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Tropico 5 - Pentilutimate Edition
Tropico 5is a construction and management sim, and as with previousTropicogames, the player will have to contend with political developments in a relatively relaxed and comical way. This game was actually banned in Thailand due to fears the game’s political content could upset the tenuous political balance in the country. However, generally, players find the imaginedpolitical situation ofTropico 5to be a fun set up to play as either a dictator or aim for a more democratic route.
Unlike previousTropicogames, this game will also include a co-op mode, letting players build cities next to each other and choose whether to be friendly or hostile to other players. Witha Gold subscription, players will also get access to the DLCs The Big Cheese and Hostile Takeover.Tropico 5will be available on Games with Gold from December 16th to January 15th.
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The Escapist 2
The Escapist 2is a fun top-down perspective RPG. In the game, players control an inmate trying to escape prison, using whatever means they can. The game has combat and stamina mechanics, which call for strategic play. The most fun in this game is found playing with friends, though, wherein players can work together to engineer wild prison escapes or race against each other to escape the fastest. Following on from2015’sThe Escapist,this game offers more complex combat and customization mechanics and includes a wider variety of prison settings to escape from. Feedback from the first game led the development team to basically buildThe Escapist 2from the ground up. This game will be available on Games with Gold all of December.
Orcs Must Die!
The first entry intheOrcs Must Die!seriesis a common inclusion on free game services, and is a tower defense game where players control a powerful War Mage. Originally released in 2011, the game has been well-received by players and it is a smart, if safe, choice for Games with Gold this month. The towers in this game are Rifts, which are magical openings between the human world and the “Dead World”.
The player will place various traps to defend the Rifts, and can also engage in combat to fend off the waves of attacking orcs. After defeating these waves, players earn money and then skulls for the final wave; these can be used to buy new traps, expand the mage’s spellbook, and improve items.Orcs Must Die!is a fun, well-crafted gamefor fans of the genre, and will be available from December 1st to December 15th.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planetis a puzzle game largely inspired by animator Michael Gange’s seriesInsanely Twisted Sock Puppetsmade for Nickelodeon. Gange teamed up with game developer Joe Olsen to create this game, despite Gange’s familiarity with games ending at 1993’sDoom.The 2D adventure game will see players battling to the center of the mysterious Shadow Planet. The puzzles and combat are engaging, but more significantly this marks another example of collaboration between TV and film animators and game developers, which is always a good thing for the industry overall, especially in terms of visual styles. This game will be available from December 16th to December 31st.
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