Released in 1981 by Uko, Defend the Terra: Attack on the Red UFO is a fixed-screen arcade shoot ’em up that takes clear inspiration from Galaxian. Rather than just fighting standard waves of diving enemies, your primary objective is to slowly damage and defeat the giant alien mothership hovering at the top of the screen.
The game is played with a simple two-way joystick and a single fire button. In the browser version, use the Left and Right arrow keys to move your ship and Z, X, or Space to shoot. You must destroy the smaller defending UFOs to clear a path, then focus your fire on the mothership until its hull cracks and the stage is cleared.
A unique quirk of the game is that your laser shots actually curve and follow the movement of your ship after firing. You can use this bending effect to hit enemies at odd angles, but it also means you must be careful not to accidentally steer your shots away from the mothership when dodging return fire.
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