Dead Island and Toy Soldiers: Cold War are the two Xbox 360 games that will be given away free to Xbox Live Gold members in February.
Dead Island will be the first offered, going free from February 1-15, before Toy Soldiers: Cold War replaces it on February 16 until the end of the month. Dead Island, launched in September 2011, is an open world zombie survival game,. We said in our 6.5/10 Dead Island review: "This budget zombie thriller ain't too pretty but could manage to capture a cult following." Toy Soldiers: Cold War, the second Toy Soldiers game released via Xbox Live Arcade, takes on a 1980s theme with co-op gameplay and new mini games. It mixes first person combat with strategy elements.
Originally conceived as a limited-time promotion before being continued indefinitely, Games with Gold offers Xbox Live Gold subscribers two free games each month. Games downloaded via the promotion remain in that user's library permanently.
Microsoft has said that its Games with Gold initiative will make the jump to Xbox One at some point in 2014.