Just Played the First Level of Undergarden - WOW

So our good friends over at Atari were kind enough to provide me with a review code for The Undergarden, their new game available on Xbox Live. I was not sure what to expect from this game as it was described by the PR Team at Atari as follows:

The UnderGarden is a casual, zen-like game that challenges players to explore beautiful underground caverns filled with strange life forms, physics based puzzles and plenty of hidden secrets. The world comes alive and music evolves as players get deeper into the world of The UnderGarden. With local co-operative gameplay, players can chill out and work together to solve puzzles and explore the world. The UnderGarden offers 14 different levels of modern exploration filled with brain teasing physics and eco-friendly puzzles that evoke an emotional response to the beauty and calm of this underwater oasis.

So I was thinking, "OK, this is going to be one of those quirky Japanese games that I can neither understand nor really get into." Well I cannot tell you how wrong I was. Once again, I have only completed one level, but am alreay hooked on this game. The combination of amazing, vibrant graphics, puzzle-solving gameplay and the music (the most aluring aspect of the game) has me wanting to fire my Xbox right back up to check out the next level. One of the very cool functions in the game is how you access worlds. The main screen is a kind of hive from which you can warp into the different levels. Once you complete a given level, a status update will appear at the warp gate for that area, outlining your best score, percent flowers bloomed, special items located and what not. This interface reminds me of one of my favorite arcade games of all time - Gravitar (also created by Atari by the way).

Character Concept Art

Wait, did I just say "Special flowers bloomed"?!? Why yes I did. The game revolves around your character (who, for want of a better description looks like an aquatic Teletubby sans CRT belly) as he/she/it travels through the various levels spawning plants, picking fruits that can be used to solve puzzles and carrying around a band of musicians whose tunes can alter the landscape. I know, this sounds a bit like a bad dream within the world of Viva Pinata or something, but somehow it all works. The first time that I used the exploding fruit to move some large boulders, I was hooked. And remember, these impressions are all coming from ONE LEVEL of the game. So check out the launch trailer below and stay tuned for my full review coming soon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRyqC8GgXzY[/youtube]