Sky Ace

Sky Ace is a sideways-scrolling biplane shooter in a sunny storybook sky. You fly Biscuit, a cheerful pilot dog, in a red biplane whose pea-shooters fire on their own, so all you think about is where to fly. Steer with the keyboard, let the plane follow the mouse or drag a finger anywhere on the screen. A loop-the-loop makes you untouchable for a moment and sprays peas all the way round, which is the answer to planes that sneak up behind you, and a small supply of bombs takes out balloon anchors, zeppelin docks and searchlight towers on the ground.

Eight stages run from sunrise meadows over a seaside, a red rock canyon, a thunderstorm where you dodge the lightning, a night city full of searchlights, snowy peaks and a floating castle to the mothership zeppelin itself. Wind-up robot planes fly in formations, hot-air balloons drop sandbags, zeppelins carry bubble cannons, kites cut across your path, bird flocks are for weaving through rather than shooting, and Captain Whiskers, the squadron ace, duels you with barrel rolls. Every stage ends with a boss, and nothing you wreck gets hurt: robots and cat pilots pop a parachute and float home.

Power-ups add twin guns, homing rockets, a tail gunner pup, an engine boost and a repair wrench. You have three lives, a checkpoint halfway through each quick stage and a medal for every stage you finish without a hit. Once the campaign is done, Endless Patrol sends endless waves your way in a chase for the high score, and the Daily Patrol gives everyone the same course for the day. P pauses and M mutes.