Free Games: February 2015

What's Better Than Free Games?

Absolutely nothing, so here's a list of what you can get for nothing this month:

XBox One

#IDARB

This month, Games with Gold is offering the rather unique #IDARB for free to any subscribers with an XBox One. #IDARB is...well...the best explanation is their own:

#IDARB is a chaotic 8-player eSport jumping jetpack future arena ball game that is as inspired by Bomberman and Smash Bros. as it is by cans of soda, paint-by-number books, and driving five miles faster than the speed limit.

It's like a pixelly game of space-football, stuffed with pop-culture references and spoofs thereof. Where else are you going to find a game that flashes a rage-quit meme when someone quits early?

XBox 360

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

For the first half of the month, Games with Gold is giving XBL's last-gen users a free copy of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. It's a fun top-down puzzle-adventure game, where the player simultaneously controls two brothers, Naiee and Naia - one with each thumb stick - on their quest to save their dying father.

Sniper Elite V2

During the second half of this month Games with Gold will be giving 360 users the opportunity to become Lietenant Karl Fairburne and snipe their way through World War II Germany. If your reaction to this news is along the lines of "**** not another third-person military-themed shooter" then stop right there - between it's heavy focus on sniping (bet you didn't see that coming!), slightly-horrific-but-still-awesome X-Ray kill cams allowing you to see precisely the damage you've inflicted on your target's skeletons, and the ability to kill enemies by shooting and blowing up grenades attached to their belts, Sniper Elite V2 is set apart from the rest.

PlayStation 4

Transistor

Next-gen (can we still call it that?!) PlayStation Plus members can get their hands on this sci-fi RPG for free at the moment. Set in the city of Cloudbank, the player controls Red, a famous singer who was almost the victim of an assassination ordered by the Camerata. Left with The Transistor, the greatsword that was to end her life, Red must track down the villains and stop them. Transistor's most notable feature is it's Turn() system, which allow the player to freeze time, whether to assess the situation and plan their next attack, take cover, or set traps. However what truly sets it apart is it's breathtaking artwork and stellar soundtrack, which sold close to 50,000 copies within two weeks of release.

Apotheon

Also free to PlayStation Plus' PS4 members is Apotheon, a 2D platformer based on Greek mythology. Explore Mount Olympus, kill all sorts of mythological creatures with all sorts of weapons, and battle the Gods who have turned their backs on humanity. There's also a pretty neat 1v1 multiplayer mode which will allow you to duel with your friends. And you could learn something about the Ancient Greeks! Whoever said that killing stuff can't be educational?

PlayStation 3

Yakuza 4

Ever wanted to go fishing in Tokyo's red light district without leaving your house? Well now you can, and all for free with PlayStation Plus! Yakuza 4 follows four characters whose lives have been woven together by a conspiracy, and all set in a startlingly accurate recreation of Tokyo's seediest neighbourhood. 

Thief

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Sorry, had to run and install this because PlayStation Plus are giving away this absolute gem this month! Become the master thief Garrett, sneak your way around The City, stealing from the rich and pick-pocketing guards. Although, if you're a fan of the older Thief games then you might want to give this one a miss, as it appeals mainly to newer fans and has left many an old one quite disappointed.

PlayStation (All)

Rogue Legacy

Free on PS4, PS3 and PS Vita through Playstation Plus this February is Rogue Legacy, a rogue-lite platform game where you aim to fight through dungeons and defeat the bosses that await you. What makes this game unique is that when you die you're replaced by a randomly generated heir of yours - but as in real life, genetics can be...interesting. You could be colourblind, dyslexic, or be generated with one of several other genetic anomalies, which can actually have their advantages, such as those with dwarfism being able to fit into small spaces. This also means that Rogue Legacy has a huge replay value, especially as when you've completed the game you can start a New Game + and tackle it all again...and again...until you've mastered every class...and then probably repeat it all again, because this is addictive.

PlayStation Vita

Kick & Fennick

Kick & Fennick is a brand new platform adventure for PS Vita about a little boy with a very big gun

Uh....what?!
You play as said little boy, Kick, as he goes on an adventure with his recently aquired robot friend Fennick, through 45 levels full of enemy robots, magnets, teleporters and more, using that great big gun. The gameplay - a combination of shooting and jumping - is simple but fun, and the colourful world it's all set in is pleasing on the eye. All in all, this looks set to be a fun game good for eating up your spare time. And best of all, it's free thanks to PlayStation Plus!

