. Play as a naked man who just thinks he's a car, racing against other like-minded fellows, through this retro game that's weird, funny, and just plain weirdly funny from Adult Swim and the developer who brought you Stallions in America.

Icy Gifts has you freeing frozen presents using chain reaction explosions. It doesn't have a huge challenge or innovate in the genre, but it is a solid package. The visuals are slick and the soundtrack is pleasant. There's enough variety and objectives to keep a completionist busy and a causal gamer entertained. Consider this a late Christmas present.