April: Games With Gold
2015 speeds onwards, and we are now on the verge of falling into April… but rather than be taken for fools, we’re being taken for games players, as April is offering a double* whammy of the normal three games with the Games With Gold offer – that is, free for anyone already paying for Xbox Gold.
(* = Or a sextuple whammy, perhaps?)
There are two games for the Xbox One available all month. First up we have Pool Nation FX, which is actually being released tomorrow and so is free for its first month, before presumably then remaining available for a price (as with #IDARB in February).
As a new game it is hard to judge how good or bad it may be – certainly the visuals are impressive, and developers Cherry POP’s previous Pool Nation game received a good response. It is also a welcome piece of diversity in the growing library of games we’re getting via Games With Gold.
Our second Xbox One title is Child of Light, Ubisoft’s platformer-cum-RPG released last year. Players take control of Aurora, a child in 19th century Austria who must journey through the land of Lemuria. While the game is played as a sidescroller, combat is handled in a part real-time, part turn-based process – think Final Fantasy 7 style – and allows your team to level up as they progress.
The 360 also gets this double dose of delights, with four games through the month. From the start of the month until the 15th, you can download Gears of War: Judgement and Terraria - one of the most idiosyncratic gaming mixes I can think of.
Gears: Judgement follows the style of the previous three titles – a third person shooter, in the fight between an extremely well-muscled humanity and the Locust. Putting you in the boots of Baird, previously an NPC squad member from previous games, Judgement was the worst received of the four titles but still held a generally positive reception.
Terraria, on the other hand, is a colourful, child-friendly sandbox 2D platformer, allowing you to gather materials, build items and survive in an otherwise hostile environment… yes, comparisons to Minecraft are unavoidable, but Terraria has held it’s own spirit and remained distinct from the 3D voxel behemoth. Encouraging NPCs to live in your expanded home and hunting for boss monsters threatening your world set goals if you want something to aim for; otherwise, enjoy building.
From April 16th the next pair take over, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel. The Assassin’s Creed series should need little introduction, although it is welcome to get one of the more recent titles as a freebie. AC4 is also one of the better received in the series, with the open world ocean available to pirate Edward Kenway giving some freedom back to the series. As ever, there is a central narrative to follow, along with all manner of side activities to discover and complete, from ship to ship battles to treasure hunts.
Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel is the third game in the Army of Two series, which are intended to be played co-operatively with another player (but will use the AI if alone). A third person shooter, operatives Alpha and Bravo take part in a series of missions across Mexico against the La Guadaña cartel. Released in 2013 to mixed reviews, it may seem the weak link in this month’s chain but the advantage of it being available to all Xbox Gold users and so playable with friends should give it some extra mileage.