There’s a storm coming on the horizon for Xbox’s Game Pass and Games With Gold subscription service, in the form of relatively even competition in the monthly game subscription arena. By the time June rolls around, the comparisons will become much more evenly balanced. Who knows whether a new sub service arms race will kick into gear – here’s hoping both really push it to make their services extra appealing – but until then, it’s unsurprising to see the Xbox take a step back from huge titles at this point.

April is a relatively normal month for Game Pass and Gold, in which the biggest titles are an interactive adventure game and a repeat of a day-and-date sports title that came to the service last year to much more fanfare, and once again with very little attention paid to the waning Games With Gold section of the program.  Let’s take a closer look at the games, but before doing so, head over and Grab a 3-Month Subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at Amazon.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate – New and Upcoming

Life is Strange: True Colors

The development teams at Dontnod Entertainment and Deck Nine Games have gradually crafted a franchise of meaningful interactive adventures with the Life is Strange series, which incorporate meaningful relationship, political, and sexual identity themes into alluring mysteries. Responsibility for the series moving forward seems to be in the hands of Deck Nine, though – Dontnod plunged deeper into challenging character mysteries with the middling-reviewed Tell Me Why – with Life is Strange: True Colors standing as Deck Nine’s first fresh creation independent from the established characters.  

Players gain control of Alex Chen, a young woman with supernatural “empathy” powers whose traumatic family history looped her into the foster care system, but who later gets to reconnect with her brother in the town of Haven Springs, Colorado. When her brother ends up being murdered shortly after, Alex has to use her powers to help connect with those in connection with Gabe and bring her closer to answers to what happened. Both critics and players appreciate the substance of Alex’s character, the ways that graphics and facial animations enhanced small dramatic conversations, and the intimacy of the supernatural powers, though Life is Strange: True Colors does get dinged for being too effortlessly pleasant and for the branching paths all seeming like they arrive at the same destination.

MLB The Show 2022

Last year around this time, The Show made its debut onto Xbox consoles for the very first time, marking the end of a very long exclusivity deal that kept licensed MLB simulation games locked onto its competitor’s devices. Also at this time last year, the decision was made to also include The Show 2021 through the Game Pass program, a significant move from the growing premium subscription service. With those things together, expectations naturally grew with how San Diego Studio would elevate the quality for this new generation of video game consoles.  Turns out? Not significantly enough to be celebrated by critics or players, who acknowledge its continuing high quality and lack of advancement.

Well, the folks at Xbox have once again made this year’s installment of The Show available through their subscription program, with the game arriving just in time in April for the MLB lockout to end. This iteration changes things up a bit more – a beefed-up stadium creation feature, new play-by-play announcers pulled from ESPN Radio, an expanded version of the shorter career mode – but for the most part critics and players acknowledge that the gameplay’s about the same as it was from the previous iteration.  This isn’t a bad thing exactly, as it remains a deep, engaging and up-to-date sim that can scratch the itch either for a quick game or a lengthy customized career experience.

Weird West

As players continue to get the itch to run through a new Fallout experience – one that isn’t online, mind you – they continue to pursue alternatives, whether it’s similar first-person survival exploration games or top-down, storytelling-rich dystopian RPGs in the vein of Wasteland 3 or Disco Elysium. Weird West, the debut title from WolfEye Studios made up of creative heads from Arkane Studios, aims to tap into the attitude of the latter with some of the vigorousness of the former. The key difference? If you screw up in this warped frontier, you might not be able to fix it.

Weird West allows the player to explore a dark western landscape and gives them the freedom to interact with the environment in a multitude of ways, though the gameplay itself hinges on twinstick shooting action that’s faster-paced and more reactive than similar isometric games. Certain aspects are randomized in the world, yet if something’s destroyed or killed, it stays that way in the game.  That can also apply to the player character, as there’s also a permadeath mode available.  As with many games from this subgenre, both critics and players heap praise upon the world-building, character interactions, and the ambitions of the gameplay systems in Weird World, but have taken issue with the execution of the gameplay and aesthetics, leading to imbalanced RPing and polarizing combat through tech issues.

F1 2021

The most recent season of F1 racing turned out to be one of the most high-stakes and controversial on the books, which was already made complicated by the cancellations of several races due to the pandemic. There’s obviously no way for the team at Codemasters to predict the future when developing their videogame adaptation of F1’s 2021 season, so this title ends up being unique in a bunch of ways, most prominently in the fact that players are still able to engage in the races that were cancelled in Australia, Canada, Japan and China.

On top of that, F1 2021 is also noteworthy for being the first title released after EA acquired Codemasters and took over publishing duties. The move didn’t seem to hamper the developer’s ambitions for this latest title, though, as the inclusion of new career storytelling, multiple player modes, playable professionals, and improved graphics bring the franchise into the new console generation with a fresh coat of paint and a few new parts under the hood. It’s what folks have come to expect from Codemasters, though, and hope to continue expecting it from them in the years to come.

Xbox Games With Gold

The Games With Gold aspect of the subscription service remains a footnote, unfortunately, sporting 2 Xbox One titles and 2 legacy Xbox titles that generate very little enthusiasm for a download … yet still hold some mild intrigue for the fastidious subscriber. Over on the Xbox One, there’s Another Sight (April 1-30), a puzzle-platformer about a blind girl and her cat as they use their strengths and weaknesses to get through challenging environments. While it earned praise for a unique concept, it doesn’t offer enough focused execution or challenge to be regarded as highly as others. Then there’s HUE (April 16 – May 15), another puzzle platformer that merges gameplay concepts from the likes of Outland and Braid, creating a silhouetted play experience based on how the player changes the background shade and interacts with it. Players and critics have been warmer to HUE, praising its aesthetic and polished execution.

On the legacy Xbox side of things, there’s Outpost: Kaloki X (April 1-15), in which the player gets to channel their inner Elon Musk and dream up new living space stations in a fashion similar to SimCity. The more revenue generated by the type of station created by the user, the more they can expand and improve, and the better they can balance their resources.  The other title is MX vs ATV Alive (Apri; 16-30), a middling-reviewed dirt bike and 4-wheeler racing game that players and critics have dinged for being a superficial title that’s got extreme racing across a limited number of courses and little else.

