Mini-reviews for three of XBLA's recent releases; Undertow, Boogie Bunnies, and Switchball.

Undertow

Undertow is one of the first offerings from Chair Entertainment, a company containing many of the key members who worked on the team that created Advent Rising. The game is basically a side scrolling dual-stick shooter with a strong emphasis on team based and co-op play. Undertow is mission based with the majority of the missions revolving around the players team holding control points scattered across the level. Each team starts out with an equal amount of “tickets” (basically a numerical counter) and when one of the teams is holding fewer control points than their opponent, that team’s tickets begin counting down. When the tickets reach zero, that team loses.

The gameplay in Undertow feels fresh and new despite the fact that it is essentially another dual-stick shooter similar to Geometry Wars, Mutant Storm, and many others on XBLA. This is mainly due to the fact that although the controls are similar the team based concept and concentration on holding control points is completely different. I also found the setting and art direction of Undertow fresh and original. The game takes place in a Jules Verne style world conjured directly from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Undertow is a unique and addictive game. It really embodies everything I want to see in an XBLA game. The setting and level designs are particularly of note, but the real selling feature is the experience you have when playing with some friends on completive or co-op play. Undertow is a bit light on the single player side, but this is mainly due to how brightly the online modes shine. You may recall that Microsoft offered Undertow for free recently to make amends for the Xbox Live interruptions during the holidays. Even if you missed out on that offer Undertow is well worth the standard price of admission ($10) and I would highly recommend it.

Score: 89%