Xbox Playing Defense, Trick-or-Treating With May’s Games With Gold

Microsoft kept things small and relatively indie with the Games With Gold offerings for the month of May. From an unassuming RPG set during Halloween to a fast-paced defense simulator and a longstanding casual puzzler, they’ve gathered together a low-key batch of sequels and old favorites that strays from blockbuster fare. It’s not a flashy or particularly noteworthy collection, sure, but there’s a bit of outside-the-box consideration to the selected titles that’s worth some appreciation.

Xbox One

Defense Grid 2 (May 1-31)

Hidden Path Entertainment leads the charge with a follow-up to their triumphant entry into the isometric tower-defense genre, Defense Grid, which boasts a hefty campaign built around a futuristic environment where the player guards structures from waves of alien intruders. DG2 aims to preserve the tactical experience  from the original game while expanding upon the combat’s strategic depth and amplifying the visual presentation, adding online multiplayer functionality and the ability for the players to construct their own levels.   Despite claims that this is more of a refinement of the original than a new benchmark for the tower-defense genre, the general consensus is that DG2 stands firm as a solid successor and worth taking on.

Costume Quest 2 (May 16-June 15)

The minds over at Double Fine discovered a charming and surprisingly polished formula with the first Costume Quest, combining an interactive turn-based combat system with a delightful story built around kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. Understanding these strengths, the developers concentrate on keeping on with the combat and furthering the quirky tale of twins Reynold and Wren for the sequel, who must save Halloween this year from Dr. Orel White and a horde of dental hygiene-obsessed baddies. Similar in length, in personality, and in role-playing depth to its predecessor, Costume Quest 2 once again wins over its audience with Double Fine’s brand of cheeky writing and accessible gameplay.

Sunset Overdrive (April 16-May 15)

Don’t forget that the hyper-caffeinated sandbox game from Insomniac will still be available to download until May 15th.  Sunset Overdrive centers on a FizzCo employee who’s thrown into the chaos of Sunset City, a coastal metropolis overtaken by monsters created by the toxic energy drink produced by their former employer.  After choosing either a male or female character and customizing their looks, the player unleashed mayhem on the city by way of bizarre makeshift weaponry — a gun that fires records, an automatic fireworks cannon,  an exploding teddy-bear launcher — and rapid movement along rails, wires, and other edges worthy of grinding on throughout the metro area. Zany, self-referential humor that often breaks the fourth wall collides with an incredibly silly but entertaining plot, making Sunset Overdrive a blast of an experience whose strength lies in how not-seriously it takes itself.

Xbox 360

Grid 2 (May 1-15)

Grid surprised a lot of folks with exactly how much fun it could deliver within its arcade-style racing, making the most of a limited selection of cars by sending them flying and drifting along with minimal customization and maximum excitement.   Codemasters’ sequel doesn’t seem to have garnered the same kind of reception,  lacking the noteworthy vigor of its predecessor and coping with some repetitiveness. A bountiful new roster of vehicles and licensed tracks from around the world can be tackled with the racing game’s finely-tuned controls, though.

Peggle (May 16-31)

And then, there’s Peggle. Somewhere between a pachinko machine, a pinball cabinet, and the ping-ponging casino level from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, this laid-back puzzle game from PopCap Games finds the player enrolled at the Peggle Institute, where they then drop metallic balls from underneath a unicorn’s head onto an assortment of red and blue obstacle orbs.  Even amounts of aiming strategy and pure luck make for a brightly-colored, amusing distraction.

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