Altitude is Arcade Multiplayer Done Right

Altitude is fun.  What, you haven't heard of it?  Eat this:

Altitude is a fast-paced, online multiplayer aerial combat game with 2D physics-based gameplay and a cartoony aesthetic. It features 5 unique planes, a perk system inspired by CoD 4, crazy powerups, a map editor, and an account system that helps you find friends for maximum enjoyment.

That comes direct from the YouTube video, which you need to watch.

It's definitely good enough to warrant the 16.2 hours I've already put into it.  While the game does offer up the standard FFA and TDM gametypes, I rarely enjoy playing them, especially for long periods of time.  Instead, the core reason for Altitude's fun gameplay lies in the Ball gametype, which places two teams fighting over  a ball that must be passed, bounced, moved back and forth on a map until one team scores a goal.  The first to 6 goals win the map.

The 2D physics really add another element to the game too, such as stalling.  If your plane is moving too slow or trying to climb too high, it could stall, forcing you to afterburn out of the stall.  Players are given a limited amount of energy, which is taken when afterburning or firing weapons.  Knowing when to afterburn, fire, pass, slow down, etc., is important.  Energy management is key to success, as is timing the powerups and health powerups that spawn on the maps.

And, as more of a funny fact, Nimbly Games decided to do the anti Infinity Ward approach to marketing.

Dedicated servers unlike COD: MW2

It would seem that even small-time, two-man development teams are capitalizing on Infinity Ward's hailed development blunder.  Does it really help drive marketing efforts?  Probably not, but that doesn't mean that dedicated servers aren't a better way to go or that it isn't a funny comment to make.

Make sure you at least give the Altitude demo a try.  It's available on Steam.