Reminder: Last chance to download Undertow for free
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Jan 27th 2008 at 12:45PM }
Yeah, we know. The whole "deep sea diver combat" genre peaked with Sega's largely unknown arcade masterpiece The Ocean Hunter, but still, it's rude to look a gift horse in the mouth -- or, rather, to look a free game in the drearily repetitive gameplay. If you haven't done it yet, today is your last chance to download Undertow on the XBLA marketplace for the cost of zilch. Who knows, you may dig it -- and if all it costs is a moment of your time to pick up, isn't it worth checking out? Let us know if free was the right price for the game -- and if it served as an appropriate apology for the recent hiccups in the Xbox Live service.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
antsmarching @ Jan 27th 2008 10:24PM
Second!
lordfavre @ Jan 27th 2008 12:53PM
And before someone comments "I already have this game!". Just call Xbox support...
1-800-4MY-XBOX
and they will give you 800 Microsoft Points! If your console is being repaired, they will give you a code!
konajinx @ Jan 27th 2008 1:31PM
Yeah, good luck finding someone whose first language is English when you call, let alone has even heard of Undertow. I called twice and both times the operators hadn't heard of this whole fiasco or the game Undertow itself. I got exasperated and just said to hell with it. What was I going to get instead, Spongebob? Hooray. Seriously, though, the lack of knowledge on the operators' parts regarding this mess was ridiculous, and you would have thought a memo or something would have gone out informing them of this situation.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 27th 2008 1:37PM
My friend had the same problem with a MS operator... they need to hire people who really know how to do their work.
Nintendo has the best customer service.
Huey2k2 @ Jan 27th 2008 12:52PM
Downloaded it, and I must say, it is pretty shitty.
Zarim @ Jan 27th 2008 1:05PM
I second this notion, it's like a really bad underwater geometry wars.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 27th 2008 1:08PM
I downloaded day one... and I second that motion... it is pretty shitty.
Fernando Rocker @ Jan 27th 2008 1:11PM
Quick english lesson for Fernando Rocker:
How is correct? I second that motion or notion? =(
SID SPACE @ Jan 27th 2008 1:15PM
Fernando,
You were right the first time. It's motion.
T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 27th 2008 1:28PM
I like that on the majors minute announcing this is free he never mentions why and claims that this is the first 16 player xbla game. Wrong Nelson that would be Wing Commander Arena. Game was okay especially for free though. Got my 200 points out of it.
Tiptup300 @ Jan 27th 2008 2:34PM
/me agrees, well they tried.
Brad Lee @ Jan 27th 2008 6:08PM
I don't get all the hate on this game. I tried the demo when it came out and it seemed okayish.
My only huge gripe was the fact that you and practically every enemy you fight is tiny on screen. I have to squint, and it's not like my HDTV all that small...
ill trooper @ Jan 27th 2008 6:12PM
Fernando - "I second that motion" is an actual term, but usage of 'notion' might be more accurate in this case, as you can also 'second the notion' that this game is shitty (like Zarim has), agreeing with Huey's 'notion'/assessment of the game being "shitty."
But if Huey had stated "I move that this game be permanently stricken from Xbox LIVE because it's so shitty," then saying "I second that motion" would be correct, as it would be as though it was being put up for a vote.
rv @ Jan 27th 2008 8:27PM
Yup. This game really sucks.
driven2sin @ Jan 27th 2008 11:38PM
it is terrible.. it makes it real easy on the first level to keep you there and then throws all this nonsense unbalanced worthless fighting at you.. you can kill everyone and it doesnt mean shit... base crap is gay
t_m @ Jan 28th 2008 10:09AM
You mean "Which is correct?"
;-)
Srayer @ Jan 28th 2008 6:46PM
I thought the game was spot-on, if the goal was to take the gameplay from Treasure's Bangaio and remove all of the style and fun.
Sam Zebian @ Jan 27th 2008 12:54PM
Too bad my 360's DVD drive is busted, it's still in the repair shop. Luckily, my friend is coming over today with his 360 (which I got for his birthday, was my old premium after I got the elite) and I still have my hard drive, so I guess I still can get it today.
flameofdoom666 @ Jan 27th 2008 2:22PM
You gave someone your used 360 for a birthday present?
