Undertow

The Xbox Live Arcade is a common location for a variety of old-school ports and coin-op titles, but every now and then, gamers are treated to brand new IPs from independent developers. Sometimes these titles can leave a bit to be desired, but once in a while, you’ll find a great diamond in the rough that reminds you that Microsoft’s platform is indeed capable of bringing some great indie games to the masses.

Undertow is one such game. Developed by Chair Entertainment, Undertow mixes the shooting elements of arcade classics like Smash T.V. and Robotron 2064 and adds the spawn-point elements of the Battlefield series for a fresh and addicting action game with some excellent online capabilities. If you’re looking for the right XBLA title to download in the post-Christmas crawl, then Undertow is definitely a worthy purchase.

For an Xbox Live Arcade title, Undertow has a surprising amount of story-driven narrative added throughout. The world has been completely flooded, leaving several races to vie for supremacy over the seas. These races include the Atlantians, who are a magical race that use mystical weaponry against their foes, the Nemodians, who follow in the footsteps of Captain Nemo, and the militant Iron Marines. Each one feels that they are the proper rulers of the oceans and will stop at nothing to regain power.

The benefits that each race has over each other come into play with four different units that you’ll have throughout the game. You’ll get units that have their own strengths and weaknesses, requiring you to employ some strategy to your methods on the battlefield.

Undertow controls a bit like a shooter on a 2D plane, using the left thumbstick to move your character around the screen and the right thumbstick to shoot off in whichever direction. The gameplay feels quite familiar to another Xbox Live Arcade title, Geometry Wars, so players of that title will immediately feel at home with Undertow. The gameplay has you controlling a single unit in the middle of a larger-scale battle, requiring you to capture spawning points for your side of the fight. This has the give-and-take elements of the Battlefield series, adding a great sense of intensity to the game’s 15 levels.

The game’s online component truly shines in Undertow. You’ll be able to stage large-scale battles online with matches hosting up to 16 players, taking advantage of the three races and their unique units. Additionally, you’ll be able to tweak the match settings before you battle it out, allowing you to factor things like bots and so on before you go on.

Graphically, the game is very impressive as well. Using the Unreal Engine 3, the game benefits from great lighting effects that capture the overall feel of the game and the universe it presents. The environments are also quite detailed and have all kinds of destroyed elements to let you know the collapse that the world has gone through.

The sound effects are also quite good, with the cutscene voice acting sounding well done and the music and sound effects keeping with the game’s overall mood.

Undertow is a fun and engaging downloadable title with some great online elements and addicting gameplay. The game’s unique look represents the world well and takes advantage of its powerful engine. If you’re looking for a great online game to play on your Xbox 360 in the upcoming slow months, you need only to check out Undertow.

Gameplay: 9.0
Undertow offers up a great campaign mode with a full-fledged story that keeps the pace up. The gameplay crosses Battlefield with Geometry Wars for a surprisingly addictive single-player element.

Graphics: 9.0
Undertow may not have the overall graphical punch of its Unreal Engine 3 brethren like Mass Effect or Gears of War, but it does use the engine quite effectively with some great looking environments and superb lighting effects, for an aesthetic that easily rivals most retail games out there.

Sound: 8.5
The voice work is quite good, as are the sound effects and mood-setting music.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 9.0
A title that truly shows how an independent game can shine on Xbox Live Arcade.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Undertow’s multiplayer element is very surprisingly deep, allowing 16 players online as well as several different tweakable elements, great maps and the option for system link play.

Overall: 9.0
With solid gameplay, a fun story, and a great online component, Undertow is a great addition to anyone’s Xbox Live Arcade library.