Games with Gold and PS Plus Instant Game Collection for January 2018:

Games With Gold:

January 1st: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III (XB1) and Tomb Raider Underworld (360) rotate in. Warhammer - End Times: Vermintide (XB1) and Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death (360) rotate out.

January 16th: ZOMBI (XB1) and Army of Two (360) rotate in. Back to the Future - The Game (XB1) and Tomb Raider Underworld rotate out.

Reactions: Meh. Neither XB1 game interests me much (though I still don't have one). Tomb Raider Underworld was given away on PS Plus for the PS3 long ago as well as in cheap PC bundles. ZOMBI also is a repeat as PS Plus gave it away for the PS4. I'm a bit interested in Army of Two as I had that once and didn't get much into it, but overall... meh.

PS Plus: (All games released Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018)

PS4:

• Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
• Batman: The Telltale Series
• Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness
• Uncanny Valley

PS3:

• Sacred 3
• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2

PS Vita:

• Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness
• Uncanny Valley

Reactions: First off, the PS3 stuff is kind of meh. Sacred 3 was already given out for the 360 on Games With Gold, and has been in cheap PC bundles. I also had The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 for PS4 already and was going kind of crazy trying to figure out why until I remembered it was in a Humble Bundle for Playstation. The PS Vita stuff (both which have PS4 crossbuy), I don't know either title. But the other PS4 offerings are great. I was totally going to get the Batman series sometime, and while Deus Ex: Human Revolution has been all over PC bundles and console offerings, this is the first time I've seen the sequel offered.

This month's winner: Playstation.

Moho, it seems every single title is in the database already. No attention needed. :D

Also, PS Plus is giving away Starblood Arena, a VR game, from January 2nd to March 6th. I've been just "buying" these games despite not having a VR system just in case.

Also also, PS Plus is also giving away a booster pack for the F2P game Warframe from 1/2 to 2/13.

Games With Gold for February 2018:

February 1st: Shadow Warrior (2013) (XB1) and split/second (360) rotate in. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III (XB1) and Tomb Raider Underworld (360) rotate out.

February 16th: Assassins' Creed Chronicles: India (XB1) and Crazy Taxi (360) rotate in. ZOMBI (XB1) and split/second rotate out.

Reactions: I actually have all four of these games in one format or another, including Crazy Taxi on the 360 itself, so a bit of a meh month here for me, though some might really enjoy the games. Crazy Taxi is the port with the original music replaced and the original brand names removed, and it really hurts the feel of the game. Given that we got Assassins' Creed Chronicles: China in an earlier month, we'll likely get the third installment of the series Russia in March or so to complete the set.

Playstation Plus Instant Game Collection for February 2018:

Tuesday, February 6th: All previous games rotate out, the following rotate in:

PS4:

• Knack
• Rime
• Grand Kingdom

PS3:

• Spelunker HD
• Mugen Souls Z

PS Vita:

• Exile's End
• Grand Kingdom

Reaction: Don't know too much about the games this month other than Knack. Knack had been rumored to be part of PS Plus eventually for quite a while now.

Moho, the only game that needed added is Spelunker HD. It's an HD remake of the Nintendo game you do have listed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelunker_HD

@boffo97 - Spelunker HD has been added! That's a shame about Crazy Taxi, I've been playing it recently on Dreamcast and I still find it quite enjoyable

Games With Gold for March 2018 (and I'm finally getting an Xbox One S today, so I don't miss out on half of these anymore!):

March 1st: Trials of the Blood Dragon (XB1) and Disney-Pixar's Brave: The Video Game (360) rotate in. Shadow Warrior (XB1) and Crazy Taxi (360) rotate out.

March 16th: Superhot (XB1) and Quantum Conundrum (360) rotate in. Assassins' Creed Chronicles: India (XB1) and Brave rotate out.

PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection, all games come out Tuesday March 6th.

PS4:

• Bloodborne
• Ratchet & Clank (2016)
• Mighty No. 9
• Claire: Extended Cut
• Bombing Busters

PS3:

• Legend of Kay (might actually be Legend of Kay: Anniversary)
• Mighty No. 9

PS Vita:

• Claire: Extended Cut
• Bombing Busters

Also, there is a special pack for the game Dungeon Defenders II for PS Plus members.

Finally, they announced that as of March of next year, they will no longer include free PS3 or Vita games in PS Plus.

My take: Good month all around, but PS Plus is the clear winner: 2 AAA titles AND Mighty No. 9 for anyone who wasn't disappointed with that.

Moho, the only missing game this month is Bombing Busters.

This just might be the best month I've seen from the PS+ offerings.

