An official announcement states that Microsoft, besides offering free Xbox 360 games for Gold users, will add two Xbox One games to the roster. This July marks two years since Microsoft has started offering this kind of service to its Gold user-base.
The Xbox Games With Gold has gotten way better since its inception, and this month’s library consists of a couple of really great games.
Without further ado I present you Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, So Many Me for Xbox One, and Gears of War 3, Plants Vs. Zombies for Xbox 360.
As a side note, Microsoft has noted that their Xbone console will have backwards compatibility, and it will be able to play Xbox 360 games. It will be a super sweet deal to buy a Gold subscription for your Xbox One, and ditch your Xbox 360. Although, as a fair warning, Gears of War 3, and Plants Vs. Zombies, can’t be currently played on X1, but Microsoft is looking to bring these Xbox games to their new generation console.
Xbox Games With Gold July Edition #1 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
If you’ve always dreamed of being a pirate assassin this is the perfect time to do so. Black Flag is a pirate simulator and Ubisoft outdid themselves. Well, the game was shipped with a ton of bugs, and veterans of the franchise felt a little bit cheated – gamers are getting tired of the same old rehashed textures, and a plot that’s worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan movie flick.
Somehow, I quite enjoyed the game. Before writing for GameGuideWorld, I used to work for Ubisoft’s QA department. I still have memories of sailing the vast blue sea, hunting for that precious white whale, and of course, listening to those shanties – I still do from time to time.
Gameplay hasn’t changed, and if you played one AC title, you’ve played them all. Sure, it’s nice to parkour across old little towns, and scour pirate coves for treasure, but in this gamer’s opinion, if they don’t add something refreshing fast, fans will find something else to play.
I won’t go into the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything for you. Don’t expect too much from it though. Plot twists, and back stabs are easily predictable – good thing that the voice actors know how to play, or it would have seemed unbearable.
Also, I have to give Ubisoft some props, because AC: IV Black Flag is as eye-candy as you can get – Xbox games related, of course. You’ll most definitely just navigate the sea, and forget about time, and space – once you get your boat, which, by the way, is called The Jackdaw.
Free Xbox Games
- Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
- Available throughout July
- Available only for Xbox One Gold Users
Xbox Games With Gold July Edition #2 So Many Me
So Many Me is one of the cutest Xbox games, and luckily for us, it’s available for free this July. When I first launched it, blindly I must add, because I didn’t knew anything about it, I was awe struck about how eye-candy, and gorgeous it is – it reminded me of Kirby’s Epic Yarn.
One could easily describe it as a Nintendo title on Xbox. While it is super friendly, and really easy to play, if you just stick to going from point A, to point B to finish the level, you’ll be missing more than half of what the game is all about.
Levels are super easy to finish, but if you want to see what So Many Me is really about, it can feel a little bit challenging at times – fine, it will be more than challenging.
You see, this Nintendoesque little game will put you in control of a little blob – a little adorable blob, I might add. There are four worlds, and each one of them has their gimmicks that you need to adhere to – if you don’t look for your doppelgangers throughout levels it might feel lackluster.
Each level has collectibles that you can, well, collect – a doppelganger, an artifact, and a special costume. More so, So Many Me is forgiving, and if you react with a leap of faith to reach that OMG-I-want-it-so-bad collectible, you’ll get respawned a couple of moves behind, and the item will remain in your library.
The cute and charming art style really made me stop and just gaze at the background – it’s not a blend of 2D, and 3D, and thank God for that. It feels more stable, more natural – it really suits the cartoon’ish style, at least, in my opinion it does.
So Many Me is a puzzle platformer, and this is basically where all the fun comes from. You’ll encounter puzzles to solve, seemingly easy, but it will put your wits to a challenge – they’re not impossible, at least, not Prince of Persia, or Septerra Core hard.
You’ll advance, and with each level your posse will grow larger, you’ll acquire more doppelgangers, and soon enough, you’ll wield an unstoppable force. But that unstoppable force requires some dexterity on your part. You can’t handle them that easily, and getting to those sweet collectibles will require some thinking outside of the box.
