Recent Blog Entries

As much as I enjoy the franchise, there’s no denying the Assassin’s Creed franchise has suffered from franchise fatigue. Since 2007, Ubisoft has pumped out a number of major games with a healthy stock of additional games to supplement. The past three console games have put players in control of Ezio Auditore da Firenze. However, as the story of Desmond, the central character who has tied the Assassin’s Creed franchise together since the beginning, finally comes to a close, players are introd…

Welcome back to another week of projects.

Roam - ends February 24 - @ $5k (12%)

This is a multi-genre game, but at it's heart it's a Diablo-like action RPG. Just with zombies. And base construction.

I'm telling you about it because while zombies may be everywhere, and this has a little bit of Dead State's sauce, the gameplay is different enough to be worthwhile. If you want that kind of game, but in a Diablo instead of X-com style, IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY! Also, the gameplay prototype looks fuck…

Just video games this week, though one of them is still a board game. (YOU CAN NOT ESCAPE THEM!)

Wildman - ends February 15th - @ $281k (25%)

This is a hybrid ARPG/RTS by Gas Powered Games (creators of Dungeon Siege, Supreme Commander, Demigod. And the successor to Cavedog, creator of Total Annihilation). Think of it like Brütal Legend, but pull out the God of War half and replace it with Diablo. Lacking Double Fine's writing, but done by a company that has solid experience in both of the genr…

New week, new projects for you all.

Akaneiro: Demon Hunters - ends February 2nd - @ $68k (34%)
This is a Diablo-like free to play game from American McGee's studio. Eastern in aesthetic style, though probably not quite as twisted as usual for McGee. As for the gameplay, well, hell, the beta is open now, so go have a look for yourself.

I'm telling you about it because it does deserve mentioning. I held off a week because of the controversy over the nearly launching game going to kickstarter. Bu…

Greetings BG, Cantih here. Some of you know me, some don't have a clue, and most kind of do but don't particularly give a shit. Well, with introductions out of the way, onwards!

(By the way, today's blog is a combination of the first one from the forum, and new material. Holiday craziness prevented it from launching in the blog section on time. If you just want the new stuff, head to this blogs thread on the forum. Going forward, all entries will be completely new. Also as such, apologies for t…

2012 was mostly filled with deceptions. FFXI didn’t bring enough to stop the decline of the current game. Everyone is waiting for news about FFXIV. Mists of Pandaria can be summed up as bland. Other alternatives like Tera and Guild Wars 2 died quickly. At least for 2013 we have Seekers of Adoulin and FFXIV-2 to look forward to.

Random Image Threads
It’s a secret to no one that as BGers get bored with FFXI/FFXIV/WoW/Tera we’re slowly becoming yet another imgur/9gag clone. This year we saw 4 thre…

On several different occasions, I have expressed my fondness for the Halo franchise. Something about the franchise has always held a soft spot for me. Over ten years, Bungie did a phenomenal job of not only crafting the Halo universe, but also maintained a relationship with their player-base that few companies can compare with. Given the amount of time I’ve spent enjoying the franchise, the news that the reins of the franchise has been handed over to a new studio, even one comprised largely …

It’s now time for a review of the events that happened on BG in November.

First thing first it should be obvious that the new FFXIV trailer is on top of everything. If you didn’t watch it yet I don’t know what is wrong with you.

[video=youtube;39j5v8jlndM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39j5v8jlndM[/video]

Beside that I guess I don’t have to repeat myself saying that the Random Image Thread is next in the list. And for the rest:
3. Anime - Sword Art Online
4. FFXI - Dorp XXV: wtf bynes.
5. FFX…

Welcome to another monthly report of BG in stats. This time I’ll try to focus on unusual trends going on in the community. This means no random images and no Gangnam style. Consider this the best of the worst.

Guardian Cross
Frankly, I’m not quite sure why this topic is so popular here but I guess our Square Enix fanboys need to keep themselves busy until the release of Seekers of Adoulin and/or A Realm Reborn. The game received bad reviews everywhere and the lack of any real PvP seems to annoy…

And now for September.

