Vote Now for September 2023’s TA Playlist Game

We hope you’ve been having a good time recovering from your Bean Dives while platforming across the beautiful, Planet of Lana, but now that August is half over, it’s time to vote on what game will be featured for the September 2023 TA Playlist.

August is officially the last month for Games With Gold, a perk of the Xbox Live Gold subscription that has been giving out free* games to subscribers for the past ten years. With the news that the new Xbox Live Core subscription tier will replace Xbox Live Gold in September, Games With Gold is officially being retired in favour of a smaller selection of the Xbox Game Pass library. Before that happens, though, we wanted to say a fond farewell to Games With Gold by nominating four of the best offerings from that program for the September 2023 game of the month.

Of course, a lot of the most popular games from the Games With Gold service have already been featured in the Playlist throughout the years. Games like BioShock Infinite, Tomb Raider, Dead Space (2008) and its sequel, Borderlands 2 (Xbox 360), and Gears of War 3 are just some of the highly-rated, big-name games that have already had their shot as TA Playlist Game of the Month. But that doesn’t mean there are no games left to choose from! We took the list of Games With Gold, sorted by TA User Rating, and picked out four of the top-rated games for this month’s nominees:

Portal 2

Up first is Portal 2, the follow-up to Valve’s seminal puzzle-platformer. Published by Electronic Arts and released back in 2011, Portal 2 was offered as the final Xbox 360 game to be included in Games With Gold last September.

Welcome back to the Aperture Science Testing Facility, where silent protagonist Chell must once again use her wits, reflexes, and portal gun to overcome a series of test chambers and make her way out of the facility. GLaDOS returns for the sequel (Still Alive after all), along with new robotic companion Wheatley and the voice of Aperture Science founder and CEO Cave Johnson (J.K. Simmons), as you uncover the history of the test facility and make your escape.

Like any good sequel, Portal 2 takes what was great about the original and builds on it with new mechanics and more complex challenges, as well as additional worldbuilding and lore. It also features a well-made co-op mode, where you and a partner can work through an entirely different set of Test Chambers with increasingly complex and convoluted solutions… for Science!

With a stunning TA community rating of 4.62/5.00, Portal 2 stands as the highest-rated title ever to be included in the Games with Gold service, although that hasn’t helped it in its previous two nominations for the TA Playlist in January 2021 and September 2021. Both of those nominations came before it was a Games With Gold title, though, so maybe the third time will be the charm? Almost 250,000 tracked gamers have started Portal 2, with nearly 15,000 (6%) completing all 50 achievements. The TA community estimates a full completion should take 15-20 hours, though the the on-site walkthrough by N18p73pwn3r, along with a good co-op partner, might help you get them done more quickly.

Assassin’s Creed 2

Up next is another sequel that many feel surpassed the original, Assassin’s Creed II. Developed by Ubisoft Montreal and released in 2009, this highly-anticipated follow-up cemented Assassin’s Creed as one of the biggest names in gaming, eventually growing into the sprawling franchise we know today.

Head back into the Animus 2.0 to relive the memories of legendary Assassin, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. After his family is framed for treason in Renaissance Italy, he is forced to flee with his mother and sister to Monteriggioni and his uncle, who introduces Ezio to the Order of Assassins. During and after his training, Ezio embarks on a mission to avenge his father and brothers, while also attempting to foil the Templar plot to capture and use a new Piece of Eden.

Of the ten different Assassin’s Creed titles to be given away through the Games With Gold program, ACII has the highest TA user rating, a whopping 4.45/5.00, and it was previously nominated for TA Playlist in September 2022 as one of the best Xbox 360 Games With Gold. Almost 415,000 tracked gamers have started the original Xbox 360 version of the game, with another ~95,000 playing the game as part of Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection (earning an achievement in either the Xbox 360 version or the AC II portion of the Ezio Collection will count for TA Playlist credit). Using the stats from the standalone version, nearly 89,000 tracked gamers have unlocked all 50 achievements, which it’s estimated should take 20-25 hours. Be sure to check out the on-site walkthrough by xDaff to help you find all the feathers and avoid missing the lone missable achievement.

Resident Evil

The third nominee for September is a true classic, known as the “game that defined the survival-horror genre.” Resident Evil was originally developed and published by Capcom for the Playstation in 1996, with a modern HD remaster finally arriving on the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One in 2015. Resident Evil is also a return Playlist nominee, having come in third in one of our October horror-themed polls in 2018.

In 1998 a special forces team is sent to investigate some bizarre murders on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Upon arriving they are attacked by a pack of blood-thirsty dogs and are forced to take cover in a nearby mansion, but the scent of death hangs heavy in the air. Play as S.T.A.R.S. agents Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as they struggle to stay alive with limited supplies against a mansion full of zombies and monsters.

The Xbox One version of Resident Evil currently has a TA user rating of 4.40/5.00, with over 113,000 tracked gamers playing along, and about 3,600 (3%) unlocking all 44 of the game’s achievements. The 360 version has fewer tracked gamers (under 7,000 total) but a higher completion percentage and user rating. As usual, unlocking an achievement in either version will count for TA Playlist credit, if this game wins the poll. TA member thunderkiss92 wrote the on-site walkthrough to help you survive the horrors within.

Borderlands

Last but certainly not least, our final pick for the month is another classic that launched a franchise, Borderlands. Developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K Games in 2009, Borderlands helped popularise the “looter-shooter” subgenre of FPS/RPG hybrids with its unique aesthetic and space-Western sci-fi setting.

Borderlands places you in the role of a mercenary Vault Hunter on the lawless and desolate planet of Pandora, hell-bent on finding a legendary stockpile of powerful alien technology known as The Vault. With its addictive action, frantic first person shooter combat, massive arsenal of weaponry, RPG elements and four-player co-op, Borderlands spawned a whole new type of shooter which has only grown in popularity. Surprisingly, the original Borderlands has never been nominated for the TA Playlist before, although the sequel was featured back in August 2019.

Borderlands has a TA user score of 4.37 out of 5.00, with around 450,000 tracked gamers having started at least one of the game’s three tracked versions. The standard version has 50 achievements in the base game, with a total of 30 more across five different DLC packs, and a total of nearly 24,000 gamers (6%) have managed to snag them all. The Japanese stack has less DLC, for a total of 70 achievements, while the Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition combines all 80 achievements from the English version into one list. Again, unlocking an achievement in any version of the game will advance your TA Playlist badge count. A walkthrough by thirtysmooth is available to help, but the completion is still estimated to take 70–90 hours including all the DLC.

So which of these former Games With Gold titles should be featured in the Playlist before we make the switch to Xbox Live Core? Place your vote and let us know your thoughts in the comments! And if you have any ideas for games or themes for future months, be sure to drop them in the TA Playlist Game Suggestion Thread. This Games With Gold send-off theme was proposed there by BigBanjo K and MorseyBaby, so thanks for the suggestion, and for everyone pitching their ideas!

*Free, as in “at no additional cost with a paid subscription.” No fighting over the terminology!

Thanks to BetaSigX20 for this news suggestion.