Steam

Rise of Incarnates

Bandco's brand-new free-to-play multiplayer will be arriving on Steam this month. Play as 'incarnates' - humans with powers drawn from ancient mythologies - in 2v2 matches set in battle arenas around the world. It's worth mentioning that this is Early Access though, and not the finished product, so anyone downloading this should be aware that it may not be very polished. But, it's free, so what have you got to lose? Check out the free comic explaining the backstory and then go and grab it from Steam.

Origin

Theme Hospital

This one doesn't really need explaining, does it? The classic strategy sim is still available for free through Origin's On The House scheme, and is a great way to waste an hour or 20 and possibly give yourself a nervous breakdown.

GOG.com

If you own a PC and you haven't done already, then go and so sign up at GOG.com now as they give you a bunch of free games for doing so! 

However, if you have already signed up, then go and check out their free games page because they occasionally change what's free and you might find something that you haven't already claimed.

That's It For Now...

...however, if any other free games sneak up on us, I'll update to reflect that, so check back soon. In the meantime, enjoy your free games!

The Best Of Steam's Indie Releases: November(ish) 2014

So, originally I was going to try and include every indie release on Steam this month, but then Steam went and deleted the upcoming releases page. Because that's a great way to get people to add upcoming games to their wishlists...a round of applause for Valve's money making tactics please. However, two of the games I found before Steam committed page-murder were so good I couldn't just forget about them, so here they are:

Homebrew - Vehicle Sandbox

A vehicle-building sandbox where your imagination is the only limit. Yes, I'm still trying to wrap my head around 'vehicle-building sandbox' and how cool that sounds too. The demo is available to download through the Homebrew website, so I gave it a go:


So, here I am in the middle of a very pretty map, in a vehicle that I had to spawn in mid-air, rather than on the ground. Let me tell you, it creates a whole new game in itself: "Can-I-Catch-The-Car-Before-It-Slides-Into-A-Lake". Once in the car, I wasn't really sure what I was doing so I drove around for a while catching some of these orbs dotted around the map:

(Gotta catch 'em all!)

The first thing I found was that the controls are a little bit clumsy: steering is limited to just the A and D buttons, and it feels weird having no mouse control. Sharp corners are also a bit tricky, and steering at a slow speed will send you far too wide. After a few minutes on one of the map's dirt tracks I felt comfortable enough with the controls to venture off onto the grass...and shouldn't have. I ended up in a lake and drowned a little bit.

Not that it mattered, because I didn't lose anything. In fact, it worked out in my favour because I respawned in front of The Dome, which I had just been invited to. This is where the cool part of the game plays out; this is where you build and customise your vehicles, buying parts using those orbs I had collected earlier. 


I wandered down to the factory where I was greeted by Dan, and admired his boobs while wondering who he'd killed in the dumpster, and how to pronounce the player-character's name:

I went through a short tutorial where I had to help Dan fix his 'Danvan', which turned out to be simple enough if you follow the instructions, but complicated enough that you have to follow the instructions. On the up side, this means that you can do a lot with this game: like I said earlier your imagination really is your only limit. However, it also means that if you're like me and not particularly mechanically minded, then this probably isn't the game for you. You don't just throw a few parts together and see if they work, you have to tweak every part to create a masterpiece.

But once you've finished in The Dome, you can go back outside and test out your creations. The map is full of dirt tracks to zoom down, ramps to fly off, and I'm sure some of the scenery could be used to create some amazing stunt jumps. That is, if you can get the vehicle to stay upright:

As you can see, finding myself upside down happened a lot, and I couldn't find a way to set my vehicles upright again. This isn't a very big deal as you can spawn as many vehicles as you want, but it is an annoyance. However, when I wasn't trying to drive on the sky I was having a great time, exploring tunnels and setting up huge jumps.

All in all, this is a really fun game and I would definitely recommend at least trying out the free demo, if not going ahead and getting the Alpha. It's planned to be in constant development meaning many more features will be added after launch: boats, armor building and a mission creator are among the planned additions, so you're going to be getting a lot of content for your money. There's also a multiplayer mode with vehicle sharing, meaning you can collaborate with your mates to create the perfect vehicle, or pit yourselves against each other to see who's the building king or queen.

