In Jets'n'Guns, you earn money by destroying enemies and picking up bonuses in each level. Between levels you can purchase weapons and devices for your ship, and upgrade them, provided you have enough money.
There are tons of weapons to choose from, and a great variety of devices to purchase and lots of ways to upgrade your ship. You'll be forced to experiment with their weapons in order to be successful. The game has no lives, so you can keep attempting a level until you beat it.
One of the reasons the developers chose to do a side-scroller, as opposed to a vertical-scroller, was so they could put in lots of visual humour. You can expect to see, among other things, spacefighters with knives strapped to them and various humorous signs. You can also expect most of the weapons in the weapon shop have advertising posters, emblazoned with messages such as "Ultimate destructive power!" or "As seen on TV!" Also, cultural references are scattered throughout the game, both in the equipment and the actual levels.
The side-scrolling nature of the game introduces an unusual strategy. When some enemy ships are shot down, they crash down onto enemies and buildings on the ground, often with devastating results. Killing ground troops often results in masses of blood and tiny body parts flying across the screen.
Upgrades
Between levels, you are given the option to buy upgrades for your ship. Some of the most vital upgrades are for maneuverability, speed, and cooling. You can also give your ship a new paint job for free. Another item is the Atarix, which gives you a chance to unlock crates found when you destroy transport ships during a mission. There are several upgrades that boost the ship's defense and provide slow armor regeneration, such as shields and nanomachines. Other upgrades give you bounties for killing certain enemies, and bonuses for mass killings of enemy troops. There are also upgrades that allow you to customize up to five different weapon profiles, which can be switched mid-game, or allow you to change the angle of your weapons to adapt to changing strategic situations.
Weapons
Between levels, you are given the option of buying weapons. As the game progresses, more weapons and items are made available. The fighter you start with only has slots for two front weapons and rather limited ship upgrades. The TMIG-226 has slots for one bombing system, one missile system, three front weapons, and one rear weapon. Some weapons can only be used in the front or rear slots. There is a large variety of weapons, ranging from flamethrowers to electro-balls to acid guns. Most weapons can be upgraded after they are bought. This may enhance power, projectile velocity, rate of fire, or the nature of the attack itself. When viewing the status of an individual weapon, meters are shown that indicate its power, heat generation and speed ratings.
Most weapons give off heat when fired, indicated by a heating gauge. This heat dissipates when firing ceases. If the needle passes the orange and then red zones of the gauge the ship overheats, and it will be unable to fire until the needle passes back behind the orange zone. This makes upgrading the cooling system essential. With an improved cooling system, the ship will take longer to overheat, and will cool down faster. Missiles and bombs do not generate heat. The rate of fire for missiles is determined by their upgrade level. Bombs are the only weapons that have a limit pertaining to how many can be fired at any given time. Each bomb that is dropped uses up a portion of a slowly replenishing "bomb meter;" the amount used by each bomb decreases with upgrades.