Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.>

No, not that one. The other one. Yes, the FPS. EA trying to resurrect Bullfrog’s top-down tactical series as an FPS was obviously going to rile up the people it was supposed to excite, but ignore the name. It’s a pleasant spot of face-shooting in a sumptuous cyberpunk world of gleaming clean lines and filthy neon. I don’t remember much of the campaign, but writing this has me wanting to dive back into the co-op.

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So, that Minecraft‘s pretty popular, isn’t it? Apparently worth a fair chunk of change too. I see sprogs wandering the streets brandishing foam pixelated swords all the time, Minecraft t-shirts on their chests. Playing it has turned folks on YouTube into Internet celebrities and heck, it even has its own convention. In a way, it’s surprising that it’s taken this long to make a baffling spin-off.

Telltale Games – yes, them lot behind The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us – are making an episodic Minecraft story-o-game named Minecraft: Story Mode.

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If you’re one of those whose bought Assassin’s Creed: Unity’s DLC Season Pass at launch, you’re getting a big fat Sorry from Ubisoft whether you felt you needed it or not. They need your forgiveness. They burn for it. The publisher’s apologies for Unity’s many and various bugs and performance issues comprises a choice of one of the following: Far Cry 4, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, The Crew, Rayman Legends, Watch_Dogs or Just Dance 2015. We already knew that! But now it’s actually happening right now go go go go

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Hideo Kojima is one of console-land’s greatest champions. Over the past two decades Konami’s Kojima-led team, eventually formed into Kojima Productions, has produced classic game after classic game almost all of which are Metal Gear titles. Though not without critics, each MGS feels like a reinvention rather than a sequel, consistently innovative, stylish, and changeable. And with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, the prologue act to next year’s full release of MGSV: the Phantom Pain, Kojima Productions reinvents itself as a PC developer.>

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Dungeon Defenders II is a tower defence/action-RPG hybrid, with a very heavy focus on co-op multiplayer, in which your fantasy archetype lays traps and wades into the fray themselves in the hope of defeating waves of marching monsters. Its ‘pre-alpha’ has been out on Steam Early Access for a short while now, and is proving rather popular. I gave it a very quick look to try and find out why. … [visit site to read more]

Inevitably, the quotes from critics that punctuate the first trailer for Life is Strange contain references to Gone Home. Telltale comparisons might seem more valid given that Life is Strange is an episodic adventure about drama and decision-making rather than puzzling, pointing and clicking, and the floating quotes dutifully invoke The Walking Dead. But there’s some teen angst on display as well in this tale of a photography student returning to her hometown. It’s a hometown packed with melancholy and mystery, naturally, and the plot suggests there might be a touch of Veronica Mars to throw in with other apparent influences. Oh – and the main character can rewind time, obviously.

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Silly puns. Got to love them, really. Even more so when they come dressed up in detailed and lovely isometric graphics straight from the revered tradition of Cadaver, When Time Stood Still and the recent Shadowrun Returns. Yes, Cat-Ana really does look this good.

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Transformers Universe will shut down at the end of January, having never properly launched. First announced as a MMO in 2011, it shifted into a free-to-play Dota-y sort of a thing (MOTA was the horrible word developers Jagex used), and launched into paid beta this year followed by an open beta in July. And soon it’ll shut down. Jagex didn’t give a real reason, but I suspect the fact that you can’t move without bumping into a car that transforms into a MOBA might be something to do with out. It arrived too late, and didn’t offer enough reasons to shift away from larger, more established F2P Dote ‘em ups.

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One of the year’s Bestest Best Games is currently discounted by 50% on Steam. The game is Endless Legend, Amplitude’s superb 4X fantasy game, and it’s currently 13.49, but only until 6pm GMT. The discounts extend to all three of the studio’s releases, so you can also grab debut title Endless Space and this year’s brilliantly inventive roguelike door defense thing> Dungeon of the Endless for 4.99 each. There’s also a bundle with all three plus DLC for 30.49. If you need to know more, our reviews of Dungeon and Legend are here to help, and Jim and I wrote about Endless Legend as part of our December festivities.

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I can think of a dozen easy ways to describe Metrocide – Teleglitch in a city, Grand Theft Auto 1 but cyberpunk, Hotline Miami but with an open world and stealth. If I’m skipping analogies, it’s a top-down game with permadeath about completing a series of dynamic contract killings in a futuristic city under heavy surveillance by bystanders and floating police droids. It sounds pretty cool, and it’s out now after a short Early Access period with a launch trailer below.

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