shoot 'em up

shoot 'em up

A video game genre in which the objective is to shoot a large number of enemies while maneuvering to avoid their attacks, especially by controlling a single spacecraft or aircraft. I used to love playing shoot 'em ups at our local arcade growing up. It required such quick reactions and skill that you really felt accomplished when you made it all the way through!
See also: shoot, up
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

shoot ’em up

1. n. a Western action movie. Most films are more sophisticated nowadays than the old shoot ’em ups.
2. mod. having to do with a Western action film. He was a shoot ’em up star in the thirties.
See also: shoot, up
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • shoot ’em up
  • shmup
  • RTS
  • run of play
  • be fast on the draw
  • be fast/quick on the draw
  • keep your friends close and your enemies closer
  • fire at will
  • throw (one's) weight about
  • throw your weight about/around
References in periodicals archive
It found that driving games could activate more brain regions involved in emotional processing than shoot 'em ups.
Racing games 'lead to aggressive behaviour'
With a thousand and one shoot 'em ups out there, it's a worrying prospect that this classic may be drowned out by others' mediocrity or ignored by post credit crunch savers.
Bitz
A study showed the almost 30-year-old classic easily beat hi-tech shoot 'em ups like Grand Theft Auto and Tomb Raiders.
OLD GAME IS HARD TO BEAT
Sure there are some OTT slow-motion shoot 'em ups and ridiculous high- speed action, but then that all adds to the melting pot that is the summer popcorn movie.
GO: CINEMA: I-CLASS ACTION
Games are now both very intricate if they're strategy games, or stunning in their visuals if they're shoot 'em ups or adventure games.
The game's the thing, and don't keep it to yourself
Shoot 'em ups (Doom), life 'em ups (The Sims), even boat 'em ups (Microsoft Sailing Simulator) - they're all available.
Bitz; Your guide to the top games of the week
TIRED of outer space shoot 'em ups, where you get to be any variation on a Star Wars, Star Trek space opera hero?
AQUA LARK; AQUANOX2: Revelation PC
In fact, most of the emotion and intellect of its predecessors have had to make way for shoot 'em ups and explosions.
GO: CINEMA: ARNIE - THE GAG MACHINE
So far, so jolly hockey sticks and lashings of ginger beer, but this is a welcome break from all the twentysomething shoot 'em ups out there and gives eight to 12 year olds a game they can play.
192 Games: FIRM FAVOURITES; Who needs the SPL with this?
Like traditional shoot 'em ups, there are bigger end-of-level bosses to nuke and a choice of missions for you to tackle.
WEEKEND: BYTE SIZE: This is definitely Contra to great shoot 'em ups; Review
Proof positive that the PC is the place for shoot 'em ups. Relentless arcade action.
Games Review: THE BEST AND WORST OF 2001
Mums will snap these up for Christmas for the little 10-year-old darlings of their lives - who are probably already well into playing Quake III shoot 'em ups with some dodgy guys in LA over the Net.
192: A desperate attempt by the ultimate bimbo to get street cred; Blonde Ambition
CHOICE: Whether you prefer racing games or shoot 'em ups, you could create your own games with the 3D Game Maker
byte size: Create your own games
French game makers don't do shoot 'em ups. They do art.
GAMES; A load of ants EMPIRE OF THE ANTS PC CD ROM P
LBP2 expands the original's DIY tools to let you create not just levels but complete games, from RPGs to shoot 'em ups. You may never need another PS3 game!
SACK IT TO 'EM; SURREAL, CLEVER AND CUTE, SACKBOY RETURNS BETTER THAN EVER