April’s Xbox Game Pass, Gold Newcomers Not Putting On a Big Show

Several months back, Microsoft assured current Games With Gold subscribers that the baseline Xbox Live subscription service wasn’t going anywhere in the foreseeable future, despite some changes in marketing and a notable downward slope in the profile of the included monthly free games. Since then, the quality of the titles has undergone big shifts: one month might not feature any desirable or AAA games, another might have older or remastered favorites yet nothing big, and then the next month may have a Series X/S gen title added with a few other suitable offerings.  

The pattern leaves one with hope that they’re going to figure out a sustainable middle ground between offering considerable titles without “giving away” any of the big moneymakers … but March isn’t going to help that with its forgettable, iffy-reviewed slate of freebies. Let’s take a closer look, but before you do, be sure to jump over and Grab a 3-Month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Sub from Amazon to get these titles and the others available through Game Pass.

Xbox One

Warface: Breakout — March 1-31

As soon as someone hears the name Crytek, most gamers usually conjure memories of the graphically stunning yet technologically complicated sci-fi shooter Crysis, as well as the sequels.  Crytek’s network of studios engaged in other projects, though, and one of them was the tactical shooter Warface from Crytek Kiev — who later formed into Blackwood Games — and published by My.Games. Breakout is a spinoff game from the original, and has been developed by Allods Team under the My.Games label. It’s a bit of a confusing development history for the series, but that also reflects the meandering popularity of the franchise.

A tactical player-versus-player shooter that has essentially mimicked other series since its conception, Warface: Breakout arrived in 2020’s climate of online battle royale games like PUBG and Fortnite, not to mention the ebb and flow interest in Call of Duty and Counter-Strike. It’s tough to claim a stake in that arena, and Warface: Breakout doesn’t seem to do enough for either players or critics to think it stands out from the rest of the troop, with most comments led by mentions of other popular franchises and/or a lack of other options.

VALA: Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse — March 16 – April 15

You’ve likely killed hordes of many different types of baddies in your gaming life, from zombies to aliens to insects, but the folks behind VALA are banking on the fact that you’ve never thought about having to do this to … llamas. That’s right, the furry, adorable creatures of pop-culture and baby-room lore have turned into the frenzied tools of the Llamanati, and it’s up to the player to pilot mechs from a distance away to mow all the incensed creatures down in the wake of the “apocalypse”.

Intentionally ridiculous, VALA (Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse) operates on twin-stick shooter controls to manage the overwhelming isometric fast-paced action, in which the mechs patrol neon-bathed city streets and take out as many llamas as needed. As one might expect, there’s a longevity issue with the humor, with critics quick to point out that the game’s variety dries up pretty quick after players are used to the joke. They also praise the pacing and intensity of the shooting, though, which gives VALA a raw excuse for players to suit up and engage the Llamanati for at least a few waves here and there.

Xbox 360

Metal Slug 3 (March 1-15)

Let’s jump back a few decades, though, to the point where these endless shooting experiences originate. In the mid-‘90s, run-and-gun side-scrolling military games continued a rise in popularity largely created by Contra. Metal Slug may imitate the formula, but its specific brand of personality and the vigorousness of the action earned a place for itself, both at the arcades and at home as one of the heavy hitters on Neo-Geo consoles. It’s a franchise with over a half-dozen primary entries and a bunch of spinoffs, and has been ported onto numerous consoles over the years.

Metal Slug 3 marks an overhaul point for the franchise, arguably the pinnacle of what it’s capable of, taking its core gameplay style and juicing it up with new options.  It also marks the point when it started becoming available on a broader selection of consoles, notably its eventual debut on the first Xbox. The 360 port dedicates itself to being true to the original retro experience, both in controls and in graphical presentation, but the addition of online co-op on the console gives it an extra kick.

Port Royale 3 (March 16-31)

Pirate simulator games have existed in some form or fashion since the late-‘80s, but they always struggled to harness a lot of mainstream popularity until recently.  The combination of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and the TV show Black Sails holds most of the responsibility for changing that, which eventually funneled into the development of the more whimsical, yet still very much simulation-based Sea of Thieves, a flawed but popular title on the Xbox.

Just before all this happened, in 2012, Port Royale 3 embarked onto PCs and consoles from Kalypso Media.  It’s the third installment in the “merchant simulator” line of games, in which players can choose how to conduct their business – either as a legit businessperson, an allied buccaneer, or an outright pirate – and travel across the seas doing so. While there’s plenty of freedom in how to handle the resources at the player’s disposal, critics and players agree that it moves at a leisurely pace and has a lot going on with its simulation aspects, which can weigh down one’s investment in the experience. Port Royale 4, released last year, seems to have received slightly stronger marks.

March’s Xbox Games With Gold Unleash Lots of Shooting, Little Firepower

The release of the new Xbox Series systems has finally arrived and, as one can expect, they’re a hot commodity and in short supply. Attention is fully on the new bells and whistles of the new system: games with day-one Series X upgrades, how backwards-compatible games look without the dedicated upgrades, what storage methods and accessories are necessary, etc. On the other side of the coin, more casual console owners are leaning into the opposite type of enthusiasm, getting ramped up for the holidays and early shopping.  And then, of course, we’ve got the … other distractions still lingering throughout the end of election season and amid the pandemic. 

Amid all that, it isn’t much of a surprise that November’s Games With Gold have very little capability go grab attention, a slate of passable, forgettable titles during a time when something big could’ve made an impression and drawn in new subscribers. Perhaps, at this point, they’re more interested in Game Pass. It’s still possible to Grab a Year Xbox Live Digital Code from Amazon, so it’s worth considering stocking up while they’re still out there.

