Undertow - XBLA Game Review

Undertow is the game that Microsoft gave away free because the servers that XBox Live uses seem to be powered by the tried and tested method of a tightly wound elastic band. From I picked up an XBox 360 until, well, possibly now, someone forgot to wind up the elastic band and the experience on Live has fallen between somewhat usable at random times and none.

Anyway, Undertow.

Undertow is a game.

It features controls and graphics and sounds and a score system.

Sorry, correction:

Undertow is a bad game.

It features frustrating controls and terrible graphics and annoying sounds and a score system that makes no sense.



You're a deep sea diver (or something) and you have to stop pirates from capturing your bases or areas or whatever the hell they are. I wasn't paying attention because I was too busy being stunned by the terrible graphics.

I have to be honest, I didn't even finish the first level or even get killed, because I turned it off after a few minutes and then wished that Microsoft had given me 400 points instead or Sensible World of Soccer or Switchball instead.

Undertow is free for the next week but it's hardly worth the effort to access Marketplace and scroll to it. Instead, you should lament your downtime and buy Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This game is truly fun and although it will cost money, it's not Undertow.

I also recommend Switchball, Screwjumper or Sensible World of Soccer. Games beginning with "s" seem to be a safe bet on XBLA.

Anyway, if you have a slow connection, Undertow isn't even worth the time it takes to download it and I can't think anyone would have bought this on its first outing, never mind as a free download.