For more info, see Homebrew's website or Steam page, where Homebrew is on sale until 21 November.

Lumino City

A puzzle adventure game entirely handmade from paper and card! The sequel to Lume, Lumino City was three years in the making and as you can see in that video, it looks incredible. Picking up where it's predecessor ended, protagonist Lumi's grandfather is dramatically kidnapped and Lumi is thrust into a whole new adventure to find him again.

As she makes her way through the breathtaking city, Lumi will be able to explore the various building within it to find out more about her grandfather's life and discover that there may be more to him than she thought.

The game is visually stunning - the more I look at it the more I fall in love with it - and if it's anything like Lume then it's unique puzzles will have you scratching your head for a while; this isn't just a pretty game, it's set to be a fun one too.

I can't wait to get my hands on this, but unfortunately Steam is being a prick and won't give an actual release date, only 'Available: November 2014'. 
Lumino City has a release date of 3rd December 2014, which in their own words is nearllllllllly November (in my defense, I did think it was coming out in November when I wrote this). In the meantime, check out the Steam page so you can add it to your wishlist, check out the official site, or buy Lume to experience the first chapter of this awesome story.

Throwback Thursday: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

One Christmas when I was a kid my parents bought me a bright red Game Boy pocket with a black carry case and a copy of Super Mario Land 2. I think it's safe to say that that was the moment when my addiction to gaming was born.


In his debut appearance, Wario has taken over Mario Land and cast a spell over the inhabitants, making them believe that he is their master and Mario is their enemy, before locking himself inside Mario's castle. The castle gates have been sealed with a spell that can only be broken using six golden coins, scattered around Mario Land and carefully guarded by Wario's henchmen. It's up to you to retrieve them and take the castle back.






Super Mario Land 2 was everything that a platformer should be; simple and fun. There are multiple levels to choose from, including hidden levels, and there's a lot of variety within them. It can also be surprisingly hard; navigating through water when everything is trying to kill you isn't very easy. Which, to be honest, it should be: HE'S A PLUMBER!

You also have a massive replay value, as you can play any level except from boss levels and the intro level as many times as you want, and you're going to want to do that because this game is addictive. I was going to try and prove that by including some gameplay videos but every single one I've taken is corrupted! Yay! Instead you'll just have to go and find out for yourself at Playr where you can play it in-browser for FREE!

#ThrowbackThursday - The Sims 2

Ah, The Sims. The game with unlimited potential, where you are God and your only limit is your imagination. What great adventure will you carve? Will you create a rich and famous movie star? Will your they marry the Sim of their dreams, buy a mansion in the country and raise six sickeningly gorgeous children together?

No. In  the average The Sims 2 (or 1, 3, or 4) game you will:

Create the most hideous Sim that you can









Give him an equally hideous wife, a cute dog, and move them into their own home.

Micro-manage like there's no tomorrow...

...because your Sims have to eat, sleep, play, bathe, clean, tidy, cook, study, sleep, work and entertain the random strangers who show up at their houses, all in approximately half the time it takes to do all that stuff in.

Have a LOT of cartoon sex, probably with just about every Sim in town.

 Why? For the same reason that you do everything else in The Sims: Because you can.

Experience the totally realistic birth of your Sim's children:

Ignore Biology class, babies actually fall from the ceiling

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And then, of course, the classic pool murder! No day on The Sims 2 - well, any The Sims game for that matter - is complete without a visit to a watery grave and from the Grim Reaper.

And then you get to do it all over again because, unlike in it's predecessor, that cute little bundle of joy that just fell out of the ceiling will grow up! Unless you forget to look after him and he gets taken away by the social worker...

The Sims 2 was an awesome game that allowed some of the freedoms that the original The Sims game didn't afford us, such as aging which added a feeling of progression, without any of the drawbacks that it's successor went on to have, such as hefty loading times and lag due to massive, open neighbourhoods. As someone who has spent a little bit of time Simming...

Just a tiny amount

...I preferred TS2's neighbourhood customisation - not being able to create vacation worlds in TS3 still hurts - and I think TS2 has a better balance of simplicity to creative freedom. 

