Shoot 'Em Upside-Down: Orbital Gear

Orbital Gear? ORBITAL GEAR?!?!?! If you read that in a Solid Snake voice, you get a cookie. In reality, however, Orbital Gear has nothing at all to do with Metal Gear - except, I suppose, in the sense that both include mechs of some sort. But honestly, Orbital Gear has more in common with Mario Galaxy or Gravity Ghost than it does with Hideo Kojima's quietly creeping fever dream. It's a sidescrolling multiplayer shooter with an anti-grav twist. You and your opponents bounce around - right-side-up and otherwise - between planetoids while blasting away until smoking craters are all that remain. It's still a bit early, but it already looks like high-flying, head-spinning fun. Trailer below. Or maybe above. I'm not really sure how it works anymore.

Orbital Gear? ORBITAL GEAR? ORBITAL GEEEEEEEEEAAAA-- sorry, I got carried away again. Here's what it's all about:

"Orbital Gear is a multiplayer shooter where you utilize the gravitation of celestial objects to give your mech momentum through space. Arm your Mech with two of the twelve different weapons to destroy your enemies. Orbital Gear features classic multiplayer gameplay with new mechanics and 3D graphics."

"In the final version there will be four different mechs available and twelve different weapons to make use of in your battles with your opponents. We have classic deathmatch as the basis for multiplayer pandemonium but we also have our own special game mode called Orbital Warfare, a siege mode where you do battle with the opposing team where the goal is to destroy the opponents base."

So it's all fairly basic, but the potential for more layered strategy is definitely there. I find even just the surface-level possibilities of planetoid layouts and weapons that take advantage of the anti-grav environment quite enticing. We'll see, though.

Orbital Gear is in alpha right now, but you can sign up for the rapidly approaching beta on the game's website. I like what little I've seen so far. Here's hoping it continues to grow in that direction, whatever directions even are anymore.