WOFF! Winter Shoot-Em-Up Poll (Patreon)

It's time for you to help us pick a game, this time from a genre that we've never covered. Shoot-em-ups were mainstays of arcades, and they've had a passionate following ever since. We've found five examples from popular series, and it's up to our backers to narrow the field down. We will play whichever game wins and cover it in March of 2018.

The deadline for the vote is January 26, 2018 so you have plenty of time. Here's a rundown of our candidates. Click on the title of each game for a longplay, just to get a feel.

• Gradius II (Konami, 1988). A side-scrolling arcade shooter with huge stages and huger enemies. Available on PSN.
• Ikaruga (Treasure, 2001).  Treasure's followup to Radiant Silvergun, this top-down shooter introduces a black/white polarity system for dodging bullets and damaging enemies. Available on Steam.
• Jamestown (Final Form Games, 2011). A modern indie take on the genre, with a steampunk vibe. Available on Steam.
• Life Force (Konami, 1986). The NES version of Salamander, a side series to Konami's Gradius. Available on Virtual Console.
• Super R-Type (IREM, 1991). An SNES port of R-Type II, an example of the side scrolling form of shoot-em-ups, with tons of upgrades and options.