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If you don't already have it, you'll have to look for a second hand copy of The Sims 2, as EA hate making money and it is no longer available on Origin. If you do have it then check out the mighty TheSimsResource, AroundTheSims2 and MTS for custom content that will literally make you squeal with excitement.


Now if you'll excuse me, I think I left my toddler by the pool...

(Sorry, outdated and bad The Sims 4 joke)

Throwback Thursday - The Elder Scrolls: Arena

The Game That Started It All

Arena actually began life as a gladiatorial fighting game - the player was meant to be part of a group of fighters who would travel from arena to arena defeating opponents until they eventually became the champion of the Imperial City, with a few roleplaying sidequests scattered in between. However as development went on the tournaments became gradually less important, and the roleplaying parts more so, until eventually Arena became a fully-fledged RPG. However (super-interesting fact moment:) they had a problem with the name; developers Bethesda had already had all the game materials printed with the 'Arena' title on them, but the arena combat had been dropped completely. That's when developer Vijay Lakshman came up with the idea of naming the game 'The Elder Scrolls: Arena', despite not having a clue what 'The Elder Scrolls' were, and retconned that 'The Arena' was a nickname for Tamriel, the continent that it's based in. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why Elder Scrolls play such a tiny role in the Elder Scrolls games, and why you will never hear Tamriel referred to as 'The Arena' outside of it's first installment.

The First Dungeon 

Arena's first dungeon is an absolute nightmare. Given the game's downright weird controls (right-click and swipe to attack) you'll die at least once before you've even figured out how to use your sword. As if that wasn't enough you've got goblins to compete with (often placed badly and hard to attack), and the rats in this dungeon are some kind of freaks that despite looking normal are incredibly strong and you've got to be pretty quick because given your lack of heals, a few run-ins with rats mixed with slow reactions will result in this:

...Arena's death screen, which you will be seeing a lot of (I once heard that it took Morrowind's lead level designer twenty attempts to escape Arena's first dungeon). However, eventually you will be greeted with the beautiful sight of the Shift Gate, and probably do a little happy dance, because congratulations, you've found the exit! The game will then ask you to enter the value of a random spell, found in the ReadMe file (that's 21-year-old piracy protection for you), and then you're free to explore Tamriel. Fortunately it gets a bit easier after that. There's just a small matter of battling across the continent to collect the pieces of the powerful Staff of Chaos in order to defeat the Imperial Battle Mage and rescue the Emperor that he's kidnapped. No biggie.

Why It's Awesome

Despite not getting the greatest reception, Arena rightly became a cult hit and spawned the rest of The Elder Scrolls series, one of the best and most successful series out there. Not just that, but Arena raised the bar for RPGs in general and became the standard for what could be made. If you've played an RPG made in the last 21 years then it's pretty much guaranteed that it's been influenced, even indirectly, by The Elder Scrolls. And if that wasn't already a good enough reason to play it (assuming that you haven't already), you can get it for nothing!

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is free (yes, FREE!) to download from the official Elder Scrolls website.

November 2014 New Releases

NOTE: 

• These are physical releases, I'll cover digital ones later
• If the platform isn't stated then it's a multi-platform release
• These are PAL* release dates NOT NA release dates, those tend to vary by a few days

*PAL meaning, basically, just about everywhere that isn't the USA or Canada

03-11-14

Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Surprise, surprise: It's November and another Call Of Duty game is going to be released. Who'd have guessed? This latest installment has gone a bit sci-fi (Hoverboards. Need I say more?) and (finally) promises an end to quick-scoping on multiplayer.

07-11-14

Football Manager 2015 (PC)

Yes, Sega are still making games. The popular simulation is back, and brings with it 2,000 new animations and Movember. Yes, this will be the first game in the series (and to my knowledge, ever) where characters will grow moustaches throughout November, in honour of the popular charity movement.

11-11-14

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (XBOne)

They always find a way to make you buy something twice and be grateful for it. Master Chief's entire career so far is coming to XBOne. Which I keep reading as X-Bone.

13-11-14

PES 2015

Because why go outside and play actual football when you can pay £50 to sit indoors and pretend to play football instead?

14-11-14

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

It's Lego and Batman combined, what's not to love?! Batman joins forces with other DC superheroes to stop Brainiac from shrinking planets. This will be the first time Lego Batman lets you take the fight to space, and Brainiac's mind-controlling abilities are promised to add new spins on character's personalities, which sounds interesting. 

