Hot Air

Hot Air!, sometimes written as Hot Air, is Nitrome's first released game, which came out in 2005. It was one of the only few games that made it onto Nitrome 1.0. For a limited time, it was available for free download to the Nintendo Wii on Miniclip.

The goal of the game is to guide a hot air balloon to the finish pad by using a fan to blow it. Later, a sequel for the game (which also coincidentally Nitrome's first sequel), was released two years later, entitled Hot Air 2: All Blown Up.

Levels
Each level of Hot Air starts with Hot Air on a green pad. The goal of each level is to blow Hot Air using the mouse all the way to the red pad,avoiding enermies and obstacles. Any new enemies introduced are usually exclusive to their level. Any subsequent reappearances of enermies in the same installment would involve a new, novel way of integrating it into the level design.

Level Progression

Initially only the first level is unlocked. The remaining 19 regular levels can be unlocked by completing the level before it. Collecting all the Stars in a level rewards the player with 1 Star Token. The accumulation of Star Tokens unlocks the remaining 5 bonus levels.

Level 1
Stars:5

In the first level, the player must simply guide Hot Air through a coarse lined with spikes, it is in the shape of a backwards C. There are a few easy-to-reach stars to be collected.

Level 2
Stars:5 Locked Gates:2

In this level, the player must guide the balloon to two keys on the sides of the screen, then to the pad, while avoiding a giant blade. The stars here involve timing to reach, as well as the keys.

Level 3
Stars:6 Locked Gates:1(optional, access 1 star)

In this level, Hot Air must travel through a small tunnel around the screen to get to the finish. In order to get all the stars, the player has to go to the top, where there is a key, and go back to get a star behind a door.

Level 4
Stars:5

In this level, Hot Air must travel around some spinning balls on chains. Hot Air must travel in sync with the movement of the balls on chains. 4 chains can be tricky, and they move fast.

Level 5
Stars:4 The player has to go down, then into the pockets above, and get to the end while avoiding the rising and falling lava.

Level 6
Stars:4 The Player has to go through a six toothed monster, and avoid the crushing teeth.

Level 7
Stars:3 The player has to go through three spinning spike paths to get to the finish.

Level 8
Stars:4 The player has to get to the right side of the volcano while avoiding roaming fire shot from it.

Level 9
Stars:4 The player has to get to the finish pad as fast as possible before the walls crush the player, while making tight squeezes between spike balls.

Level 10
Stars:10 Locked Gates:5 Aggressive Enermy: Green bug Hot Air has to unlock 6 locked gates while being stalked by a green bug to land on the red pad.

Level 11
Stars:9 Hot Air has to race through an S-shaped curve while a spiked wall catches up from behind.

Level 12
Stars:2 Hot Air has to go through 3 small mouths.

Level 13
Stars:6

Level 14
Stars:10

Level 15
Stars:4

Level 16
Stars:4

Level 17
Stars:4

Level 18
Stars:5

Level 19
Stars:6

Level 20
Stars:3

Bonus 1
Stars:6

Bonus 2
Stars:5

Bonus 3
Stars:5 Locked Gates:5

Bonus 4
Stars:4 Locked Gates:1(optional, access 1 star)

Bonus 5
Stars:7

Interactive Objects
The interactive objects of Hot Air.
 * Stars - Found all around courses. After collecting all of them in a course, a star will be added to the count in the menu.

Enemies
Making contact with any enemy will cause the balloon to pop, forcing the player to restart the level.
 * Boy Axe - A giant blade will swing back and forth, and will pop the hot air balloon if hit.
 * Balls on chains - To avoid them, the player must move in sync with the movement of the balls on chains.
 * 6 Toothed Mouth Monster - The player can only progress to the end by going through the gaps made by the opened mouth of the monster.
 * Volcano - Spews out fire.
 * Fire - A small red bullet that hones in on the player when fired out of the volcano.

Hazards

 * Main Article: Hazards (Hot Air Series)

These dangerous objects will also pop the balloon.
 * Spikes - Come out of the ground, and are located in every level.
 * Lava - Orange and red liquid that will kill Hot Air on contact.
 * Spinning Spike Path - A circular path of spikes that turns around. One opening/exit of the Path is usually bigger then the other. It is considered to be one of the most dangerous hazards.

Trivia

 * The Miniclip version of Hot Air is also playable on The Nintendo Wii's Internet Channel.
 * The smallest passage that the ballon has to squeeze through in the game (and in the series) is at the beginning of level 24. The player only has a few free pixels to move around, but the area ony lasts for around 2 Balloon widths.
 * Although being the first game released, Hot Air might possibly be the hardest game nitrome ever released. However, 2 years later in 2007, Nanobots was released. Due to long levels and enemies, Nanobots is now considered Nitrome's hardest game.
 * Lee Nicklen (Hot Air’s composer) made 5 extra tracks when he made Hot Air.
 * 1) Extra Song #1
 * 2) Extra Song #2
 * 3) Extra Song #3
 * 4) Extra Song #4
 * 5) Extra Song #5
 * 6) Extra Song #6
 * Hot Air, along with Nanobots, has been claimed by many fans as the hardest Nitrome games.

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