March is almost here, meaning Xbox Live Gold subscribers have a fresh batch of titles to look forward to as part of Microsoft’s Games with Gold initiative. On the Xbox One front, there’s Telltale Games’ Batman: The Enemy Within, plus Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, while March’s Xbox 360 offerings are Sonic Generations and Castlevania: Lord of Shadow 2
Batman: The Enemy Within once again sees the Dark Knight being given Telltale’s familiar point-and-click-style adventure treatment, continuing the narrative established in Season 1.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, meanwhile, delivers another solid, gorgeously presented entry in WayForward’s well-regarded 2D platform series, blending spirited side-scrolling action with light Metroidvania progression, built around Shantae’s transformation powers.
As for March’s Xbox 360 offerings, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 is the rather disappointing follow-up to developer MercurySteam’s combat-heavy action-adventure reboot. “[It’s] hostage to a story it tells badly, and a prisoner within a dull urban maze that refuses to become a characterful exploratory playground,” wrote Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan back in 2014.
Sonic Generations, however, is a much stronger proposition, blending breezy side-scrolling platforming inspired by the iconic hedgehog’s heyday and the kind of into-the-screen 3D hijinks that defined his later, er, nay-day. The end result is a slightly wobbly but still endearing effort.