Air Warfare

Air Warfare hands over a single aircraft parked in the middle of the screen and then drops the whole sky on it. The guns fire on their own, without a trigger to hold, so the only real decision left is where the fuselage should be standing a second from now.

Titles in this lane are won by reading gaps rather than by aiming. Enemy fire arrives in patterns with a shape to them, and once the shape of a volley is recognisable the dodging stops being a panicked swerve and becomes a narrow route planned two beats ahead. Newcomers usually die trying to clear every target on screen, when letting a couple through and staying alive pays far better.

A mouse gives finer control than a thumb on glass, though a phone works if the finger rests low near the bottom edge and moves in short nudges instead of long sweeps. Runs end quickly and restart instantly, which is exactly what the shooting shelf here is stocked for: something to pick up for five minutes and put down again with nothing left hanging.