Microsoft has just announced through their Major Nelson blog the next two games to be given away in March via Xbox Live's Games With Gold Program. The lucky winners this time are Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution and Dungeon Defenders. Both are great games and worth their original prices, let alone for free, so huzzah for Xbox 360 owners.
But they're also old games (six and four years, respectively) and in February Games with Gold offered up Dead Island and Toy Soldiers: Cold War, which begs the questions- is Xbox Live worth the cost anymore? $60 gives you a year of playing games online on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One as well as a few deals around the year, but after seeing the kind of deals Sony is offering on their Playstation systems (and the insane amount of games they give away) for ten bucks less a year- well, is it really worth it?
These are two very good games regardless, even if you might own them already or have picked them up at a deep discount via the multiple sales they've had over the years. But still- PS3 is getting free Tomb Raider this month, not to mention all the other games! Games With Gold is struggling to make themselves seem competitive but it's not really working. Here are the titles for this month-
Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution - This game was a bit lambasted by Civ purists because of the seemed dumbing-down of the intricate Civilization system for console gamers, but the fact is that the streamlined feel made for a really unique installment. The game was eventually ported to mobile phones as well, where it's the perfect time-killer. It's no Civilzation V but it does its own thing and does it quite well. The game is normally $29.99 but it will be free for Gold members from March 1st through March 15th.
Dungeon Defenders - This PC hit is a combination of tower defense and action RPG that lets you control a bunch of defenders against hordes of monsters. Apparently they've sold over a million copies of the game across all platforms and they've kept up with the popularity by offering all kinds of dowloadable content for gamers. Dungeon Defenders II is in the works so here's your free primer if you're not familiar with the game. The game is normally $14.99 but it will be free for Gold members from March 16th through the end of the month.
So, can Microsoft keep this up like this? It's a bit bad for them to get shown up by its competitor each and every month. Let's see what April will bring us.
