Altitude (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Altitude is a multiplayer 2-D aerial combat game developed by independent software developers Erik Measure and Karl Sabo. The game was released on May 1, 2009 for Windows
, Mac OS X
and Linux
. It became available on Steam on December 4, 2009.
, Team Fortress 2
and an RPG
.
Altitude is primarily an online game with some offline skirmish options and bot support. There are several modes, and plane customizations.
, competing for the highest number of kills.
. The winning team is the team that reaches 6 goals first, or once a timer expires. A plane that carries the ball is slowed down, much like in Team base destruction. Generally considered the game mode for empty-headed muppets who can't cut it in TBD.
It's objective is to be the last plane left alive. There is also a round time limit.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
. It became available on Steam on December 4, 2009.
Gameplay
Players control one of five customizable aircraft and battle in teams across 2D landscapes. As a player gains experience in battle they unlock new planes and customizations called perks. The game has been described by the press as a cross between TeeworldsTeeworlds
Teeworlds is a free open source fast-paced sidescrolling multiplayer-only computer game. The game features simple cartoon-themed graphics and physics, and relies heavily on classic shooter weaponry and gameplay. The controls are heavily inspired by the First-person shooter genre of computer games...
, Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
and an RPG
Role-playing game (video games)
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
.
Altitude is primarily an online game with some offline skirmish options and bot support. There are several modes, and plane customizations.
Free For All (ffa)
The players compete in a timed deathmatchDeathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, competing for the highest number of kills.
Team Deathmatch (tdm)
The players are divided into two teams, competing for the highest kill total in a specified amount of time.Team Base Destruction (tbd)
In Team Base Destruction or TBD, players try to use a special bomb to destroy the enemy's base while protecting their own bases from the bomb. Planes must pick up the bomb and "bomb run" it into enemy territory with or without escorts to score a hit on the enemy's base. The bomb runners are always at a disadvantage due to the fact that a plane carrying a bomb is slowed down which makes it more vulnerable to enemies. bombs spawn at either base and can only be used by that team and will be simply disarmed instead of picked up or spawn in the middle of the map where any team can use it. if the bomb hits something else other than a base it will most likely instakill it due to the fact that the bomb does extremely large amounts of damage.Ball
Ball mode utilizes a single persistent ball and a goal for each team. Every time a goal is scored all planes are reset and the ball is given to the team that just conceded the goal. At the beginning of the match the ball is placed in the middle of the mapLevel (video gaming)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
. The winning team is the team that reaches 6 goals first, or once a timer expires. A plane that carries the ball is slowed down, much like in Team base destruction. Generally considered the game mode for empty-headed muppets who can't cut it in TBD.
One life deathmatch (1dm)
This game mode is similar to normal deathmatch, with the exception that players will not respawn until the round is completed.It's objective is to be the last plane left alive. There is also a round time limit.
One life demolition (1de)
The one life demolition game type sets up the teams in an attack/defense scenario, where one team has to plant a bomb on the defender team's base, and the defenders have to stop them. The teams switch places after a number of rounds, swapping the attackers and defenders.One life team base destruction (1bd)
The one life tbd mode is similar to the normal tbd type, but with one life per round. The one life game types are all round based.Reception
- Altitude received favorable reviews at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which gave it a metascore of 79/100 (based on 6 critic reviews) and a user score of 9.1/10 (based on 52 user ratings). - PC Zone magazine in the UK commented that it is "a great little indie game, it's cheap and you really should play it."
- IT Reviews called it "the perfect lunch break filler, with its fast paced action and quick turnaround matches."
- AceGamez said that "Altitude's simple premise hides behind a deceptively difficult game, but one that's easily learned and enjoyable to engage in." The site added "more might have been better, but what is here does last, just so long as it's taken in the right doses."
- Finalist at the 2010 Penny Arcade ExpoPenny Arcade ExpoThe Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
- Winner of Technical Achievement and Gamer's Choice Awards at the 2010 Indie Game Challenge