Yeah, it's definitely good if you don't own any of those games. With the exception of Bombing Busters I own physical copies of all of those games on various platforms. For me, this month may as well not even exist.

NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING.

Edit: For those of you into PC gaming, this upcoming Humble Monthly is pretty killer so far.

Early unlocks are:

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
God Eater Burst 2 (comes with God Eater Resurrection)
Mafia III + Sign of the Times DLC

I've been subbed for 3 months and feel like I get WAY more value out of Humble Monthly than I do either PS+ or Games with Gold. YMMW depending on the types of games you're into.

@boffo97 - Bombing Busters has been added!

@HevyD - To be fair, Humble Monthly is more expensive, so you should be getting more value out of it.

Also, the Humble Monthlys have been really good in recent months compared to some of the really lackluster months they've had in the past.

Here's to services continuing to pick up their game and delivering better quality games :D

I actually had been doing a thread on Humble Monthly Bundles, but it didn't seem to gather much interest, so I dropped it.

Yeah, Humble Monthly has definitely picked up their game lately.

I hope it keeps up.

One of the rare months Xbox Live Games With Gold and PS Plus Instant Game Collection news came out the same day...

Xbox Live:

April 1st: The Witness (XB1) and Cars 2: The Video Game (360) rotate in. Trials of the Blood Dragon (XB1) and Quantum Conundrum (360) rotate out.
April 16th: Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (XB1) and Dead Space 2 (360) rotate in. Superhot (XB1) and Cars 2 rotate out.

My take: Don't know about the Witness. ACS has had mixed reviews, but I'll take it for free. Cars 2 should be passable. The Dead Space trilogy has been all over bundles, so no big thing here:

Moho note: All of these seem to be here, though the picture for The Witness (2016) in the database and the announcement article for this month's games are very different.

PS Plus:

PS4:

• Mad Max (2015)
• Trackmania Turbo
• Q*Bert Rebooted

PS3:

• In Space We Brawl
• Toy Home
• Q*Bert Rebooted

PS Vita:

• 99 Vidas
• Q*Bert Rebooted

My take: Mad Max has been in more sales than Shadow of Mordor, but I'm glad now I resisted. Trackmania Turbo was previously on Games With Gold. I have Q*Bert Rebooted on Steam, but I think I was limited to keyboard controls on it, so it'll be nice playing with a controller. I don't know about the other three games here at all.

Note to Moho: Toy Home and 99 Vidas need to be added.

No wonder they're discontinuing the ps3/vita offerings if this is the kind of stuff they keep giving out. I feel like we're back in the early days of ps+ when they were pushing ported flash games as their incentives for subscribing.

Yeah, the PS4 stuff has definitely been the highlight for a while by a large margin.

Maybe they're just running out of games that devs are willing to let be put into the IGC.

@boffo97 - The two that were missing have been added!

Quick addendum on this month's PS Plus games:

• 99 Vidas was also offered as Cross Buy with PS4 and PS3
• In Space We Brawl was also offered a Cross Buy with PS4

So, in total, there's 5 PS4 games, 4 PS3 games and 2 PS Vita games, counting repeats separately. Although the two added to Cross Buy don't seem all that great as previously mentioned.

May 2018 announced.

Xbox Live:

May 1st: Super Mega Baseball 2 (XB1) and Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage (360) rotate in. The Witness (XB1) and Dead Space 2 (360) rotate out.
May 16th: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (XB1) and Vanquish (360) rotate in. Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (Xb1) and SVC: Streets of Rage rotate out.

My take: If you don't already have them, the Streets of Rage Collection and MGS V are pretty good. MGS V was in PS Plus in October though. SMB2 is new upon release which is always nice. Don't know much about Vanquish.

Note to Moho: SMB2 needs to be added because it's new. The Streets of Rage collection needs to be added but the individual games are there.

PlayStation Plus: (All games release 1st Tuesday of the month, which is May 1st this month.)

PS4:

• Beyond: Two Souls
• Rayman Legends

PS3:

• Risen 3: Titan Lords
• Eat Them!

PS Vita:

• King Oddball (Crossbuy with PS3 and PS4)
• Furmins

My take: I was planning to buy Beyond: Two Souls eventually because I really liked Heavy Rain. Rayman Legends was in Games With Gold back in 2015, but I didn't have a subscription then so it's new to me. Risen 3 is supposed to be decent. The rest suffer from "So this is why they're ending PS3 and Vita games in Plus!" syndrome.

Note to Moho: They're all in the database on the PS side!

Personal winner: PS Plus
Guess as to perceived winner: Games With Gold

@boffo97 - Both of the Xbox games have been added!

