Hot off the heels of Sony’s reveal that they’ve given away 64 games as part of PlayStation Plus, Microsoft has made its next Games with Gold title known: Defense Grid: The Awakening.
Yeah, that was our reaction, too.
While we certainly appreciate the free copy of Fable III (which is still available, by the way), Defense Grid is a title currently available for 800 Microsoft Points (about $10). The game also came out in 2008 on Steam (2009 is when it hit Xbox), and though it was well-reviewed, it’s still not exactly what we’d call a game worth picking up.
To compare, Sony just gave us XCOM: Enemy Unknown with our PlayStation Plus subscription. That game came out less than a year ago. Oh, and they’re also giving us Saints Row: The Third, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and Uncharted 3.
We expected to be getting Halo 3 and Assassin’s Creed II in the first weeks of Microsoft’s program, as it was hinted at E3 just a few weeks ago.
Microsoft will unveil a new game on the 16th of the month, though they’re staying quiet about what game it’ll be. In order to really impress us and make us think Games with Gold has any sort of value, they need to come out and say, “here’s Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Oh, and here’s some Forza 4 and Gears of War 3 while we’re at it. Oh, and by the way, have some Tomb Raider and wash it down with some Borderlands.”
Then, we’d be in business. Until then, if you don’t have an Xbox Live Gold membership, Games with Gold is certainly not a good enough reason to get one.