You’ll fail countless times over trying to reach a collectible. But that’s the awesome thing about it – after figuring out a solution to a complex puzzle, the satisfaction of reaching that artifact will be all the more sweeter.
As I said before, checkpoints are forgiving, and even a non-gamer can have a ton of fun without feeling frustrated over and over again.
Free Xbox Games
- So Many Me
- Available from July the 16th to August the 15th
- Available only for Xbox One Gold Users
Xbox Games With Gold July Edition #3 Plants Vs. Zombies
Initially a PopCap Games free title, Plants Vs. Zombies is one of the most fun, and addictive Xbox games I have ever played – welp, I was already addicted from playing it from dawn ’til dusk on PC, but that’s another story.
The game is simple, and even your grandad can tackle it. Showed it to one of my technological impaired aunts last Summer, and I think I’ve opened Pandora’s box.
Ever played a tower defense game? Well, it’s a little bit like that, but without that intricate maze. You need to protect your house from the invading horde of the undead, and to do so, you need the help of cute, and badass plants. Plant your Peashooters, Snow Peas, Sunflowers, Repeaters – the list can go on and on – to defend, and repel the zombies.
Some of the plants shoot continuously, others deal a deadly blow, but they shoot slower, and you can even plant Wall-Nuts so zombies can get stuck, and munch on them until you drop them dead – of course, how could I forget the life saving Jalapeno that will explode on impact.
Build sunflowers to rack up sun points during the day, fungi during the night – also, sun points will be able to be collected without sunflowers during daytime, but you seriously need to built a couple of sunflowers.
The game can be quite challenging if you don’t plan accordingly. At first, it will seem like a Summer’s breeze, but as long as you advance throughout the game, the horde of zombies will feel relentless, and a couple of bosses will appear that will require you to act quickly, and decisively.
Free Xbox Games
- Plants Vs. Zombies
- Available from July the 1st through July the 15th
- Available only for Xbox 360.
Xbox Games With Gold July Edition #4 Gears of War 3
Now this is what I’m talking about – I want more free Xbox games like Gears of War 3.
If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past, let’s say, 5 years or so, you should know that the Gears of War franchise is a system seller. An exclusive title that puts other Xbox games to shame.
Does Gears of War 3 actually lives up to the hype? Yes sir, it certainly does. Basically, it’s a badass simulator where you’re tasked to clean out the invading alien force. Unfortunately, the game was discontinued for PC users, and only Xbox gamers can play it – mainly because of pirating issues.
Even if you haven’t played the first two in the series, Gears of War 3 is one of those Xbox games that you can’t miss. Sure, you’ll be a little bit confused at times when the plot thickens, but developer Epic Games tries its best to give new gamers as much of the backstory that it can implement.
You’ll be in charge of Marcus Fenix, and his elite Delta Squad, and things on Sera have gotten pretty bad. You’ll be pinned against Locust, and Lambent – vile creatures that seek destruction, and chaos, or so it seems so far.
It’s like playing an Arnold Schwarzenegger video-game, but without the cheap one-liners – that isn’t to say that Gears of War 3 does’t have super badass one-liners, only, well, more appealing to the overall theme.
As far as gameplay goes, it sticks true to its roots – veterans of the franchise will feel well accustomed to mechanics, but new gamers will definitely feel it like a breath of fresh air. Think of Uncharted but with big chainsaws, and scary-ass creatures that reside in H.P Lovecraft’s head.
Ow, and I almost forgot, Gears of War 3 has an absolutely fabulous multiplayer – be prepared for gory, and awesome takedowns. Also, be prepared for horrible deaths.
Free Xbox Games
- Gears of War 3
- Available from July the 16th through July the 31st
- Available only for Xbox 360.
What game sparks your curiosity? Tell us in the comments section below. Maybe we’ll get a group of players, and we can team-up in Gears of War 3 multiplayer.
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