Xbox One

Aragami: Shadow Edition (November 1-30)

Thief: The Dark Project stands out as one of the earliest, most effective games to capture suspense and realism, and essentially created the 3D stealth subgenre as it’s known today. Across two decades, a slew of stealth games have built upon its versatility and moved into the third-person perspective — from Assassin’s Creed and Batman to smaller titles like Styx – and they’ve each gone above and beyond the genre’s limitations in some way.

With its bold quasi cel-shaded graphics and usage of a “shadow” mechanic, Aragami doesn’t attempt to branch out by trying a bunch of other things like those titles, instead sticking to the effective basics of stealth movement and kills in a ninja- like environment. Critics and players tend to agree that the stealth aspects are challenging and very well-executed, and that’s great for aficionados of the genre, but the story and lack of versatility limits its appeal to the devotees.

Swimsanity! (November 16 – December 15)

4-player couch and online multiplayer games will always hold a soft spot in the gaming community, but the 360/PS3 era of games enjoyed a proper resurgence of this concept, mostly led by Castle Crashers. Since, developers have mined the “couch co-op” subgenre and landed on several successful formulas, with several – such as Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time – involving quick-response shooting and coordination. Conversely, the popularity of new 4-player competitive combat games that aren’t Smash Bros. has also shot up, like Rivals of Aether and Speedrunners. 

Swimsanity combines both cooperative and competitive ideas into one, allowing up to 4 players to descend into the water and shoot their way through obstacles and enemies … with the ever-present threat of a massive shark, whale, or other critter to come swimming and eating everyone up.

Xbox / Xbox 360

Full Spectrum Warrior (November 1-15)

Pandemic Studios are best known for a game released in 2004, Star Wars: Battlefront, and it’s a good thing that it came out when it did because the developers were also charging head-on into another controversial title released in the same year. In coordination with the armed forces after they learned about the popularity and effectiveness of military games, Pandemic helped to develop a combat strategy simulator for the Army, which gave birth to Full Spectrum Warrior. 

While it may seem like a Rainbow Six type of squad-based shooter at first glance, players will need to readjust their expectations upon learning that it’s a turn-based tactical game with no direct control over the characters and their shooting, only in making decisions about their actions. It’s a unique piece of gaming history for how it emerged before the armed forced adopted the likes of Call of Duty as a readiness module and recruitment tool, though even the Army claimed it was “out of date” upon release.

LEGO Indiana Jones (November 16-30)

Nowadays, it’s hard to keep track of all the franchises that have LEGO video game versions of their movies or shows, but there was a time when LEGO Star Wars was a novel, charming, and singular concept: an amusing spoof of the movie’s events whose controls are effortlessly family-friendly.  The first attempt made by developer Traveller’s Tales to adapt another franchise in the LEGO concept was with Indiana Jones … and the rest, as they say, is history.

Is it a great LEGO-ized version of the game? Not particularly. In this first transition to another franchise, Traveller’s Tales didn’t do a flawless job of keeping monotony in check with its activities, both because of the amount of stuff to do and the fact that they didn’t make the new activities feel particularly unique to the Indiana Jones universe.  Did that matter? Nah.  Its humorous, lively take on an established property make up for it, and evidently cemented the developer’s future for the next decade-plus.

Xbox, Amid a Series of Distractions, Sneaks Through November’s Gold Games

To say that 2020 has been a different year than other recent ones would, of course, be a colossal understatement. While adjusting to the new normal involved with living amid a pandemic, people have also coped with the sluggish release of new entertainment and content to digest in tough times … while simultaneously stocking up on activities and hobbies they can do from the comfort of their home.  This has resulted in, well, the videogame industry continues to thrive despite the complications, working through mild delays in software releases and still moving full steam ahead into the arrival of a new generation of consoles in November. Granted, there’s still one delayed title – Cyberpunk 2077 – that many people are still uncertain about whether it’ll get here before the holidays, but for the most part, it’s still been a solid year for new titles worth wrapping up and giving as gifts.

Below, we’ve bundled together over a dozen titles that have either stood out from the rest this year or are very, very likely to impress once they’ve come out in the near future. Be sure to hop over to Ben’s Bargains Hardware Gift Guide to figure out what machine you’ll want to play these games on — whether it’s the current cycle of game consoles or the upcoming ones that are inherently backwards compatible.

Gifts for the Horror Survivor

The best of gaming’s horror genre tends to hover around the concept of pandemics and the origins of those diseases, which may go in two directions this year: they may trouble those playing even more, or they may resonate more deeply amid the current world situation.  Both are absorbing experiences in their own right, and worth the intensity.

Gifts for The Sci-Fi Aficionado

Three of the most significant names in the realm of science-fiction video games cranked out games for 2020, some with engaging sandboxes to explore and others with familiar, yet different landscape to traverse.

Gifts for The Open-World Explorer

While there’s certainly plenty of pleasure to be had in knocking out shorter games, just to celebrate the completion of something, there’s also something particularly satisfying about exploring vast areas without an obligation to really accomplish anything. It eats up hours and distracts from what’s going on in the outside world, and the more immersive the realms being explored, the better. Being able to control a shark … ? Well, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Gifts That Are a Blast From the Past

Lately, video games have enjoyed something similar to movies and TV shows in the way old franchises have been revived with new content. The games in this section have a degree of “back in the day …” aspect to them, while also carrying their own modern spit polish and enjoyment.

Gifts for [E]verybody

Whether it’s the satisfying completion of everyday tasks on an island or the enthrallment of vaulting through a vivid forest landscape, the games below showcase that the games occupy the E for Everyone quadrant of the gaming world are just as versatile and engaging as ever.

… And Finally, A Gift For the Webheads

Many of the games listed above will be receiving updates to get themselves up to speed for the new console generation, and that’s part of the reason why the roster of launch titles and exclusives remained fairly low leading into the release of the PS5 and the Xbox Series units. There’s one, however, that understood the responsibility that comes with greater power, and it’ll be slinging into the picture at a point where it might leave an impression that’s to be felt for the rest of this generation.  

