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Desert Gun
沙漠炮击
Desert Gun is a 1977 arcade shooter from Midway in which the player controls an anti-aircraft cannon positioned at the bottom of the screen. Enemy targets — including planes, helicopters, and other aircraft — fly across the sky at varying speeds and altitudes, and the player must aim and fire to shoot them down before they pass. The cannon rotates to track targets, and players must time their shots to account for the angle and movement of each enemy. Scoring is based on how many targets are successfully hit. Difficulty increases as the game progresses, with faster and more numerous targets appearing. The game uses a simple joystick or rotary control to aim the cannon, making it accessible while still requiring accurate timing.
- Developer
- Midway
- Released
- 1977
- Platform
- Arcade
- Genre
- Action
- Players
- 1P
- Rating
- 4.6 / 5 (3.3K)
- Last updated
Desert Gun Controls — Arcade Keyboard Keys
Default keyboard bindings for Desert Gun on our in-browser Arcade emulator. Plug in a USB or Bluetooth gamepad to auto-detect mappings, or rebind any key from the emulator settings menu.
| Keyboard | Console button | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| ↑ | Joystick Up | Move up |
| ↓ | Joystick Down | Move down |
| ← | Joystick Left | Move left |
| → | Joystick Right | Move right |
| X | Button 1 | Primary action (jump / confirm) |
| Z | Button 2 | Secondary action (attack / cancel) |
| S | Button 3 | Tertiary action |
| A | Button 4 | Quaternary action |
| Q | Button 5 | Fifth button |
| W | Button 6 | Sixth button |
| 5 | Insert Coin | Insert coin |
| 1 | 1P Start | Start / Pause |
Coin and Start are convention "Insert Coin: 5" and "1P Start: 1". Some arcade boards expect specific button mappings — check the in-game prompts on coin-up.
Rebind any key from the EmulatorJS in-game settings menu (gear icon → Controls). A connected gamepad auto-maps to the same buttons.
Desert Gun Longplay & Gameplay Videos
Watch a full playthrough of Desert Gun on Arcade before you dive in — recommended for getting a feel for the game's pacing, story beats, and difficulty curve.
Watch longplay on YouTube
"Desert Gun" Arcade longplay 1977
External references
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Desert Gun released?
Desert Gun was released in 1977 for the Arcade.
Who developed Desert Gun?
Desert Gun was developed by Midway, available to play in your browser on RetroGameSpace.
How many players does Desert Gun support?
Desert Gun is a single-player Action game for the Arcade.
What type of game is Desert Gun?
Desert Gun is a Action game for the Arcade, playable instantly in your browser — no downloads, no installs.
How can I play Desert Gun for free?
Open this page and click "Play Now" — Desert Gun runs free in your browser via WebAssembly emulation. No account, no payment, no installer.
Do I need to download anything to play Desert Gun in the browser?
No. Desert Gun streams from a public archive into a browser-side Arcade emulator. Nothing is installed on your computer.
Can I save my progress in Desert Gun?
Yes. Save states are stored in your browser (IndexedDB) per game, and you can also use any in-game save the original Arcade cartridge supported.
Does Desert Gun work on mobile devices?
Yes — the Arcade emulator runs on iOS Safari and Android Chrome. Touch controls overlay the game; landscape mode is recommended.
Is it legal to play Desert Gun this way?
RetroGameSpace is a transient caching reverse-proxy and does not host first-party copies of Desert Gun. Game files are fetched on demand from publicly-accessible archives. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws and the bring-your-own-ROM principle.
