MEMBERS ONLY
Subscriptions offer access to a host of titles at a fraction of the cost
OF ALL the hobbies you can have, gaming has to be one of the most expensive. Setting aside the initial outlay for consoles and accessories, new games often cost upwards of £40 – and then there’s DLC.
But there is a way to get your hands on new games to play at a fraction of the cost.
Microsoft and Sony both run schemes which give gamers access to free titles every month – for a small fee.
Sony’s Playstation Plus subscribers can download free games every month, which are theirs to access as long as they’re Plus members.
Microsoft Games with Gold subscribers also get access to Xbox One games when their Gold subscription is active. Games for the 360 however, are yours to keep whatever. Plus, players signing up to Gold-level memberships for Xbox Live also get free games every month.
A monthly Gold subscription on Xbox Live is £5.99 – or you can pay an annual fee of £39.99. For that, you get £500 worth of free games a year, plus discounts on titles.
A monthly PS Plus subscription is £6.99 – or you can pay an annual fee of £49.99. For that, you get 24 free PS4 games a year, exclusive discounts on titles and 10GB of cloud storage for PS4 game saves.
Still undecided? Here are a few of the titles Gold and PS Plus members can get this August.
1 FOR HONOR Xbox One
THIS team-based, thirdperson actioner pits some of the world’s greatest warriors against each other in close range combat. Play as a Knight, Samurai or a Viking for some impressive battles using For Honor’s exceptional melee combat system. For something extra special, try out the multiplayer.
2 GAMES WITH GOLD FORZA HORIZON 2 – STANDARD, 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Xbox One THE Forza Horizon series set a new standard for open-world racing games.
With dynamic weather, and day to night cycles, Forza Horizon 2 was like no driving game I’d ever played before. Already boasting a roster of 200+ cars, this special edition comes with the 10 Year Anniversary Car Pack, featuring 10 specially tuned and liveried cars, including the 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia.
3 DEAD SPACE 3 Xbox 360, Xbox One
THE Dead Space series is one of my all time favourites. This third and final instalment in the series ends the harrowing journey of Issac Clark to discover the source of the Necromorph outbreak, and put an end to it. Scavenge raw materials and parts to build weapons to help you survive – team up with a friend, so the dark isn’t quite so scary.
4 HERE THEY LIE PSVR
FOR the first time ever, there’s a bonus VR for PS Plus members. Here They Lie is a first-person horror game, where players find themselves in a nightmarish city inhabited by strange, malevolent creatures, with unsettling encounters and environments that inexplicably come to life.
5 DEAD BY DAYLIGHT PS4
ONE of the first 4v1 multiplayers, which sees one person assume the role of the maniacal killer, while the other four players run for their lives.
Play out the terrifying reality in one of several maps – a dilapidated farm, a run-down manor, a rickety junkyard or a groaning warehouse, each scarier and more bone chilling than the last. Fix the generators, turn on the lights to survive – or face the killer in the dark.
6 SERIOUS SAM 3: BFE PS3
DESCRIBED as a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person shooters, in Serious Sam 3 cover is for amateurs, and pulling the trigger make things go boom!
Classic arcade gameplay aside, this game can be seriously fun – or incredibly annoying, especially if you overdose on the old school action.
7 DISNEY EPIC MICKEY 2: THE POWER OF TWO Xbox 360, Xbox One THIS 3D platformer is a homage to everything Disney – with a dark twist. Mickey Mouse joins forces with Disney’s first cartoon celebrity, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, to save the magical world of Wasteland – a world where all the forgotten and retired Disney characters live out their days. While the story is not as strong as the first outing, it still looks magnificent.
8 DRAW SLASHER PS Vita
YOUR finger is the ultimate weapon in this fun little ninja adventure. Hanzo is on a mission to save his family, who have been kidnapped by Pirate Monkey Zombies. Using the PSV’s touch screen, you can help Hanzo’s blade hit home – and free his loved ones.
9 MAFIA III PLAYSTATION PLUS PS4
HAVING survived the horrors of the Vietnam war, Lincoln Clay is home and on a mission to build his own crime syndicate and bring down the Italian mob who murdered his surrogate family.
Blisteringly, graphically violent, it may not be the best of the Mafia series, but it’s hard to argue with when it’s free.