Xbox Live Arcade To Get Chair's Undertow

Microsoft has confirmed that undersea battle action title Undertow, the first Xbox Live Arcade game from former Advent Rising developers Chair, will be added to the service as part of its regular Wednesday Live Arcade updates. The game features a 15-level single-player mode and a co-op campaign with two multiplayer modes for up to 16 participants. Players can choose one of four upgradeable unit types, each balanced for individual strengths and weaknesses. They then earn points for adding upgrades by killing enemies, completing objectives, and taking checkpoints in conquest-style battles. As recently reported, in a Gamasutra interview, Chair co-founder Donald Mustard said the title, built using Unreal Engine 3, is intended to breathe new life into 2D game design. "[We're] taking next gen tech – Unreal 3 and the power of the Xbox 360 – and applying it to these more simple or even more old school game designs," said Mustard. "We don’t have a lot of 2Ds or side-scrollers anymore. Right when we got to the epitome of 2D game design, the PlayStation came out. It’s kind of been dead for the last 15 years, and now we can take a lot of those design points that were around at that time and apply really awesome next gen stuff to them and really make some incredible games for $10. It’s going to be awesome." Undertow will be available on Live Arcade Wednesday, November 21st, for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).