Assassins Creed Unity (PS4, XBOne, PC)

A new assassin and a new setting. A new parkour system. New stealth opportunities. New combat. Newey-newness. This will be the first game in the series to allow you to customise your character, adding RPG-esque "skill lines" to advance how you want to.

Assassins Creed Rogue (PS3, XBox 360, PC)

In a (probably not very) dramatic twist, you aren't an assassin any more - you're an assassin hunter. Assassin's Creed: Rogue brings back AC IV's naval themes, but with new ship-based weapons, and gives you a new air rifle to snipe all of the things at your pleasure.

18-11-14

GTA V (PS4, XBox One)

Well, Rockstar took their time, didn't they? Possibly the biggest game in the world ever is coming to next gen consoles. It brings better visuals and more immersive features, such as better weather and foliage systems, in addition to increasing multiplayer matches from 16-player to 30-player.

Far Cry 4

Rideable elephants. How many games give you that? Far Cry's next gen debut is set in the Himalayas, is designed to bring better immersion than it's predecessor, and it will allow you to play online with your friends even if they don't own the game!

21-11-14

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (PS3, XBox 360)

The first original game set in Middle-earth will be released on last-gen consoles. Often described as a cross between Assassin's Creed and Batman: Arkham, Shadow of Mordor has been the surprise hit of the year and is probably the best Lord of The Rings-based game out there.

WWE 2K15 (XBox One, PS4)

In an odd twist of events, WWE's latest chapter is being released on next-gen consoles after last-gen. 2K15 promises to overhaul the series, turning it from a fighting game featuring WWE stars into a fully-fledged wrestling game, meaning a lot of new features including a chain-wrestling game and a three-tier stamina meter which affects the pace of the match, among a long list of other additions. Each wrestler also receives their own skill sets and fighting styles in an effort to keep the characters as true to the real-life wrestlers as possible.

LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS3, PS4)

So many big titles being released so close to Christmas, what a coincidence! The third main installment in the series features a new planet, an incredible voice cast and great gameplay additions, such as three new characters, new power-ups, new and enhanced tools, and new options for creating levels. DLCs and user-created levels from the first two LittleBigPlanet games can be carried across into this one, leaving existing players no reason not to upgrade.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (XBox One, PS4)

BioWare is back with the third in the popular Dragon Age series. Players will return to Thedas to take on their new role as leader of the Inquisition and "save the world from itself". Multiple playable races are being reintroduced, the maps are much bigger than before, the combat will be more tactical and more customisation options will be available, on top of multiple other changes. Given Dragon Age and BioWare's reputations this is sure to be a great game, and will be a point of focus for Mass Effect fans, as developers have already stated that the next Mass Effect game will be borrowing game systems from DA:I.

Watch Dogs (Wii U)

Aiden Pearce is coming to a Nintendo near you. Wii U owners can now hack their way across Chicago, six months after everyone else, but in time for Christmas.

28-11-14

amiibo (Wii U)

Nintendo's answer to Skylanders and Disney Infinity comes in the form of 'amiibo'. The first wave includes 12 figures from popular Nintendo games, including Link and Mario, with more to follow soon, and each will be compatible with a specific game. 

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (Nintendo 3DS)

Remakes of the twelve-year-old Game Boy Advance titles Pokemon Ruby Version and Pokemon Sapphire Version. Care for your Pokemon, train them, adventure across Hoenn, battle, enter beauty pageants...yes, beauty pageants. New features include buildable Secret Bases, new Mega Evolutions, Primal Reversion, and Pikachu in human cosplay. Because that's not creepy at all.

Minecraft (XBox One, PS Vita)

I'm going to go ahead and assume that you don't live under a rock and you do know what Minecraft is. XBox One users who had/have Minecraft on XBox 360 registered to their XBL account will be able to transfer worlds and content packs across to the XBox One version (which you can get at a discount here). Saved worlds are also transferable between the PS Vita and PS console versions.

Adventure Time: The Secret of The Nameless Kingdom (XBox 360, PS3, PC, Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita)

This top-down adventure puzzle game is the third based on the animated Adventure Time tv series. Because there aren't anywhere near enough cute animated puzzle games coming out before Christmas.