Xbox Games With Gold For May Brings Lots Of Star Wars

Darth Vader faces his apprentice in The Force Unleashed 2

We're only a week out from May kicking off, which means it's once again time to take a look at what titles will be joining the Games with Gold collection on Xbox One and Xbox 360. We've got the usual dose of four entries next month with a healthy injection of force-related shenanigans.

It's a great time to be a Star Wars fan. We recently got a trailer for the next numbered movie in the series launching this December, a trailer for Battlefront II and, in just a couple of weeks, May the Fourth will be with all of us. Team Xbox is doing its part to join in on the celebration, with half of next month's Games with Gold taking place in a galaxy far, far away.

Both of next month's Xbox 360 Gold entries are Star Wars titles, including The Force Unleashed II and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. The former will join the rotating collection of gratis games for subscribers to Microsoft's premium gaming services on May 1 and be available through May 15. The latter will rotate in from May 16-31.

Don't forget that all Gold games are backwards compatible these days, so that means both of those titles will work on the Xbox One, too. So don't forget to pick them up no matter what Microsoft console you're gaming on.

The Force Unleashed II continues the tale of Darth Vader's secret apprentice who apparently isn't all that keen on being betrayed by his master a number of times. There's plenty of lore and locations to love here for fans of the Star Wars universe but, let's face it, unleashing super-charged force abilities while wielding dual lightsabers is more than enough to warrant checking the game out.

As for the LEGO Star Wars game, it includes all six of the original films seen through the lens of the goofy, yet totally fun LEGO series, so you don't want to pass up an opportunity to take this one for a spin.

As always, there is a pair of Xbox One games hitting the Gold service next month, too. If you've got the hardware to run it, then you can add Giana Sister: Twisted Dreams -- Director's Cut and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris to your collection. Just like with the 360 games, these titles will have a different window of availability. Giana Sisters will be up from May 1-31 while Lara Croft can be yours from May 16 to June 15.

Giana Sisters is actually a pretty great and vibrant platforming adventure while Lara Croft is a pretty rad spin on the series that has you solving puzzles and blasting ancient baddies from an isometric view. Bring in a second player to quadruple the fun.

Ryan Winslett

Staff Writer for CinemaBlend.