Alpha Guns — Play Free Online

Alpha Guns is a side-scrolling run-and-gun shooter in the spirit of Metal Slug. You control a single armoured soldier, push from left to right, and shoot whatever gets in the way. It is a very different animal from the bouncing and climbing games that Doodle Jump is known for, but it shares the same appeal: a simple goal, instant restarts and a reason to try one more time.

The game is credited to Rendered Ideas and runs in the browser with nothing to install. A session is a short push through hostile territory, so it suits a few spare minutes as well as a longer sitting. If you like reflex games where positioning matters as much as aim, it is a good change of pace from the vertical jumpers on this site.

How to play

This is a keyboard game. Use the left and right arrow keys to move, and the up and down arrows to look or aim in those directions. Press A to jump and S to shoot. Because the aim keys are separate from the movement keys, you can keep running while you fire upward at something on a ledge.

A round is a steady advance: move forward, clear the enemies in front of you, jump over hazards and keep going. Treat the jump and shoot keys as a pair, since most threats need both a gap in the ground and a shot at the same moment.

Tips

• Learn the A and S keys by feel. Resting your fingers on them lets you keep your eyes on the screen.
• Look up before you walk into a new area. Enemies above you are easy to miss in a side-scroller.
• Jump to dodge rather than just to cross gaps, and fire while airborne so you are never standing still.
• Do not rush ahead of the screen. Clearing the current enemies first is safer than running into the next group.

Similar games on Doodle Jump

If you want something with the same arcade pick-up-and-play feel but a different mechanic, try Helix Jump, where you guide a falling ball down a tower, or Bouncy Basketball for a quick one-button sports game. Fireboy and Watergirl swaps shooting for co-operative puzzle solving, and Doodle Jump itself is the vertical-climb original that this site is built around.

Alpha Guns suits players who prefer a keyboard and like short, action-heavy runs. It is less comfortable on a touch screen because it relies on four direction keys plus two action keys.