It's the famed shooter series that transforms "shock and awe!" into "shock and draw!" Francisco Ferreres' Notebook Wars returns with the first Unity installment of the series: Notebook Wars Saga. The transition to a new engine means losing a lot of the features fans of the series have grown used to, but those looking for a stripped-down throwback or fun on a mobile screen should enjoy this new iteration of shooty fun.

You're the only soldier brave enough to lead the fight in the battle against the robot empire in Armor Games' free-to-play bullet-heck shooter for iOS. With upgradeable ships and gorgeous visuals combined with frantic action and a sense of humour, Gemini Strike is a flashy and fun arcade hit.

The vertical shooter that turn scribbles into spaceship and doodles into Death Stars is back for another round in Notebook Space Wars 2, by Francisco Ferreres. Not a revolution for Notebook Wars fans, but superior to its predecessors and a good time all the same.

Let's protect the Moon! Again! In this fast-paced, lasers-everywhere defence shooter you'll mow down wave after wave of intruders in order to save a big hunk of space rock – and with all those cool upgrades and unlimited futuristic ammo, that will be no problem at all.

Time to mow down some bad guys... in winter! Battalion Commander 2 is the sequel of the popular vertical shooter, now with 100% more snow. With all new soldiers, enemies and missions, this action-packed game will keep you entertained for a long time – that is, if you don't mind slaying cute little soldiers dressed in pink.

They say there's a safehouse on the other side of the city, but between you and it is an entire city full of zombies. In this vertical scrolling action game, play as one of two heroes and bash, blast, and even drive your way through stages filled with unique objectives, earning skills and upgrades. Though suffering from slow movement and grinding, Bloodbath Avenue is still a fun throwback to classic arcade games.

We only have one moon, so we must do our very best to protect it! So you'll jump into your Moon rover-type contraption, charge your space cannon and shoot some bad guys. with lots of upgrades, cool futuristic weapons and intense levels, That's My Moon is an action-packed, highly addictive shooter.

Do you want to rip through enemy defenses in a blaze of glory? Are you dreaming of ever-bigger automatic rifles and awesome napalm waves? Are you ready to play level after level until you finish each of the hundred adrenaline-fueled missions? Then report to your Battalion Commander and start blasting your way to military greatness.

Notebook Wars are back, in space form! Now with 100% more spaceships, tons of upgrades and spectacular boss fights! Get your vertical scrolling shooter action right here: blow away your enemies, buy your own space battle fleet and rule the universe!

King's Ascent is a vertical-scrolling action platform game that shows life on the throne is always uncertain, especially when giant skeleton beasts are chasing you up the tower. Gameplay is generally familiar, but the plotting has a deconstructive edge that should separate it from the pack.

Beautiful music, moonlight reflected on the sea and birds gliding on the wind: things that are peaceful and relaxing and sweetly simple. Not your typical arcade avoidance game. Yet this is what Ferry Halim of Orisinal succeeds at best. Use your mouse to control your flight, gathering little blue birds and floating stars while avoidance hazards in this lovely, peaceful excursion that also happens to be a game.

Notebook Wars 3: Unleashed, the latest in Francisco Ferreres' series of sketchy shooters, features twenty brand new levels of arcade action, and kicks the speed and challenge up considerably. More an expansion pack than a new work, but one that should keep players quite happy.

The Maestro has been waxing lyrical for weeks, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to finish his opus. Maybe a little nap will recharge his creative batteries... Dream Symphony is a vertical launch-like action game by Igor Kulakov and George Zarkua, where the higher you bounce, the closer you scale to musical perfection. Excellent sound design and a quirky visual style make for a game that'll be music to your ears.

Attention all doodlers! Drop your pen and strap yourself to the keyboard, because Francisco Ferreres is here with another in the series of hand drawn, top-down, vertical scrolling shoot-em-ups, Notebook Wars 3. Be prepared for the margins to run red, green, and blue with pencil shavings once more! Generally a refinement and extension of its predecessors, the addition of Keyboard controls and Frenetic Mode, which speeds up the pace of the game considerably, makes this a release that all shooter fans will find noteworthy.

In Sergio Alonso's shiny new bullet hell shooter, Boss Slayer, Ten alien starships have entered the solar system and you have 12 days to destroy these bad boys before they make their final approach to Earth. The game features an array of upgrades, of which each has a clear, immediate effect and it can be a lot of fun to watch your weak little ship transform so quickly into a beefy alien antagonizer. Boss Slayer isn't an innovative game by any means, but it understands the genre perfectly and serves up a smooth, streamlined gameplay experience.

A good story is great, but sometimes you just want to blow stuff up. In DN8: Pulse, a new shooter game from Squize, you are the commander of a puny little fighter who has to fight off swarms of enemy vessels if you want to survive. If you make it past the initial waves, you'll have the chance to upgrade your ship with extra shields, weapons, and even support pods and there are two upgrade paths, defensive and offensive. The clear selling point of DN8: Pulse are the graphics, done in Stage3D, which are unlike most anything you've seen in a flash game. The visuals are in a word, stunning. And it's a lot of fun to play a shoot-em-up that leaves the conventional retro pixelated setting and dares to take it to the farthest reaches of the universe for a truly immersive experience.

Guide a helpless, flightless, half-hatched baby bird from its nest to the safety of the ground below. Watch your step, slide down walls, and use powerups to avoid suffering too much falling damage in this simple, relaxing, vertical-scrolling platformer.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ferry Halim, in Orisinal's most recently released flash game, has recreated the pure enjoyment of an afternoon in the park, where puppies and bunnies frolic, in Carrot Track, a vertical scrolling, avoidance game delight.

Notebook Wars is a top-down, vertical scrolling shoot-em-up with personality and charm. It starts out a little slow, but it's not long before it picks up the challenge. And while the art style may be the main attraction here, the relaxed and casual shoot-em-up gameplay paired with lots of upgrades to outfit your ship with together make this little shooter shine. If you're looking for a nice and enjoyable, cool looking side-scrolling shoot-em-up, it'd be hard to go wrong with Notebook Wars.

So going uphill is hard, but what about going downhill?... only, y'know, without the "hill" part. Descend through levels of tricky terrain in a game that combines classic platforming with good ol' fashioned "save the princess" swashbucklery. And while you're at it, save the heroes too! By rescuing different heroes, you can assume their abilities, and unlock new ones, in your quest for treasure and glory in this clever new hybrid from Nerdook.