Recent months have seen the likes of SUPERHOT, The Witness, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain given away for free via the Xbox Games With Gold scheme. Now though, as June hits, a batch of four more games are being gifted to all Xbox One and Xbox 360 gamers out there. But are the games on offer this time around right up there with the names that precede them?
Um, nope.
In fact, June doesn’t get anywhere near the glories of March, April and May. That doesn’t necessarily mean that us Xbox gamers haven’t still got something to look forward to though, as any free game really should be a good game. Shouldn’t it?
We can only find that out by taking a proper look at each of the free Xbox Games With Gold titles for June 2018 on an individual basis. So let’s do just that shall we!
Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia – Consider it!
Free from now until the 30th June
There are two ways you can look at Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: Russia. You could either take it as another instalment in the brilliant Assassin’s Creed franchise, or you could look at it as a completely standalone, independent 2D stealth adventure. I advise you to do the latter.
See, if you do just that then you may well find that you quite like what has happened with the Assassin’s Creed series with the Chronicles trilogy. Because you know what, if you give it a bit of time, and have already played through both the freebies of India and China, then you will probably enjoy the little romp through 20th Century Russia and the October Revolution that it allows.
But go in expecting a fully fledged AC title at your peril. This is a completely different affair.
SMITE – Give it a miss
Free from 16th June-15th July
You probably already know of SMITE. In fact, you’ve probably played it already, what with it being a totally free-to-play title. But what if you want a bit more SMITE? Well, that’s where the new Gold Bundle comes in.
As you would expect, the SMITE Gold Bundle lets you go even deeper than before with SMITE, pushing out a ton of free content including extra gods (20 of them in fact), and over 50 skins, announcer packs and more.
If you need an excuse to go back to SMITE, then the Gold Bundle will most definitely sort you out. It is however a real shame to not see a ‘proper game’ removed of its price tag – for one month though we’ll let the Xbox gods off.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed – Instant Download
Free from now until 15th June
The reveal of the free Xbox Games With Gold titles for June 2018 was most definitely held back longer than usual. One of the reasons behind that was no doubt to ensure the hype built from the announcement of the new Team Sonic Racing could trickle down into the GWG titles. And that’s no doubt why we have a copy of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed coming our way for nothing.
A game that is not just about racing, but how and when you transform your vehicle from car to plane to boat mid-race, this Sonic racer is well worth you spending a bit of time with, if only to get a taster for what is to come further down the line.
A ton of game modes – Grand Prix, Battle Arenas and a World Tour – are all in place and allow you to mix and match racers to your own needs. Taking the race online is also something that is big in the world of Sonic racing and with up to 10 players online, or taking on four friends in classic split-screen, will ensure that this game is the standout title from June’s Games With Gold freebies. But then, it’s not really got much to go up against has it!
LEGO Indiana Jones 2 – Consider it!
Free from 16th-30th June
The LEGO games have moved on massively in the last couple of years, both in gameplay and visual terms. And whilst that is great in itself, it ensures that the slightly older LEGO games are looking a bit ragged.
That is no more true than with LEGO Indiana Jones 2, a game that released on Xbox 360 back in 2012.
Now don’t get me wrong, the whole LEGO humour and Indy mashup is still worth playing through, especially if you weren’t lucky enough to take it in the first time around, but should you try to compare it to the utterly brilliant recent LEGO experiences, you may be left feeling a bit, um, er… whipped.
But with a 2-player split-screen mode, new levels and vehicles and the chance to recreate moments from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, fans of Indy will no doubt still be pleased with what is being sent their way. It’s still a LEGO game, and it’s still fun, but it’s not anywhere near as good as recent games.
So, how do the free Xbox 360 and Xbox One games for June 2018 sit with you? Are they all worthy additions to your gaming library, or has the scheme fallen on hard times after a few cracking months? The comments section is down below and we’d love to hear from you.
From our point of view, and whatever you may think, any free game is a good game. And that’s the best way to sum up June 2018! Roll on July.
