Starship Hector is a shoot 'em up game for the Nintendo Entertainment System where players control a spacecraft armed with a standard laser and a separate ground weapon. Players must skillfully manage both weapons to combat aerial and ground enemies across multiple stages. The game features a shield meter that can be replenished by defeating specific foes, with gameplay alternating between top-down and side-scrolling perspectives.
Your ship is equipped with both a standard laser and an independently fired ground weapon, which you must coordinate to defeat ground and aerial enemies. A shield bar keeps track of your damage and you can replenish it by defeating certain enemies, but otherwise its just you, your ship and several stages of alien enemies that alternate between top-down and side-scrolling perspectives.