The most excellent thing about Gamma Bros. is the enemies don't come from a single direction. It can take some getting used to, but its not a vertical or side-scrolling game, you travel in one direction, but the enemies come from all sides. To counter this willy-nilly enemy appearance, your ship has several guns. While control is kept with the arrow keys, you shoot with the [WASD] keys. That means - and this can take some getting used to - you can shoot left while moving right, or shoot up while moving down/left.

Once the control scheme is down-pat, you are left essentially to fight the enemy hordes by yourself. Your brother helps occasionally (when flying past, you can nab his ship for a full shield upgrade). And other bonuses like buying stuff off a travelling salesman (do this whenever possible, buy the most expensive thing first) through collecting coins and gems adds depth to the game.

While it is extremely enjoyable, the sections without music can become tinny with old-school sound effects and the boss levels are incredibly hard (but oh, so satisfying). That said, it's definately one of the greatest shoot 'em ups available in the freeware market. Get it today.