2020 Gift Guide: Best Video Games For the Holiday Season

Well, we have finally arrived at the last full month of freebies from Xbox Live before the Series X consoles come into the picture, and it’s unclear exactly what the year ahead has in store.  On the surface, the assumption that players will be focusing on the newest, flashiest games above older titles will naturally still be the reality.  However, it’s clear by the tech being implemented in both the big new consoles that companies have taken the desirability of backwards compatibility seriously, boasting that their library of older games will run and look even better than before. The future of Xbox Live sub service also remains in limbo due to how Microsoft has been halting year subscription buys and their pivot to Game Pass, but that’s just another element. 

What we have here is the final month of free Gold games without the Series X in the stratosphere, and while the offerings aren’t high tier – no Resident Evil, Outlast, Layers of Fear, or Evil Within? — they are at least appropriately Halloween-themed enough.  Let’s take a closer look, but before you do, hop over and Grab a Year Xbox Live Card at Amazon while you still can.

Xbox One

Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut (October 1-31)

Have you ever been bothered by the ridiculous movements of a horror-movie killer, where it seems like they make weird decisions or go in awkward directions for the sake of the story continuing? Slayaway Camp playfully uses this idea in a mashup of gaming genres: it’s an isometric block slide puzzle game, but it’s set in the universe of an ‘80s-style horror movie. 

Moving the focal block puts players in control of the killer, an overt duplication of Jason Voorhees named Skullface, and when they’ve solved the puzzle correctly … ? Skullface gets to relish the death of another victim, rendered in blocky, yet still oddly gruesome kills.  Those who’ve been hooked by slide puzzle mobile games know how the addiction starts, feeling like the early ones are easy and then getting lost in endless shifts with later, more difficult layouts, and that’s an experience confirmed to stick around with Slayaway Camp by critics and players.

Maid of Sker (October 16 – November 15)

If you’re looking for a more traditional survival horror style of game, however, Microsoft’s got you covered there too with Maid of Sker. Granted, those looking for the action-packed segments of those genre staples might be disappointed, as this title from Wales Interactive steeps itself in the atmospheric mystery of R.D. Blackmore’s late-1800s novel about the Sker House, a historical building on the southern side of Wales.

Weapon usage is minimal since the game hinges more on stealth and evasion from the “Quiet Ones”, as the protagonist reaches environmental puzzles and further unearths the haunted mystery of the locale.  “Restrained” games like this can work with the right kind of atmosphere and tension behind them, but they can also stumble without more fleshed-out game mechanics to make the player feel like they’re involved in the experience.  Maid of Sker falls somewhere in the middle: the eerie British ghost/Lovecraftian atmosphere deserve praise, but critics feel it’d be better with stronger mechanics getting the player between key spots.

Xbox / Xbox 360

Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy (October 1-15)

Man, it’s weird to think about some of these vintage games in terms of them being decades ago, and perhaps Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy is one of the more unique representations of that. Upon release, the third-person action and platforming game was heralded for the vivacity of its graphics and the expansiveness of its explorable world, combined with tricky environment puzzles.

That was in 2003, though, and between the advances in graphics and the continued development of the scale of worlds being built for players to explore, it doesn’t hold up to the same accolades.  The absence of voice acting in its trove of cinematic cutscenes doesn’t help, either. Some will enjoy the nostalgia of revisiting Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy and how it looks being processed by modern game consoles like the Xbox One X, but it doesn’t have the same fidelity and longevity as others cut from the same cloth as it, such as Prince of Persia: Sands of Time or Beyond Good and Evil (both also released in 2003).

Costume Quest (October 16-31)

Believe it or not, no, the folks at Xbox haven’t made the original Costume Quest available as a free download at any point during the program, only the sequel in 2016. Somehow, over the course of nearly a decade of Halloweens come and gone, they never thought to make this charming, family-friendly RPG from the creators of Psychonauts and Brutal Legend available to enjoy over the season.

That’s a shame, because it proves to be a great introduction to the moving parts of the role-playing genre, set against the backdrop of Halloween night as one costumed twin – chosen at the beginning between the boy or the girl of the pair – sets out to rescue the other from being kidnapped by a monster. The game possesses light party recruitment mechanics and upgrade systems that prove to be appealing to players both younger and older, heightened by the vibrant art style and the dramatics of the transformative turn-based combat style (even if it does feel dated by today’s standards).

Xbox Gold Freebies for October Scare Up Interest Without Slaying

As of today, Microsoft has officially unveiled both the Xbox Series X ($499) and Xbox Series S ($299) gaming consoles. Both are timed for a November 10 launch date, just two weeks before Black Friday. Preorders for both consoles start on September 22 at all major retailers.

Sony is expected to announce the release date of the PS5 soon as well as the retail price of both the model with a disc drive and the all-digital model without a disc drive. Pricing will likely be in the $499 range.

Of course, new consoles are rarely, if ever, discounted at release, beyond a minimal amount of savings when purchasing with console with a handful of games in a pricey bundle. We’ve got a few tips that could help you shave some dollars off the retail purchase price!

1. Look very carefully at AMEX / Discover / Chase card special offers (and save your points!)

Over the last 12 months, all of these credit card companies have offered special bonuses for spending at a certain threshold. This gets even more aggressive during Q4.

For instance, I took advantage of an offer from Discover in early April that offered 20% off on orders up to $250 when paying with points at Amazon. I used exactly $0.56 of rewards points (my current balance at the time) and got an additional $50 off my order for paying with Discover. These offers have been predominately linked to purchases at Amazon, but I wouldn’t be shocked if more retailers (like Best Buy) offer something similar during Q4.

The first downside to this method is that you need a balance of reward points to spend in order to take advantage of the deal. If you have zero points, you are out of luck. On Amazon, you can adjust the number of points you spend during a purchase, ideal for keeping a few cents on hand to take advantage of a deal like this.

The second downside is that these offers can be targeted narrowly or broadly. There’s also a limited number of uses. But if you are lucky enough to qualify, you could knock $50 of the price of Series S bringing it down to $250 or 10% off the price of Series X or PS5.

