Xbox Reveals December's Games With Gold

Microsoft is jumping the gun early this time around, hoping to lure in gamers with news about what will be free for the month of December as part of the Games With Gold program. There will be four free titles, as usual, with two being available for the Xbox 360 and two being free for the Xbox One.

Over on the Xbox News Wire, it's being reported that the four free games that will be available for Xbox Live Gold subscribers will include:

• _Warhammer: End Times -- Vermintide _ for Xbox One: December 1st through December 31st

• Back To The Future: The Game - 30th Anniversary Edition for Xbox One: December 16th through January 15th, 2018

• Child of Eden for Xbox One and Xbox 360: December 1st through December 15th

• Marlow Briggs and the Mask of Death for Xbox One and Xbox 360: December 16th through December 31st.

Those are all mostly decent games. Warhammer: End Times -- Vermintide is actually a fairly recent game, and it came out back in the fall of 2015. So Microsoft managed to nab a fairly popular title that actually isn't one of those long forgotten games from years ago.

The game put players in the role of five hunters tasked with cleaning up the Skaven infestation within the city of Uberseik. The actual game is only a four-player, though, as multiple players work together throughout the cooperative missions to take down the Skaven monstrosities. Gameplay is kind of a mixed hybrid of sorts, with developer Fatshark combining some of the long-range combat from typical first-person shooter games with up-close melee combat as well. This comes in the form of giving players access to swords and axes, but also allowing them to use long-range magic attacks, crossbows, and throwables.

Warhammer: End Times -- Vermintide actually went on to sell quite well and bring in a handsome purse for Fatshark. Microsoft will definitely open the game up to a much larger audience now that it's part of the Xbox Live Games With Gold program for the month of December.

If action-oriented first-person shooters isn't your thing, perhaps point-and-click adventure games is more up your alley? Telltale's Back to the Future is an adventure-oriented throwback to the classic film from Robert Zemeckis. Players will join Marty and the Doc on a time-traveling adventure 30 years in the making, which is the closest thing we'll likely get to a Back to _the Future 4_.

Microsoft managed to extend the list with eclectic offerings including the visual and audio tour de fource from Tetsuya Mizuguchi and Q Entertainment called Child of Eden. This game came out a while back for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and is a psychedelic amalgamation of sights and sounds as gamers move through the vibrant music-themed universe.

If you want a more classic run-and-gun romp, there's Marlow Briggs, which is another Xbox 360 title that's backwards compatible with the Xbox One. The game is a classic homage to old 1980's action films and comic books. The game will round out the free offerings for Xbox Live Gold subscribers in the latter half of December next month.