{"id":25311,"date":"2016-08-05T19:14:12","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T02:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=25311"},"modified":"2016-08-05T19:14:12","modified_gmt":"2016-08-06T02:14:12","slug":"xbox-flexes-muscle-and-explores-caverns-in-augusts-games-with-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/bens-bytes\/xbox-flexes-muscle-and-explores-caverns-in-augusts-games-with-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Xbox Flexes Muscle, Explores Caverns in August’s Games With Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u00a0isn’t\u00a0much rhyme or reason behind\u00a0the games being offered by Microsoft to Games With Gold subscribers over the month of August.\u00a0 One could say that the freebies available on the Xbox One could both be classified as “beat-’em-up” games with big rosters of playable characters, though the similarities between professional wrestling and fantastical Japanese warfare stop there. It’s even more difficult to find a common thread between the two action games available for the 360, beyond a mirthful\u00a0sense of charm, unique tools being used by the characters, and catchy music.\u00a0 The one commonality between them comes in the fact that they’ve all been met with at least mildly positive receptions, resulting in a worthwhile hodgepodge for the month. Let’s dig into the games.<\/p>\n

Click Here to Grab\u00a0a 12-Month\u00a0Xbox Live Gold Subscription\u00a0at Amazon<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Omega<\/a>

Omega Force<\/p><\/div>\n

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Xbox One<\/h3>\n

Warriors Orochi 3 (August 1-31)<\/h4>\n

Both the Dynasty Warriors<\/em> and Samurai Warriors<\/em> hack-‘n-slash franchises have kept\u00a0a loyal following over the years and between\u00a0consoles, so it’s no surprise that the frequent\u00a0crossovers between the two draw a lot of attention from their fans. That said, Warriors Orochi 3<\/em> seems to have reached a point where both critics and avid players have grown\u00a0overly accustomed to the sameness of the battle warfare,\u00a0graphical prowess, and overall game structure. The Ultimate version attempts to add a spark to the numerous\u00a0options and characters already there, including new story and character content, additional modes, and added visual\u00a0polish.\u00a0 While still considered an\u00a0engaging action experience with a lot of bang for the buck, there still seems to be too little freshness\u00a0and too much repetition \u00a0to conquer its player-base.<\/p>\n

WWE 2K16 (August 16-September 15)<\/h4>\n

The response to 2K’s 2015 installment in their longstanding wrestling franchise wasn’t much of a victory, slammed for being a next-gen changeover entry that ineffectively tried to update the series with both welcome additions and questionable subtractions. By bringing back certain match and customization options, improving upon the Showcase mode, and adding a new layer of visual refinement to the wrestler models (and improved loading screens for next-gen consoles), WWE 2K16<\/em> came back swinging and determined to win fans back over. Coupled with a huge roster of wrestlers — as well as a certain non-wrestling character from Arnold Schwarzenegger designed to terminate<\/em> the competition — and the overall return\u00a0of the game’s realistic feel and creative\u00a0features, it displays a marked climb up the ladder from the previous year’s release.<\/p>\n

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\"Spelunky

Mossmouth<\/p><\/div>\n

Xbox 360<\/h3>\n

Spelunky (August 1-15)<\/h4>\n

“Roguelike-like” doesn’t have the same ring to it as “procedural death labyrinth”, does it? It’s certainly a better description for a game like Spelunky<\/em>, which sends a cave-crawling hero through randomly generated 2D levels in the same manner as roguelike role-playing adventures. Developer Mossmouth have devised a challenging platforming game with responsive controls and a\u00a0drive to experiment with the tools at the explorer’s disposal, one with equal amounts of reward for digging deeper and permanent punishment for crumbling under pressure. \u00a0The pursuit of treasure, rescuing damsels in distress, and experiencing countless types\u00a0of new caverns might be all there is to Spelunky<\/em>, but the addicting nature of wanting to conquer yet another level with that jazzy\u00a0 music playing in the background makes for a delightfully pure gaming experience.<\/p>\n

Beyond Good and Evil HD (August 16-31)<\/h4>\n

Recently, The Checkout threw together a list of some of the more noteworthy, perhaps overlooked Xbox 360 games that have been made playable on the Xbox One through the system’s new(-ish) software functionality: Click here to check out the Backwards Compatibility Guide<\/a>. One of those, of course, would be Beyond Good and Evil HD<\/em>, Ubisoft’s sci-fi cult hit featuring photojournalist Jade as she uncovers the truth behind an alien invasion upon her water-based planet. Improved graphics and one of gaming’s great musical scores drive the heroine’s progression through smartly-designed levels, engaging physical puzzles, and third-person battles involving some pretty snazzy unconventional weapons. The HD remake was worth the money before, so naturally it’s a no-brainer of a download for folks playing on either console.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u00a0isn’t\u00a0much rhyme or reason behind\u00a0the games being offered by Microsoft to Games With Gold subscribers over the month of August.\u00a0 One could say that the freebies available on the Xbox One could both be classified as “beat-’em-up” games with big rosters of playable characters, though the similarities between professional wrestling and fantastical Japanese warfare stop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":25314,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1261,25,372,378],"class_list":["post-25311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bens-bytes","tag-games-with-gold","tag-video-games","tag-xbox-360","tag-xbox-one"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25311"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25346,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25311\/revisions\/25346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}