Sam Zebian @ Jan 27th 2008 2:50PM
Yea, he's a good friend of mine, why not?? Plus, it gave me a reason to actually upgrade to the elite.
E.J. @ Jan 27th 2008 4:18PM
Must be a good friend to give a $300+ birthday present.
Joseph @ Jan 27th 2008 9:35PM
It is unbelievable to you two that someone would give a good friend an expensive present? Hell, I'd give a few of my friends a kidney if they needed it.
Sam Zebian @ Jan 27th 2008 9:45PM
@Joseph- Yeah, he didn't exactly "need" it, but I wanted to upgrade my 360 (the 360 I gave him had a disk drive that was getting louder and louder, I was running out of space on the Hard drive (movies), and I wanted a 360 with HDMI. All of my problems were solved when the Elite came out, so I bought one and gave him my 360.) Ironically, my elite is in Microsoft's repair setup right now (because of the disc drive) but he is happy with it. I even got to download undertow because he brought it over, even though my 360's not available to me right now. That's what friends are for, right??
Bourega @ Jan 27th 2008 12:59PM
I can't connect to xbox live to download the game! Pissed off!
BananaBoat @ Jan 27th 2008 1:08PM
Xbox Live is fine. Check your shit.
Oh and no, I would never, EVER, have payed for this game. Indie games are always a mixed bag, and this one is no different. It's free though so weeeeeeeeeee.
Obie @ Jan 27th 2008 1:08PM
I love how M$ offers a free game yet make no effort to inform players of this.
So most people will not get this game, even if they received lousy Xbox live service for the last month.
At least Nintendo send a message to all users when they need to inform them about stuff.
SID SPACE @ Jan 27th 2008 1:16PM
Seriously, that is some BS. I sent a thing to everyone on my friends list to let them know.
Dustin @ Jan 27th 2008 1:51PM
Microsoft did let everyone know, if you check your RSS feed. The "Inside Xbox" icon. Since it pre-loads when you log on, it takes about 1 second to check it every day, and Major Nelson let everyone know that the game is freeee for everybody.
Also, I don't understand the harsh criticisms this game has gotten. It's an XBLA game! It has an actually fun campaign (with a story line and voice acting), 16 player Xbox Live matches, and you can play through the campaign with a friend. It has three races and four classes that can be upgraded three times each. JEEZ! It has a lot going for it compared to the majority of the XBLA games out there. You really have to play Undertow for an hour or so before you can appreciate its gameplay. It took me a few minutes to actually understand what I was supposed to be doing, so just give it a chance, people!
Mike @ Jan 27th 2008 2:13PM
@Obie
It tells you right under the "Inside Xbox" button, which if anyone paid attention is pretty much the "Xbox news" area.
They announced it 2 or 3 times already.
Obie @ Jan 27th 2008 1:57PM
That "inside Xbox" is the worst way to inform players, seriously no one clicks on it. A simple systemwide personal message ( like when Xbox released the friends of friends option) would have job done a whole lot better.
E.J. @ Jan 27th 2008 4:20PM
Baby want his bottle?
Obie @ Jan 27th 2008 5:18PM
"Baby want his bottle?"
No need, your mom already fed me. :p
Shockgamer @ Jan 27th 2008 7:02PM
If you can't be bothered to click the flashing red icon that shows up everytime you see your dashboard, Microsoft can't be bothered to tell you about it.
Game sucks anyway.
NATO_Duke @ Jan 28th 2008 11:27AM
Dude, you're just bitching for the sake of bitching. They told us - and its right there when you log in.
I thought the game was alright. Not great, but for an XBLA game it looks great.
Derek Rudolph @ Jan 27th 2008 1:13PM
It is definately worth the free download. Geometry Wars style game play, power-ups, multiplayer game play, and, most surprisingly, cut scenes.