We frequently post these credit card offers on Ben’s. In addition, you should check the rewards sections of your credit cards to see if there are any additional bonus offers for spending money at specific stores. AMEX frequently likes to offer additional bonus credit for shopping at retailers.

2. Look for bonus credits when trading in your older consoles at retailers

GameStop is particularly notorious for offering additional bonus credits when trading-in an older console as a new generation of consoles comes out. These bonus credits are typically $50 to $100 on top of the standard trade-in credit. Presumably, they are attempting to encourage you to purchase the new console at their store.

In you are trading in a collection of older games as well, be aware that GameStop’s store credit offer is typically better than the cash offer when it comes to trading in software. In addition, look for weeks when GameStop offers bonus % credits on software trade-ins. These typically range from 20% to 50%, increasing the amount of store credit you have to use when purchasing a PS5 or Xbox Series X.

If you prefer the cash route, look ate the trade-in values at places like Amazon or Decluttr. Regarding timing, you may want to check prior to the launch of new systems as trade-in values will continue to fall as we get closer to the November launch dates of the new systems.

3. Look for the post-purchase bonus gift card / store credit offers around Black Friday

There are a handful of retailers (particularly in November) that like to reward consumers when they purchase an expensive item. In the Black Friday ads, you will frequently see larger retailers like Target and Walmart offer an additional $25 to $40 gift card when purchasing a new gaming console.

This is specifically designed to get people into the store on Black Friday, but also helps online orders. In addition, look at Best Buy and Dell to see if they have any additional gift cards to sweeten the deal.

In addition, look to retailers like Kohl’s who have their own store credit systems in place like Kohl’s Cash. Last year, Kohl’s was offering $15 for every $50 spent during Black Friday. If you purchase an Xbox Series X, that’s basically a $150 store credit that you will have to spend the following week. Yes, you paid full price for the console, but you are effectively spending $500 to purchase $650 worth of goods.

4. Watch the Microsoft Store and Sony Store carefully for sales

In the past, the Microsoft Store has been particularly aggressive when offering sales on consoles as well as games. While you may have to purchase the console at full price, it’s possible a bundle will be offered with a pack-in game. It’s possible that Microsoft will package a bonus offer of 3 to 6 months of Xbox Game Pass with the purchase of a new console.

Traditionally, Sony has been more stingy with sales through the online Sony Store. However, it’s possible that additional competition from Microsoft will bring about more direct sales to consumers this year, especially with COVID impacting supply lines and inventory.

5. Check your current generation of games for free upgrades

As we all know, hardware isn’t the only thing that’s super expensive at a console launch. Upgrading to a new generation of games is typically very expensive. Thankfully, there’s a new upgrade process this year that many gaming developers are utilizing.

If you purchase the Xbox One or PS4 version of the game, many developers are allowing you to download a digital copy of the Series X or PS5 version for free (or upgrade for a fee around $10).

Here’s a full list of games that can be upgraded for free (if a fee or special edition is required, it’s noted):

• Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (requires $10 upgrade fee)
• Call of the Sea
• Chorus
• Control (requires additional purchase)
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dead by Daylight
• Destiny 2
• DIRT 5
• Doom Eternal
• Fable 4
• Far Cry 6
• FIFA 21
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears of War 5
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Halo Infinite
• Hitman 3 (Digital version only)
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits
• Little Nightmares II
• Madden NFL 21
• Marvel’s Avengers
• Metal: Hellsinger
• NBA 2K21 (only the Mamba Forever edition)
• Sea of Thieves
• Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
• The Ascent
• The Elder Scrolls Online
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
• Watch Dogs Legion
• World Rally Championship 9
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon

5 Tips on saving money on the Xbox Series X / Series S & Sony PS5 at launch

In a way, when it comes to video game output, years like 2019 are the ones I prefer. Instead of there being a small cluster of big standout video game releases whose dominant presence drown out almost anything else to come out during that period, we’ve had a wide array of very solid, satisfying games that both tap into nostalgia and blaze new trails in the format. Shooter fans have new installments in popular franchises to scratch that itch; survival horror devotees have a unique variety to choose from; and there’s a new game from RP gamemaster Obsidian. Perhaps there are fewer near-flawless, masterwork caliber releases so far, but there’s quality in volume here, and certainly worth indulging in over the holidays both for oneself and to give to others.

Below, we’ve gathered together over a dozen of the assorted titles that have impressed across this year and will likely impress once their release rolls around. Be sure to head over to Bens’s Bargains Hardware Guide to figure out which of the below games have been paired with consoles in easy-to-wrap bundles.

Gifts for the Wasteland Wanderers

Those who get wrapped up in traversing the expanses of futuristic frontiers rife with lots of loot will have a pair of titles, each different in their own ways, that are guaranteed to capture their attention.

Gifts for Those Into Something Different

At times, it’s a little difficult to find truly distinctive games among the heavy hitter AAA titles. Whether it’s the style and tone of storytelling or the adventurousness of gameplay mechanic ideas, the pair of games below deserve to be celebrated for the risks they take for the sake of inventiveness.

Gifts for The Sharpshooters

“Gradually, I drifted off to sleep, pringing ducks on the wing and getting off spectacular hip shots.”

Here are those must-buy games for the adult Ralphie in your life.

Gifts for the Horror Fiend

Not everybody’s into the joyful spirit of the holiday season; also, plenty of people who love the holiday season’s delight also appreciate just as many scares in their lives.  Here’s a couple of treats to offer those who like a few goosebumps and screams amid the merriment.

Gifts for the Exclusive Hunter

Arguments still ensue every year over which system has the best exclusive titles, but I’d like to think that the discussion has changed a bit from bickering to more civilized decision-making processes. The titles below might be worthy enough of a heated discussion, though.

Gifts for [E]verybody

Don’t be scared to give these to the horror aficionado in your life as a holiday gift, as they both capture distinct and absorbing types of atmosphere that they’re sure to love.  Granted, these might be the games that they’ll shelve until a later period outside the joys of the season, but when the mood strikes, they’ll be glad you thought of their fear factor.

