‘Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes’, ‘Metro’ Series Is August’s Free Xbox LIVE Games
The next set of free games for Xbox One and Xbox 360 owners was announced Tuesday. Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers will be able to pick up two games for both consoles in August via the Games with Gold program, as Microsoft previously announced. The prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and the Metro series is leading the way.
Xbox One owners can look forward to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes being available as a free download starting on August 1 and lasting the entire month. This will be followed by How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition on August 16, and it will be free until September 15.
On the Xbox 360 side of the ledge, Metro 2033 is the first August title to be free on the last-gen console from the start of the month through August 15. This will be followed by its sequel, Metro Last Light, on August 16, and it will be a free download through August 31.
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes received mixed reviews (Metacritic) when it was released at the end of 2014. It was heavily criticized for being a paid demo for The Phantom Pain. It’s relatively short with only four to six hours of playtime for the main campaign. However, it offers a competent sandbox to try different strategies that might work in multiple play-throughs. That should serve as a nice warm-up to The Phantom Pain‘s release on September 1.
How to Survive: Storm Warning Edition is a zombie-survival role-playing title with a third-person isometric perspective. It has a heavy emphasis on crafting and progressing your character by building skills. The Storm Warning Edition adds all six of the game’s DLC releases to the mix. It received mixed reviews on Metacritic.
Metro 2033 is the survival-horror first-person shooter from 4A Games based on the novel by Russian author Dmitry Gluhkovsky. Players must survive a post-nuclear-apocalyptic Russia to kill mutants and other survivors. Most of the game takes place underground in the Metro subway system. However, players will venture above ground occasionally. The game was heavily praised in reviews for its graphics and story, but it was knocked for bugs and AI.
Metro: Last Light is the direct sequel to Metro 2033 and continues to follow the same character through the post-apocalyptic Russia. It received better review scores than its predecessor, but the game was still knocked for AI issues.
As previously mentioned, an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription is required to get the free games from the Games with Gold program. A 12-month subscription retails for $59.99, but can be found for as cheap as $30 through third-party resellers.
What do you think of August’s Games with Gold offerings? Sound off in the comments below.
[Images via Xbox]
