Just five days from now, eager fans can get their hands on one of the free games for Xbox Live gold members set for the month of July: Assassin's Creed 2.

It was already confirmed by the Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live, Larry Hryb, who is more popularly known with his gamertag, Major Nelson, that Ubisoft's critically acclaimed game, Assassin's Creed 2, will be one of the free games for Xbox Live Gold Members this month. From July 16 to 31, Assassin's Creed 2 will be free to download by Xbox Live members with Gold Subscription.

Originally, Assassin's Creed 2 is worth 1600 Microsoft Points or $20, but the Xbox maker is going to feature it in its "Games With Gold" promotion, making it one of the free games for July.

The first free title made available for this month in the Xbox Live Marketplace is the tower-defense strategy game, Defense Grid: The Awakening. But reports suggested that some fans were disappointed upon hearing about it. A post from Just Push Start reads, "Not that it's a bad game, but offering an old arcade game seemed like a slap in the face when PlayStation Plus members are getting games like Battlefield 3 and more." Basically, Games with Gold is similar to Sony's PlayStation Plus, providing free games to its paying members.

Defense Grid: The Awakening will return to its original pricing (800 MP or $10) on July 16.

Games with Gold promotion from Microsoft will offer two free games for Xbox Live Gold Members every month. Assassin's Creed 2 and Defense Grid: The Awakening is the first pair of free games featured by Microsoft.

Fable 3 became a free title in the Xbox Live Marketplace in June as a special bonus. Furthermore, Halo 3 was also announced by Microsoft as one of the free games for Xbox Live gold members. However, there is no definite date yet as to when it will be featured for the Games With Gold promotion.

Games With Gold is expected to run until the release of Xbox One, but Microsoft said that there is a possibility that the offering of free games for Xbox Live Gold Members may extend, depending on how the promotion goes.