January free for all
AS months go, January is the pits. Not only is it dark, cold and damp, but there’s divorce day, Blue Monday, and after being paid early in December, payday feels aeons away.
But for gamers on a budget, there’s a small light in the darkness.
Microsoft and Sony both run schemes giving access to free titles every month – for a nominal fee.
Sony’s PlayStation Plus subscribers can download free games every month, which are theirs to access as long as they are Plus members.
Microsoft Games with Gold subscribers also get access to Xbox X/S and Xbox One games while their Gold subscription is active. Games for the 360, however, are yours to keep whatever.
Plus, players signing up to Goldlevel memberships for Xbox Live also get access to games via Games Pass, a free library of 200+ titles, including some brand new releases.
PlayStation Plus and Gold members also get exclusive offers and discounts.
A monthly Gold subscription on Xbox Live is £6.99 – or three months for £17.99. There’s no annual price because Microsoft has halted sales of 12 month subscriptions to the service, fanning rumours Live Gold is not long for this world.
Add Game Pass to your Live subscription, and it’s £10.99 a month – but you get 200 extra games to access, and EA Play – a library of Electronic Arts’ top titles.
A monthly PS Plus subscription is £6.99 – or you can pay £19.99 a quarter, or an annual fee of £49.99.
Still undecided? Here are a few of the titles Gold and PS Plus members can get this January.
GAMES WITH GOLD Aground (PEGI 16)
A mining/crafting RPG with a wonderfully retro feel, in Aground you literally shape the world around you.
Through gathering resources, you help your community evolve from living in stone huts, to reaching for the stars – and everything in between.
Meet new characters, and maybe even learn a little magic along the
way.
NeuroVoider (PEGI 7)
This twin-stick shooter is set on a ravaged Earth, where robots are having a constant party.
You play as an escaped brain, who sets about destroying the mechanical merrymakers to bring an end to the eternal war.
And if you fancy taking things up a notch, there’s even an option to share all the, frankly, bizarre action with up to four other players in
co-op.
Space Invaders: Infinity Gene (PEGI 3)
What starts off looking like the game which defined an industry, evolves the more you play.
Clearing the levels unlocks new stages and power ups until, frankly, you’ll probably be going cross eyed trying to keep up with the waves of invaders.
And once you’ve played through the 140+ stages in normal mode, the truly masochistic can attempt the game in Challenge Mode.