… And Finally, A Gift For Those Who Like Galaxies Far, Far Away

There’s a whole lot overlap between gamers covered in this gift guide that would love to see a Star Wars game done absolutely right.  It’s been a while since that’s happened, as the Knights of the Old Republic games were released on the OG Xbox roughly a decade ago: BioWare’s The Old Republic MMO vacillates in quality year after year; The Force Unleashed series was a fine but fleeting action diversion; and we all know how EA has taken serious heat for the Battlefront series over the past couple of years. In ways, the LEGO Star Wars games are the most safely enjoyable out of ‘em all, and I’m sure folks at LucasFilm, at EA, and all over would like to lift up that reputation. Will this one do it? Possible, it may be.

2019 Gift Guide: Best Video Games For the Holiday Season

An easy way to get on the good graces of console owners is to offer exclusives for free through their subscription service, something that Microsoft sets its sights on with August’s Games With Gold for the Xbox One. While the likes of Halo may be considered more iconic and signature to the brand, the franchise of which Microsoft has offered the latest installment as a freebie comes in at a very close second or third, and arguably the biggest name-maker of the 360 generation.  Another is a little lower-key, but it’s also well-regarded and provides a unique hack-‘n-slash RPG alternative to some of the others out there. On top of that, they’ve also thrown in one of the later installments from their popular racing exclusive, as well as a reputable entry in one of gaming’s longest-standing franchises.  It’s a pretty solid month, so let’s focus in on the titles.

Click Here to Grab a 12-Month Xbox Live Gold Subscription at Amazon

Xbox One

Gears of War 4 (August 1-31)

Yes, the gritty violence and unyielding machismo contributed to the popularity of Gears of War upon its release in ’06, but underneath the amusing aesthetics lies a tightly executed third-person shooter with clever usage of cover and an undeniably effective apocalyptic atmosphere. And it only got better after the first, resulting in one of the more reputable trilogies of last generation, to such a degree that fans were still yearning for more even after the COG wrapped up the war against the Locusts in the final entry. After the middling and somewhat poorly-received attempt at a midquel or spinoff with Gears of War: Judgment, the franchise decides to go the popular route by jumping ahead a quarter century into the future with the proper sequel Gears of War 4, in which the son of protagonist Marcus Fenix battles against both human and monster foes in the familiar over-the-shoulder shooter paradigm. It may leg just a bit behind, but Gears of War 4 gets the franchise back on track.

Forza Motorsport 6 (August 16-September 15)

The fifth installment in the Forza Motorsport series served as an early showcase of what the current-gen Xbox console could do in the graphics department, but as is often the case with launch releases like this, there’s generous room for improvement in shifting the gears to the second.  This one does indeed build upon the first, offering the same caliber of precision, realism and visual spectacle as the launch title alongside some noteworthy upgrades. Those included improved weather and daylight features, as well as an upgrade to the multiplayer functionality. Both critics and players responded well to the additions, celebrating both its variety and simulation excellence, and the continued support for the game has resulted in a bevy of new vehicles worth a spin.

Xbox 360

Torchlight (August 1-15)

The release of Diablo 3 was an unusual time for gamers, in that both the legendary hack-‘n-slash franchise caught heat for its persistent online connectivity and its streamlining of the concept. It opened the door for alternatives to shine in the light of Blizzard’s missteps, one of which was Torchlight II, a massively upgraded sequel that stood toe-to-toe with the juggernaut.  The franchise had to start somewhere, though, and it began with a smaller scale, yet just as charming dungeon crawler with the original Torchlight. Perhaps it isn’t the longest – around 15-20 hours – or the most in-depth in terms of quest structure and narrative, but the general attitude driving it forward, the amount of obtainable loot, and the fluidity of the action-RPG mechanics make up for its milder shortcomings. It provided a wonderful clone-slash-substitute during the dry spell, managing to create enough of a foothold to lead into something frequently considered to be the superior modern dungeon-crawling experience.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (August 16-31)

If you’re thirsty for more Castlevania action after last month, don’t fret: Microsoft’s got you covered with another journey into the gothic, beast-ridden realm curated by Konami. From developer Murcuty Steam, Lords of Shadow arrives at the tail end of the period where God of War dominated the action scene, naturally leading any and all third-person action RPG-ish games into a comparison with the juggernaut. Now, Lords of Shadow didn’t really help this by utilizing whip-lashing style of combat heavily reminiscent of Kratos’ weapons, but that shouldn’t lead one to think that’s all there is to the trials of protagonist Gabriel.  Thing is, most elements in Lords of Shadow can be traced to other franchises, and that’s where the game struggles in areas where it really needed to shine.  Castlevania needed to expand and discover a new life on modern consoles, and the derivative nature of it couldn’t quite get to the heart of that matter.

Xbox Gets Gears Moving in August With Swarm of Free Gold Exclusives

Microsoft’s Xbox Games With Gold titles this year have placed a lot of faith in the power of The Force, in that close to 20% of the free titles offered have come with the Star Wars name attached to them. Those have been for the original Xbox, though, which has revealed something of a system to how the sub service has been handling games this year: the original Xbox gets Star Wars, last-gen’s 360 titles have been the “heavy hitters” of the lot, and the current-gen One offerings fit into the non-AAA, mostly indie spectrum. After the lukewarm first couple of months and now with April’s shrug-worthy slate of titles, it’s about time for Microsoft to tap into its powers and unleash more noteworthy recent games to help justify its subscription service’s price tag. Let’s take a closer look.

Click Here to Grab a 12-Month Xbox Live Gold Subscription at Amazon

Spiders

Xbox One

The Technomancer (April 1-30)

The last time we experienced a game from Spiders, it was Bound By Flame, their hopeful yet unsuccessful challenger for the throne of AA action-RPG titles. Their follow-up, The Technomancer, hopes to capture some of the potential of futuristic RPGs before the likes of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk2077 complicates matters and in the absence of BioWare’s Mass Effect.  Sharing a universe and taking cues from the studio’s previous title Mars: War Logs, this game – like Bound By Flame – attempts to incorporate a deep arsenal of RPG components hinged on stats, combat styles, and mildly branching endings based off decisions made throughout its wartime tale set several centuries after the colonization of Mars. As with other games from Spiders, however, the critical and player response resulted in a lukewarm mix of appreciation for the ambition and frustration with the execution, yielding what seems like a flawed response to Witcher 3 that’s, when push comes to shove, still worth a look.

