One thing that's been undeniable in the console wars is how utterly dominating Sony's Playstation Plus has been with its Instant Game Collection versus Xbox Live's Games With Gold program. Last month was especially embarrassing for Microsoft- they offered 360 owners the first, seven-years old Gears of War while Sony offered Borderlands 2. This month they're looking to make amends though- Sleeping Dogs is now available for free with Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light coming immediately after.
From Major Nelson's blog-
"Starting Wednesday (January 1st) Sleeping Dogs (Normally US $19.99) will be free for Xbox Live Gold members through January 15th .
Then on January 16th, Xbox Live Gold Members can download Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (Normally US $14.99) for free."
While undoubtedly a Grand Theft Auto clone, Sleeping Dogs is more focused on hand to hand combat and is a pretty damn fun game in its own right. Originally planned as a sequel to the now-dead True Crime series of games, it takes place in Hong Kong as an undercover cop returns to the city to try and infiltrate the Triads he grew up with. There are a number of DLC expansions for you to purchase as well, although the main game will take you dozens of hours to complete
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light was the surprise Tomb Raider game that offered up co-op gameplay from a isometric perspective. Until the recent reboot of Tomb Raider it was perhaps the most exciting game to come from the brand since Tomb Raider 2- a enthralling game with an emphasis on teamwork and clever puzzles.
Both of these games are easily worth the precious space on your Xbox 360 and a full-price purchase, so getting them for free is a ridiculously easy decision. Don't miss out on these deals because once they're done, they're done. You've got until the 15th to pick up Sleeping Dogs, and then from the 16th till the end of January for Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. Remember that if you can't fit them on your hard drive (I always have fun downloading full titles on my wimpy old 20 gig system) you can purchase them for free on Xbox.com and then download them later on when you do have space.
This is definitely a step in the right direction for Games With Gold but let's not forget that this month Playstation Plus is giving us Bioshock Infinite, Don't Starve, Brothers, DmC: Devil May Cry, and more. (Check out the full list of January 2014 releases here.) So yes, it's a good step, so keep going, Microsoft!