June 2018 announced.

Xbox Live Games With Gold:

June 1st: Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia (XB1) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (360) rotate in. Super Mega Baseball 2 (XB1) and Dead Space 2 (360) rotate out.
June 16th: Smite Gold Bundle (XB1) and Lego Indiana Jones II: The Adventure Continues rotate in. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (XB1) and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed rotate out.

My take: We've had the first two Assassin's Creed Chronicles (aka the side scrollers) before, so it's no surprise to get the third one. Unless it's an absolutely awesome bundle, having a bundle of stuff for a F2P game counting as a game is a big meh. It may in fact be the same bundle PS Plus once offered in addition to the usual games. PS Plus always lists this stuff as extra. The 360 games though are both really solid unless one already has them.

Playstation Plus Instant Game Collection:
(All previous games rotate out while these games rotate in Tuesday, June 5th):

PS4:

• XCOM 2
• Trials Fusion

PS3:

• Zombie Driver HD
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

PS Vita:

• Atomic Ninjas
• Squares

My take: Hit and miss. XCOM 2 is absolutely solid if you didn't already have it. Trials Fusion was already part of Games With Gold, but is good. Zombie Driver HD was in at least one PC bundle, but Tom Clancy games usually decent. I haven't heard of the PS Vita offerings, but it's been a while since something knocked my socks off there.

Personal Winner: PS Plus
Guess to Perceived Winner: PS Plus

Note to Moho: All games already in database.

Actually, that Squares game that's in the database already is not the same game as the one being given away on PS+ right now as I just discovered.

There are two Squares games on Steam and the third Vita one. All different.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/786750/Squares/ (this is the one we have, based on the image)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/855180/Squares/ (the other steam one)
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0409-PCSE00676_00-SQUARES20155LEAP

So... that's fun. Gotta love name overlaps!

Dhobo already posted about it in the Free Game Alerts thread, but just in case anyone just checks this thread, Call of Duty; Black Ops III was added to PS Plus for a limited time.

July 2018:

Xbox Live Games With Gold:

07/01/18: Assault Android Cactus (XB1) and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown (360) rotate in. Assassin's Creed Chronicles: Russia (XB1) and Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (360) rotate out.

07/16/18: Death Squared (XB1) and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (360) rotate in. Smite Gold Bundle (XB1) and Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown rotate out.

My take: Meh. While at least we got 2 actual games (and not 1 game and a F2P bundle) this month native on the Xbox One, they're both indietastic. Assault Android Cactus seems like it could be fun if you like twin stick shooters, but Death Squared doesn't look like too much fun at all. In contrast, both 360 games are AAA titles, but Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown got given out by PS Plus SIX YEARS AGO. Splinter Cell: Conviction is said to be good, but short (as in 4 hours). And I already had it on disc anyway from one of Gamestop's "Buy 4 used games marked for $4.99 or lower for $10" sales.

Moho Note: All games present.

PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection:

All games rotate in and all previous games rotate out on Tuesday, July 3rd, except for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, which is available through July 11th.

PS4:

• Heavy Rain
• Absolver

PS3:

• Rayman 3 HD
• Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess

PS Vita:

• Space Overlords
• Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma.

My take: I have Heavy Rain for the PS3, but it was one of my favorite games on the system. That said, it's a game people either really love or really hate since it revolves a lot around Quick Time Events. This seems to be the same digital version that came with pre-orders of Detroit: Become Human, and I've heard some say it can run poorly and isn't really a remaster so don't expect huge improvements over PS3. Absolver is an online fighting game that was apparently originally underrated due to technical issues that have since been fixed.

To be fair, I'll point out that Rayman 3 HD was previously on Games With Gold. I don't know much about the last 3 games, but I've heard Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma is good, BUT it's the third game in the series and may be hard to follow without playing the first two.

Moho Note: Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma needs to be added.

Personal Winner: PS Plus
Guess for Public Winner: PS Plus

Just a heads up, Zero Escape is in the database. It's there as simply "Zero Time Dilemma" right now. I've updated the alias for now to include both long/short versions.

Also, you're right about the zero escape game being hard to follow if you haven't played the previous games. If it's going to be anything like Virtue's Last Reward, having played 999 beforehand helped to understand some of what was going on.

That said, good month for me. I've been on the fence about buying ZTD off and on since it released. Now I don't have to, lol. Replaying Heavy Rain will be fun too :D

So apparently there was some last minute PS Plus issue because we ended up getting Extreme Exorcism rather than Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess on PS3.

Also, Extreme Exorcism and Space Overlords are crossbuy with PS4. Sadly, Zero Time Dilemma was not.