Outcast: Second Contact (April 16-May 15)

Revisiting an older game can be a challenge if there isn’t a strong nostalgic attention to it, as the underlying gameplay must be strong enough to support its reintroduction to the modern era. Outcast: Second Contact remakes what’s considered to be one of the first substantive open-world experiences, merging vivid other-worldly landscapes with an urging for players to explore them. The world grants near-complete freedom for the character to travel wherever they’d like – with the understanding that certain areas are more hazardous than others at lower levels – and it also reacts to decisions made by the player in how to engage situations, from using “stealth” to evade encounters to whether more reckless methods of solving problems were undertaken. Coupled with polished, updated graphics rendering the landscape’s variety, there’s a lot for players to like about the layout of Outcast, though both critics and players agree that its dated, sluggish controls anchor the exploration to the past.

Pandemic

Xbox / Xbox 360

Star Wars: Battlefront II (April 1-15)

Ah, Pandemic. Few game developers out there have the grasp that the now-defunct studio had on the third-person action/shooter genre, realized in both their Destroy All Humans and Star Wars franchise efforts; their attempt at a historical GTA-style game, The Saboteur, was also criminally underappreciated. Battlefront II marks the culmination and refinement of their game design, essentially repeating the celebrated mechanics and enthrallment of the first one with additions and improvements, from beefed-up modes to a tighter, more focused single-player campaign. As most players will confirm, however, the crux of Battlefront lies in its multiplayer functionality, especially the online functionality and the ability to plow through Star Wars battles with buddies just about anywhere. Of course, with EA’s updated, graphical powerhouse releases of the Battlefront concept, Pandemic’s games fall into the realm of old-school feels … but the still-tight execution might just cause a disturbance in that perception.

Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare 2 (April 16-30)

The climate for military shooters during the mid-to-late 2000s was quite a warzone, one where studios were trying to figure out exactly how many of ‘em could hit the market and continue to satisfy demand. Underneath the new success of their Rainbow Six: Vegas line of tactical shooters, Ubisoft also maintained a consistent output of titles from the Ghost Recon line, hitting success with their Advanced Warfighter subgroup; the acronym GRAW was a thing for a while.   Advanced Warfighter 2 takes places very shortly after the events of the original, transpiring in Mexico across a three-day period amid a brewing civil conflict.  Controversy swirled around its depiction of towns in the region, but underneath that lies a tight, intense cover shooter that tilts toward the methodical player instead of those who prefer to go in guns blazing, sporting technical prowess in both the graphics and the enemy AI.

Xbox Games With Gold for April is a Science-Fiction Battleground

Last year, as I mentioned in our Hardware Gift Guide, it wasn’t the easiest experience to simply go out and pick up the latest Xbox or PlayStation console over the holiday season, as the variety of models had saturated the shopping experience.  Pros and cons of all the systems – including monetary investment and the newness of premium consoles – made it difficult to choose, even for the ardent gamers out there.   However, the past year has brought more focus toward what’s worth the investment and what’s not, particularly in terms of Xbox’s newest iteration of the Xbox One: a $500 machine, the Xbox One X (click here for our review) that has justified the extra dollars spent with proven elevation in gaming performance and media functionality.

With that said, this year has also proven to be lopsided in terms of the quality of exclusive titles, heavily in Sony’s favor. Between a return – well, a rebooted return — to a popular mythical franchise from the heyday of the PS2 era to a well-executed, endlessly enjoyable portrayal of a beloved superhero and his swinging across New York, there’s no disputing the popularity of the games that could only be played on the PS4 this time around. While the Xbox One plows away at backwards compatibility and offering the technically superior way to enjoy cross-platform releases, the PS4 has substantial gaming tricks up its sleeve that Microsoft cannot deliver, making the decision between Option A and Option B tough as always.

Below, this guide will attempt to bring a little more focus onto which systems might be best to pick up over the holidays for both veteran and new gamers, either as the prized gift for a loved one or as the best usage of one’s giftcard funds.  Remember to also check out Bens’ Bargains Software Gift Guide to see which games not offered in bundles would best pair with any of the below systems.

For Those Who Need Gear to Explore the Wasteland, Gift This.

Xbox One X 1TB Fallout 76 Bundle

Pros: 4K Gaming/Media, Backwards Compatibility, Fallout 76 Included | MSRP: $499

Click Here to Buy on Amazon Or Search Ben’s for Xbox One X Deals

As I mentioned in our Video Game software guide, Fallout 76 comes with some controversy built around it. It’s the first installment from Bethesda that’s entirely online, turning it into an MMO-like experience. Folks will be hesitant about that, but trust in this coming from someone who’s always skeptical and resistant to … well, anything involving online gaming: they’re going to want to play it, or at the very least just try it out.  No better way to do so than to have it ready to load up in 4K on an Xbox One X, Microsoft’s advanced iteration of their latest console.

A year’s worth of stress-testing has proven that the X is a capable machine in many arenas, from being a competent 4K Blu-ray player (after a firmware update) to a dazzling graphical powerhouse in how it processes older games.  And that’s not even taking the Xbox One X Enhanced factor into account, as each title bearing that label – from modern hits to classic Xbox titles like Elder Scrolls: Morrowind – look their very best here.  From backwards compatibility and media versatility to the constant updates to its “enhanced” catalogue, whoever’s getting this bundle will have lots else to enjoy regardless of when their time exploring the wasteland comes to an end.

For the Webslinging Experience of a Lifetime, Gift This.