SID SPACE @ Jan 27th 2008 1:18PM
I thought it was decent enough for being free. Multiplayer is kind of fun at least. The voice acting, though, that's just awful.
sydeshow @ Jan 29th 2008 3:59PM
Well I already purchased the game and now I am in the process of trying to get the 800 Point compensation. Unfortunately, if looks like MS is trying to deny me the points by saying they have no record of ever purchasing it. This is not the first time its happened and I'm hoping they live up to it. I just hate the chain of command when trying to get any sort of compensation from MS about something that is obviously their mistake in record keeping.
Wii Nes @ Jan 27th 2008 1:24PM
The game? Average, at best. Worth downloading for free, but a slap in the face, really. A piss ass poor attempt at " saying sorry".
Why the hell not give points to us so we can download whatever we WANT, not a "so-so" game, that was selling poorly to begin with.
Seriously. A Punch in the BALLS is free. Should we all be happy if someone offers it to us because ti si free?
Just because it is free, doesn't mean it is a GOOD apology. Free points would have been an inelegant apology, not a so-so game that is not selling well for them in the first place. They screwed up this Christmas season, BIG time. Now they give a poor appology when they could have just given free points and we could all have used them however we WANTED.
I am giving away FREE PUNCHES TO THE BALLS ! So dont ANYONE complain...ok? They are FREE after all. Stupid FanBoys.
Delgado @ Jan 27th 2008 10:45PM
What a horrible argument.
Go troll somewhere else.
Esat @ Jan 27th 2008 1:23PM
I'm gonna be brutally honest here.
This. Game. Sucks.
Would have much rather preffered the points, considering xbox live messed up whilst I was downloading 300 and it expired before live went back up.
Lame.
ciscomancer @ Jan 27th 2008 1:30PM
I started the download on Wed night. Turned my box off and as i went to bed it went into low power mode to finish the download. The next day I had the RRoD.
Undertow killed my 360!
eugene @ Jan 27th 2008 2:04PM
Nah, it's just proof your r60 has good taste and that it would rather die than be forced to run this POS.
Drago Dracini @ Jan 27th 2008 1:42PM
It definatly could have been better. It's fun, but I would have preferred them to wait another week and give us Rez free instead. Then we would have gotten a classic.
T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 27th 2008 1:31PM
I hate to stick up for M$ at all but they did put up a pseudo majors minute with that tw@t Nelson in diving gear swimming in a pool saying it was free. But they should have sent out a mass message like they do for live downtime.
NvM @ Jan 27th 2008 2:12PM
I think it's pretty good.
Defiantly not worth the 800 points, but still pretty fun multiplayer for free.
Evan @ Jan 27th 2008 2:15PM
Thanks for the reminder, I totally forgot. Hopefully the game isn't as bad as all of these comments suggest.
Mike @ Jan 27th 2008 2:22PM
You really can't blame anyone but yourself if you feel you were misinformed, but failed to search for information on it.
Microsoft isn't obligated to give you a gigantic seizure-inducing message on your screen that says, "Come on and get your free game here!" with a huge arrow pointing to the Arcade section.
If you were bothered enough by Live's performance, you would bother yourself enough to see what Microsoft (did and didn't -have- to do) to "pay you back" for it.
Wilhelm @ Jan 27th 2008 2:31PM
What's with all this hate? I downloaded it the day it became free but never really bothered to play it because of all the negatives things I had heard about it, then last night I figured I might as well try it out anyways and I was greatly surprised... it was fun. Seriously. It took me a couple 'missions' or so to get the hang of it but I played through the first two acts. Haven't tried the multiplayer yet but I'm sure it will be good too.
I'll admit though, I wouldn't of bought it. But for free it's already offered me some quality enjoyment.
Wilhelm @ Jan 27th 2008 2:33PM
What's with all this hate? I downloaded it the day it became free but never really bothered to play it because of all the negatives things I had heard about it, then last night I figured I might as well try it out anyways and I was greatly surprised... it was fun. Seriously. It took me a couple 'missions' or so to get the hang of it but I played through the first two acts. Haven't tried the multiplayer yet but I'm sure it will be good too.
I'll admit though, I wouldn't of bought it. But for free it's already offered me some quality enjoyment.
Watership @ Jan 27th 2008 2:34PM
More people hate undertow now that's it free rather before when it was 10 bucks. At least then, people were saying it was an interesting underwater battlefield game. It's not art, but it's not SHIT either.