New XBLA Info on Undertow

In a press release from studio Chair Entertainment Group regarding the upcoming Live Arcade game, [i]Undertow[/i], the company is billing said game as an "Aquatic action-shooter for up to 16 players that combines the multiplayer of [i]Battlefield[/i] with the control and mayhem of [i]Geometry Wars[/i]."

Core Gameplay Elements:

Relentless high-speed combat with simple and intuitive controls

Incredible next-gen graphics with a vibrant underwater visual style

First to feature 16 player multiplayer battles and 2 player co-op with Team Conquest and Deathmatch modes

3 different playable races, each with 4 unique upgradeable units

15 level single player / co-op campaign with maps ranging from Atlantis to frozen arctic labyrinths to the steam powered cities of Captain Nemo

200 achievement points for completing various objectives

Planned expansions will offer new playable races, units, single and multiplayer maps, gamer picks, and additional achievement points.

Gameplay Overview:

[i]Undertow[/i] features a 15 level campaign for single-player or co-op and

two robust multiplayer modes for up to 16 players. While many of the maps

have level-specific goals, the core gameplay of Undertow centers on this

possible!

Players select their race (Iron Marine, Nemoidian, or Atlantian) and unit

type and are then launched into battle. Each of the three races features

four unique, upgradeable unit types ranging in ability from the fast and

agile to the large and powerful. Players have the ability to unlock and

purchase unit upgrades as they acquire points. Each unit type has three

levels of permanent upgrades.

Through conquest-style battles, players obtain points by killing enemies,

accomplishing team goals, and taking check points. Points and a variety of

power-ups can be used to further upgrade unit abilities. In addition to the

core game, additional expansions will introduce new races, unit types, maps,

and bonus achievement points.

Story Synopsis:

An aquatic alien race secretly launches a devastating attack on Earth which

melts the polar ice caps. Water covers the planet. Humanity is all but

wiped out by this onslaught, but some of the remaining humans band together

to take the planet back from the brink of chaos. Using existing technology,

the Iron Marines take to the seas as they struggle to survive in this wet

new world.

For over one hundred years, Captain Nemo and his followers have been living

peacefully and quietly at the bottom of the ocean, sharing an uneasy truce

with the highest officials in the British and American governments. In

their secret utopia the Nemoidians have isolated themselves from the world

oceans.

As the ice caps melted, the ancient city of Atlantis began to thaw. Trapped

by the last ice age, this mighty civilization disappeared at the height of

its power. Now free, the Atlantians will stop at nothing to reclaim the

planet they once owned. Having escaped from their cruel overlords, the

that could deliver their dying race to a new world. The fuel supply of the

Ark had been nearly depleted when the aliens finally discovered Earth, a

planet perfect for transformation into a new, oceanic home for the aliens…