At 8PM PT I made a running list of whatFinal Fantasy XVspinoffs and projects were out in the wild, and had no idea that it would be so much work. Over the past few years Square Enix went crazy, injecting Noctis and his crew into unlikely games likeTekken 7— the crew even got a VR fishing spinoff. Nothing is off limits. There might be more on the way too, as Square Enix has just announceda second anniversary streamtitled the “Special Program Broadcast,” that kicks off on November 7 at 8PM PT....

Okay, I know what you’re thinking, and no,MechWarrior Onlineis not going to have the catapult you’re thinking of. When I first went to check out the screenshots, I was expecting some sort of futuristic giant catapult that launched mechs across a battlefield or something. Yes, I know that’s stupid, but I’m into that sort of thing. Don’t judge me. Anyway, the screenshots instead reveal the Catapult mech. As in, a mech that can launch missiles on a giant area without having to actual visually see the enemy (with the help of a spotter, of course)....

E3 2008 has finally come to a close. You’ve read the hands-on reports and saw the trailers for your most anticipated games, but now it’s time for us to play the waiting game. This year’s E3 was far from amazing, but you have to admit, there were some incredible games being shown off at the expo.Mirror’s Edge,Fallout 3, andResident Evil 5topped my “DO WANT” list — how about you? What games are you most excited about?...

All optimized for Xbox features Gameloft comes out swinging with 12 titles for Windows Phone 8.Modern Combat 4: Zero Houris one of the headlining games of the bunch. The franchise has sold over 6.3 million copies so far. Here’s the fulllineup: All of the announced titles are set to take advantage of the Xbox services that the OS provides, including the ability to connect to follow Leaderboards and Achievements. Some in the lineup will support Play-Pause-Resume through Xbox’s Cloud Storage, letting you pause on one device and resume on another....

But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the store The originalHalf-Lifeis alandmark titlefor first-person shooters, so it’s always been a bit of a shame that it hasn’t been available for Apple users up to now. The wait appears to be over, asCult of Mac reportsthat Mac users who purchaseHalf-Lifewill now be able to download and install the game on their machines, despite the fact that thegame’s page on the Steam storestill lists the title as only available for Windows....

Crusader Kings IIis the sequel to one of the most unconventional and intriguing grand strategy games I’ve ever had the delight to play. With its focus on intrigue, relationships, and dynasty building, it really stood out from other games in the genre such as theEuropa UniversalisandCivilizationseries. Since its release in 2004, Paradox has further explored this type of gameplay withEuropa Universalis Romeand the recently releasedSengoku. WithCrusader Kings II‘s closed beta starting soon and its release date of February 7 getting closer, I got a chance to pose some questions to producer Johan Andersson....

Nintendo filed a new trademark mentioning “downloadable electronic game software” Precursor Games, a.k.a. the ghost of Silicon Knights, is still trying to getShadow of the Eternalsoff the ground, hoping to attract Kickstarter backers with the promise ofDavid Hayter’s gravelly pipes. However you feel towardsShadow of the Eternals, I think everyone can at least agree that a re-release of its GameCube spiritual predecessorEternal Darknesswould be greatly appreciated. Siliconera has juststumbled upona very interestingEternal Darknesstrademark that Nintendo filed on July 23....

The game is also coming to PS4 and Xbox One this year Golf With Your Friendsis one of thosesurprisingly popular Steam gamesyou don’t often hear about in casual conversation. The 12-player minigolf game has been doing its thing in Early Access since 2016, but now it’s gearing up for a full launch on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch this year. This game looks fun, plain and simple. There’s no-frills putting, zanier modes like Hockey and Hoops, a range of plain and out-there courses (12 in total), power-ups like sticky honey trails, and a level editor....

About time, too Carnivore Studio’s eerieKodoku Chronicleshas been approved for Steam Greenlight in only five days, despite still having not reached itsKickstarter funding goal. As a thank you to fans for supporting the game, there’s a brand new gameplay video showcasingKodoku Chronicles, its decadently bizarre art, and its strange energy point system. I’m not so keen on the same portraits being recycled over and over, but that’s the nature of a visual novel, and there’s some decidedly spooky ambience being channeled in this short video....

Battlefield 3didn’t have the smoothest launch ever, with problems such as online passesnot workingstraight out of the box, PC usersfinding waysto playBattlefield 3on PC without the use of EA’s Origin service and the fact that the flashlight was toobloody bright. According to DICE, they’ve been hard at work getting as many issues fixed as possible and will be shooting off a “significant” patch forBattlefield 3on PC — console versions of it will follow soon after, because Microsoft and Sony need to check things out first....

iPhone is sexy and all, but this news somehow made it a hundred times sexier. It seems that LucasArts emulatorScumm VMis now fully functional for iPhone, allowing you to emulate all your old favorites and rock out someDay of the Tentacleaction wherever you damn well please. Gizmodo describes the emulations as “the only games that truly feel at home on the iPhone,” which only widens the broad smile I wear as I type....

Maybe needs a little lessdor One of Monolith’s greater ambitions with itsShadow of Mordorsequel is, well, adding more. Upon sitting down with the E3 demo, I was presented with a few options. Either I could try out the expanded Nemesis systemwe’ve already previewed before, try out some story missions, or “just run around for a bit,” as a Warner Bros. rep put it. Naturally, with a pitch like that, I had to see whereShadow of Warwould take me if I just killed time in the world....

Notch, can I borrow $5,000? Markus “Notch” Persson has confirmed via Twitter that the PC version ofMinecrafthas passed the 8 million sold mark. “The PC version ofMinecraftjust passed 8 million sales!”TweetedNotch. “My face is making grinning sounds, so I assume it’s grinning!” I’m sure his grins sound like dollar bills rubbing together. Wadding together. His entire facial muscle structure is made up of currency fibers. 8 million is nuts for a game that dropped about this time last year....