{"id":32925,"date":"2018-09-11T13:26:29","date_gmt":"2018-09-11T20:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=32925"},"modified":"2018-09-11T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2018-09-11T20:26:29","slug":"weak-with-force-xbox-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/bens-bytes\/weak-with-force-xbox-september\/","title":{"rendered":"Weak With The Force Are Xbox’s September Games With Gold"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When the most noteworthy title in a subscription service\u2019s roster of included downloads for a month turns out to be a LEGO title for last generation\u2019s console, you know it\u2019s going to be a rough month. That\u2019s what we\u2019re working with in the September offerings for the Xbox, though, populated with marginal indie games for the One and nostalgia-dependent ones for the 360. \u00a0Enthusiasm isn\u2019t running high this month, but there\u2019s one thing to be said for the majority of the titles: they\u2019re certainly outside-the-box selections that\u2019ll give gamers a true variety of stuff that wasn\u2019t on their radars. Well, except for Star Wars<\/em>, of course.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take a closer look.<\/p>\n

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

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\"prison

Introversion<\/p><\/div>\n

Xbox One<\/h3>\n

Prison Architect<\/h4>\n

Some might be surprised at the literal nature of this simulator\u2019s title, in which the player creates and manages a high-security prison.\u00a0 Operating from an overhead two-dimensional perspective, Prison Architect<\/em> allows the player to fully construct and maintain the facility, making decisions about cell layout, staffing, even operational stuff like overseeing utilities and maintaining prisoner morale levels. Gameplay \u2013 and even graphical presence — is vaguely reminiscent of classic SimCity<\/em> games from its earliest days, but the game gets its hands dirty with some of the complicated, perhaps even existential aspects of managing a prison.\u00a0 In that regard, Prison Architect<\/em> has been considered a more engaging experience than what\u2019s on the surface, though certain graphical and textual stumbles keep its reputation locked up.<\/p>\n

Livelock<\/h4>\n

Twin-stick, top-down shooters are a dime a dozen nowadays; perhaps not literally, but many can be found for a buck a pop \u2013 or less \u2013 at many digital destinations.\u00a0 Therefore, merely executing that concept \u201cwell enough\u201d without telegraphing a unique gameplay presence wouldn\u2019t seem like it\u2019s enough to succeed within that subgenre, but Livelock<\/em> aims to prove that assumption wrong. The mixture of futuristic neon and post-apocalyptic aesthetics aren\u2019t anything new, nor are the straightforward controls themselves. However, the combination of these elements along with the quickness and intensity of their execution makes for an explosive, familiar-in-a-good-way composite of shooter and dungeon crawler, drawing comparisons to the likes of Diablo<\/em> in a positive way. The absence of couch co-op is a bummer, but at least the joy of the shoot-\u2018em-up mayhem can be shared online.<\/p>\n

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\"star

Traveller’s Tales<\/p><\/div>\n

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Xbox 360<\/h3>\n

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars<\/h4>\n

Several layers of franchise branch-off adaptation are going on with this iteration of Lego Star Wars<\/em>. Instead of being based off the movies, like most other games in this franchise, it adapts from the popular Clone Wars<\/em> animated series that takes place between the second and third prequel films. Therefore, it\u2019s a videogame adaptation of an animated series midquel positioned between two feature-length films \u2026 a show that sports a loyal following that frequently touts its superiority to the much-maligned prequel movies.\u00a0 It\u2019s more interesting to talk about these adaptation facets because just about anyone who\u2019s picked up a modern console controller knows what they\u2019re getting into with a Lego title: easy third-person controls engineered for all ages, semi-open exploration, tons of collectibles and unlockables, and goofy cutscenes in the LEGO block style. \u00a0Fatigue seems to have set in with this one, though, receiving shrug-worthy reviews for the sameness and repetition that often skates by in others.<\/p>\n

Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World<\/h4>\n

This retro collection from SEGA ends up being one of those funky trios of games that doesn\u2019t include the original in the series, jumping ahead to Wonderboy in Monster Land<\/em>, Wonderboy in Monster World<\/em>, and Monster World IV<\/em>. All released for the classic SEGA consoles, they begin their reign in the late-\u201880s, telegraphing fairly basic action-RPG controls in a slower-paced yet more mythical environment that, in certain ways, hybridizes Mario<\/em> and Zelda<\/em>. Only the devout retro enthusiasts will probably get wrapped up in the first two installments of this collection, which are functional but stiff platformers. However, the Genesis-era Monster World IV<\/em> switches up protagonists to a spirited girl, spruces up the visuals, expands the RPG-like aspects and — perhaps most importantly — picks up the pace and tightens controls, making it a viable source of fun even in the modern era.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the most noteworthy title in a subscription service\u2019s roster of included downloads for a month turns out to be a LEGO title for last generation\u2019s console, you know it\u2019s going to be a rough month. That\u2019s what we\u2019re working with in the September offerings for the Xbox, though, populated with marginal indie games for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":32928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[1261,372,2030],"class_list":["post-32925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bens-bytes","tag-games-with-gold","tag-xbox-360","tag-xbox-one-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32925","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=32925"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32931,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32925\/revisions\/32931"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}