Very fun with just enough challenge to make you want to play it one more time.
Dead Moon provides powerups as four different main weapons and two auxiliary weapons. The main weapons are lasers that tend to provide either good coverage of the screen or high power. The auxiliary weapons consist of either homing missiles or orbs that reflect most bullets. All the weapons have 4 levels of power that are increased by obtaining powerups of the same type as the weapon you have. If you get a powerup from a weapon of a different type, the weapon you have will change to that weapon at the same level of power as your previous weapon. This is also true of the two auxiliary powerups.
Dead Moon is a bit more forgiving than many shoot-em-ups in that when you get hit you lose one level of weapon powerups rather than losing a life. The auxiliary powerups stay at their level until you lose a life at which time they lose two power levels. Although powerups are pretty common the game is still far from easy as the action stays frantic throughout.
Dead Moon is criticized for not having variable difficulty levels, no two player options, and lacking environmental hazards. This is made up for in the fast, furious gameplay, by only taking one level of weapons away from you when you get hit, letting you choose the speed of your spacecraft, and giving just the right amount of challenge for a middle skill shooter player like me.
Dead Moon provided the perfect level of challenge for me to keep giving it one more go until I made it through all 6 levels. It has ignited an interest in me for old school side scrolling shooters.