Given how Marvel Studios finally “got it right” with their presentation of Spider-Man on the big screen in Homecoming, it’s no surprise that a decent game featuring the webslinger would be getting some attention.  Few probably expected for the team behind Spyro and Ratchet & Clank to stick the landing the way they have with the dazzling open-world PS4 exclusive, though, sentiments that carry over to those who aren’t gamers and those who have only been rocking an Xbox One up until now.

For them, and for those who might enjoy one of Sony’s most popular exclusives this generation, this bundle’s just the ticket. A bright-red version of the PS4 Pro packs the system’s highest-end capabilities into a snazzy limited chassis, includes a matching Dualshock controller, and of course swings into action with Insomniac’s hot new title.  As with alternate-colored PlayStations, it’s probably not a bad idea to pick this up sooner rather than later, just in case demand gets a little too heavy for ole’ Spidey.

For Those Hitting the Gaming High Seas on a Dime, Gift This.

The Xbox One S really wasn’t given a proper amount of time to shine. Minus the X’s massive hardware enhancements, the S offers worthy upticks in processing power over the original Xbox One by upscaling 1080p to 4K; sporting UltraHD disc playback; and coming in a sleeker, compact white console with several functional tweaks, including an internal power supply and rearranged USB ports. Then, the Xbox One X came along a year later, and bam, it was made to look like a holdover product.

Thing is, it’s still a great iteration of Microsoft’s versatile console – a worthwhile replacement of the launch model – and this bundle comes equipped with Sea of Thieves, the Xbox’s exclusive pirate simulator hinged on multiplayer cooperation in piloting your ship and interacting with other plunderers.  There’s also a bundle out there for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds for the same price, if a battle royale shooting experience would be something they’d prefer.

For Those Ready for an Old-School Throwdown, Gift This.

Remember when the Switch was difficult to get? Yup, it was just like most other consoles from Nintendo, and now we’ve reached that point where they’re much easier to locate at the store of one’s choosing for the retail price. Naturally, that’s the perfect time for a new Smash Bros. game to get released, so that it can actually be played at multiple locations between friends.

For those who haven’t joined up with the Switch culture, the Smash Bros. Ultimate Edition provides a novel way for newcomers to enter the fray. Sporting an exclusive skin on select portions of the console and the Joy-Con controller, it’s the perfect way to jump into the Switch mobile-ish way of doing things, and of course it comes with Smash Bros. Ultimate at … well, pretty much the same price you’d pay for the system and game together anyway.  Still, having it all in one awesome box packs a punch for the holiday season.

For Those On-the-Go Heroes Big and Small, Gift This.

As console wars have come and gone over the past fifteen years, Nintendo’s portable game systems have continued to amass a huge library of compatible titles. Thus – aside from tablets and such – the Nintendo DS remains one of the safest purchases for players wanting a gaming system that can go anywhere with them, especially the budget-conscious 2DS, which contains both screens of the format without the flip top.

There’s always a bundle of choice out there, but I’m a big fan of this one: the green-and-yellow themed Zelda 2DS, which comes preloaded with Ocarina of Time 3D. Out of the gate, those gifted can play one of *clears throat* the best games of all time *settles down*, with many other quality titles (both physical and download) able to be purchased for similar prices to those of popular apps out there.

For Those Who Want More Control Over Their Style, Gift This.

With over a decade of experience under their belts, the folks at The Controller Shop have gradually built up their controller customization process into a substantial reputation, both in form and function.  Through their interface, nearly everything can be tweaked about the controller to the colors, textures, and design of your choice; however, with deeper customization comes a steeper pricetag.  Yeah, you can get nickel bullet buttons and mappable add-on buttons on the back of the controller, but it’ll cost you.  Head over to The Controller Shop to see how much your ideal controller will run.

For That Player Running Low On Hard-Drive Space, Gift These.

As consoles get more advanced, the games they run take up even more digital space with their installations, updates, and downloadable content. Base models of this generation’s consoles – some at 500GB, but most now getting to 1TB of space – can’t store very many games, which throws a conundrum at owners: should they upgrade their systems to newer ones with bigger hard-drives, or upgrade their storage solutions?

Thankfully, it’s a fairly easy problem to solve on both consoles, as the Xbox One supports external USB hard-drives and the PS4’s internal hard-drive can be swapped out. Seagate has affordable, compatible options for both, with each of their 2GB varieties priced at around $85.

For Online Players and Freebie/Deal Hunters, Gift These.

Xbox Live 12 Month / PlayStation Plus 12 Month

Pros: Free Monthly Games, Weekly Exclusive Deals, Online Gaming Access | MSRP: $59

XBLA 12 Month on Amazon PSN 12 Month on Amazon

While the primary reason for purchasing subscriptions to either PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live used to boil down to having access to online gaming, both companies have taken strides to make their paid memberships really worth the monthly, quarterly, or yearly investments.

Weekly exclusive deals on a variety of digital games can be nice, of course, but how they’ve upped their value games can be found in the monthly free game offerings (regularly covered here at The Checkout), which range from quirky indies and day-one releases to the occasional high-profile title. And in the case for Xbox, their 360 offerings are routinely backwards compatible on the newer console, too, bringing Xbox One owners up to four available freebies per month.

For Switch Users Who Want To Amp Up the Nostalgia, Gift These.

NES Classic Controllers for Nintendo Switch

Pros: Ditch the Joy-Cons for Retro Gaming, Old-School Cool; Cons: $$$ | MSRP: $59

Click Here to Buy at Nintendo Or Check Out Third-Party Options at Amazon

Sure, it’s a far more expensive method than just picking up a NES Classic, but later this year Nintendo will be allowing those who already own their most recent console to indulge in the same – if not a better – retro experience. Members of Switch’s online service already have access to 20 classic NES titles, with more on the way, but currently it requires using the Joy-Cons awkwardly turned sideways to enjoy ‘em. In December, for around $60, Nintendo will be making these authentic, wireless retro controllers available to enhance that playtime, and the overall price for the system and the wireless controllers might be worth considering if a cute mini-console isn’t a necessity … or if short wired controllers are a concern.

2018 Gift Guide: Video Game Hardware & Accessories