Play Vanguard Ace: Vertical Madness Online

Vanguard Ace: Vertical Madness is the kind of MS-DOS game that grabs you by the collar and doesn’t let go. One second you’re staring at a pixelated jet on the menu screen, the next you’re weaving through a storm of bullets while enemy planes swarm in from all sides. It’s got that classic arcade energy—no tutorials, no hand-holding, just you and a very angry sky full of things trying to shoot you down.

The controls are stupidly simple (arrow keys to move, space to fire), but don’t let that fool you. By level three, you’ll be sweating bullets trying to thread between enemy fire while snagging power-ups. The explosions are these satisfying little pixel bursts, and the soundtrack? Pure late-90s adrenaline. It’s like someone took the best parts of old-school shooters and cranked the speed up just enough to keep you on your toes.

Honestly, half the fun is seeing how long you can last before your palms get too sweaty. If you’ve ever lost an afternoon to games like 1942 or Raiden, this one’s right up your alley. Just don’t blame me when you realize you’ve been grinding for high scores for two hours straight.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".