Major Nelson just pinged us to let us know that Undertow has been pegged as the game that will be offered for free as an apology for the recent troubles on Xbox Live. If your unfamiliar with the game, it's essentially a 2D version of Battlefield ... only underwater. Players engage in class-based shooter action in order to capture control points and drain their opponents' resources. It's also one of the best looking games on Xbox Live Arcade and supports 16 players online. To put it simply: it was a good choice by Microsoft. The game will be free for download starting next Wednesday, January 23 at 2:00 am Pacific and will remain free through Sunday, January 27 at 11:59 am Pacific.
The big question is whether or not this $10 game will serve to quiet the angry throngs of gamers that have been denied their Xbox Live. Come to think of it, the bigger question may be whether or not those who download Undertow will actually be able to play it online next week. Let's hope so.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
1-18-2008 @ 12:37PM
Louis said...
No, the real question is whether Live will even work for the people trying to download this. I still get problems logging into Live
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1-18-2008 @ 3:28PM
pkilla said...
So with all this talk have anyone who already had the game called MS yet? What was the outcome?
1-18-2008 @ 12:37PM
:( said...
I was kind of hoping they'd wait and give us Castle Crashers...
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1-18-2008 @ 12:41PM
HHHawk said...
NO, the real question is what will the Xbox Team do if you already have purchased Undertow (like me)? Now I could get a free game I already own? WTF is that. I'm assed out it would seem. INVESTIGATION!
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1-18-2008 @ 12:56PM
Big Orange said...
Absolutely! What about us! We already paid for it...that does me no good at all.
Why not just go through and credit the gold accounts 800 points if they own undertow?
1-18-2008 @ 12:58PM
SAGExSDX said...
they've stated that you should contact customer support if you already have the game. i'm thinking they'll recredit your account with 800 points
1-18-2008 @ 1:40PM
wtfmate? said...
yeah, i'll chime in here... i already own it and i'm pissed... i hope you're right sage... i'm definately calling and i'm definately gonna bitch about it... i better get something! lol
1-18-2008 @ 4:44PM
Jon said...
Yeah this is bull. I already own this game. I filed a complaint through the better business borough a week ago and they called me this week to "straighten things out." But they have yet to offer anything, I'm waiting on a followup phone call.
1-18-2008 @ 12:42PM
Porkfist said...
For the subscription price and the service Xbox live provides, I am very happy with the offer of Undertow.
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1-18-2008 @ 12:42PM
J said...
I played the demo for this and it was pretty lame... Oh, well. No biggie.
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1-18-2008 @ 12:59PM
Larry *not allowed to say cheevo* said...
I tried the demo,the graphics looked great, it was an interesting idea. I just didn't really like the game. It wasn't fun. Now, the upside to that is that I never bought the game. I more concerned with the people who already bought it. Seems unfair for them. Points would have been more appropriate.
1-18-2008 @ 12:44PM
Peter said...
I don't want this shitty game. I want a refund. I already own all the of the XBLA games that I want, so anything they can give me from that service is useless crap that I don't want taking up my HDD space. Give me a refund or Microsoft Points, then I'll be happy. Give us the option of either this crappy game, or the equivalent price in Microsoft Points, then I'll be happy.
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1-18-2008 @ 12:45PM
Louis said...
Yeah, this game is getting good reviews, but I really didn't like the demo.
Give me Microsoft points, or at the very least, just add 3 months to my subscription.
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1-18-2008 @ 12:52PM
RudyHuxtable said...
For $5 more they coulda just given us an Xbox Original or 1200 points. Which i would have preferred. In the long run what is the difference? Doesn't the publisher of Undertow lose out since they're now not getting moolah for their game (or does Microsoft pay them for the game to buy it out)? How does that even work?
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1-18-2008 @ 12:56PM
wei said...
I wonder how I'll be downloading this game during that short time-period, since my 360 red-ringed for the fourth time earlier this week.
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1-18-2008 @ 1:31PM
Kev said...
Maybe you could go to a friend's house, recover your gamertag, and download it? The game will be tied to your gamertag so you can re-download it on your xbox when you get it back. Not an ideal solution but it should work.
1-18-2008 @ 1:57PM
CARNAGE RULES said...
Stay away from this guy. He either has the worst luck on the planet or is entertainment center doubles as an oven. Wei, you're being dismissed as an xbox owner when your 360 comes back, sell it. You are no longer allowed to own one. You are dismissed, sir.
1-18-2008 @ 2:01PM
wei said...
@CARNAGE: Haha, thanks! Actually I started keeping my 360 outside of the entertainment center, stood vertically on the floor, after all my troubles. But yes, I'd suggest you stay away. I tend to have horrible luck with these types of things.
1-19-2008 @ 7:17PM
James said...
Heh, I hear ya -- my second RRoD console went back about a week ago, so I'd be surprised if I have it in time to get the free download. And I don't think I have any friends with a 360... hrm, maybe I can talk the guys at EB into using theirs briefly? Or maybe I'll just call up customer service and explain how I've been bent over and screwed twice ;-)
1-18-2008 @ 12:56PM
Jim Perry said...
not a bad move, but far be it from being a great move. I think a better solution would have been 1600 marketplace points. That way we could spend them how we want. I think for the problem lasting at least 2 weeks, we should have gotten $20 worth of trouble.
Also it would have perhaps helped their video marketplace. The 1600 pts would allow people to perhpas spend it towards Movies, and give the service a trial run. HD movies are $1 more per movie than Itunes. I have yet to download a movie/TV show. I can watch a TV show streamed for free on NBC, ABC etc. or watch it for free on TV, and you mean to tell me, you want to charge me over $2.00 to watch it on LIVE? It would be too big of strain on their servers, but if I can rent a movie from the Red Box service for a $1, then I should be able to watch a movie on marketplace for $1, and watch a TV show for 25 or 50 cents. Give us better pricing models...
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