Top Threads

1. GD - Random Image Thread XXXVIII: And there go my nipples again. (=)
2. FFXI - Neo Nyzul Isle (CAUTION: GMs have been banning for flee tools) (=)
3. FFXI - Dorp XXV: wtf bynes. (+4)
4. FFXI - Random Fail XIII: I FOR FUCKING LAST TIME TALLING YOU (+4)
5. FFXI - Completed Relic/Mythic weapons list (+6)
6. FFXI - Gimp/Confused/WTF Player Thread XXIII: Why are you guys being so rude and angry x_x (-1)
7. GD - Youtube to 320kbps mp3? (+7) -- nothing to see here... stop coming to th…

I’m sure some of you have noticed that I talk about my childhood a lot in these reviews. Well that’s because, like many of you, as a kid I grew up during an awesome era. One of the cornerstones of my childhood was the Transformers. Growing up, the original Transformers was one of my two favorite cartoons. For anyone who is a fan of the Transformers franchise, 2010’s amazing War for Cybertron came as a blessing amid three movies that started with such promise, but failed to deliver and releg…

Why Valve is awesome: A story about being lucky.

By Ddz



I’m not exactly sure where to start this incredible story about being lucky as shit, but here goes, from the top:

Last year, on the day before Thanksgiving, my software development/IT staffing company let us off work early. We had no travel plans for the holiday, so a few coworkers and I decided to go to our favorite dive bar, where we pretty much regular every Friday night. We were sitting there enjoying some cheap booze and nerding …

Since people always pester me for more stats here are the ones for August but this doesn't mean I'll update monthly.

Top Threads

1. GD - Random Image Thread XXXVIII -- no surprise there
2. FFXI - Neo Nyzul Isle
3. FFXI - Test Server Findings
4. FFXI - Dev Tracker
5. FFXI - Gimp/Confused/WTF Player Thread XXIII
6. FFXIV - Naoki Yoshida at Gamescom/A Realm Reborn presentations
7. FFXI - Dorp XXV
8. FFXI - Random Fail XIII
9. FFXIV - Stats and how they work.
10. FFXI - Legion - info and strategies
11. FFXI - Completed Relic/Mythic…

Back in 2010, a trio of RPGs was released for the Wii in Japan to critical acclaim. Many heralded them as a return to the glory days of Japanese RPGs. Unfortunately, while many clamored for their release worldwide, Nintendo claimed to have no plans to release them outside Japan. Gamers launched "Operation Rainfall" which successfully persuaded Nintendo to release these games (two of them at least) in North America. In April, Xenoblade Chronicles was released in North America. Having played…

For those familiar with data mining FFXI, the existence of the folder "ROM9" has sparked speculation as to what its contents mean.

The reason for this is because ROM folders are usually used to house files from different expansions separately.
Chain of Promathia occupies ROM3, Treasure of Aht Urhgan in ROM4, and so on. The previous folder ROM8, was used for the add-on A Shantotto's Ascension. (all Abyssea data is stored in the main ROM folder).

ROM9 remained largely unnoticed when it was creat…

E3 has rolled around again and with it, a plethora of information for gamers. Who were the big winners? Which press conference fell the shortest? Which games are poised to be blockbusters? And what was the unexpected game that stood out from the crowd of exceptional games? Similar to last year, I’ve decided to convey my thoughts on the press conferences by the “Big Three” (and due to not having enough time to finish a game and do a review this month, this will have to suffice..).

Microsof…

Few games can compare to the experience offered by the Mass Effect universe. When I played the original game back in 2007, I couldn’t help feeling blown away by the scope of the game. Never before had I played a game that had constructed a literal universe filled with hundreds of planets players could visit, filled with random enemies and encounters. The story it told was a science-fiction epic where players were able to shape the narrative by the choices they made. Not only that, as the st…

The Order had a triumphant finish to its head start weekend for TERA, culminating in a coordinated attack in a Guild vs Guild war on Crimson Knights. Last night we posed in a triumphant screenshot on the beach and took a picture!





More adventure to come as the game lets us uncap our levels, power to 60, and begin not letting Gekii lose us wars because he dueled outside of town too long.

Some of you might not know this, but the origins of BlueGartr are rooted in the Final Fantasy franchise. As such, it’s only fitting that that latest entry into this franchise, Final Fantasy XIII-2, be the subject of my one-year anniversary review. XIII-2 has the distinction of being only the second numerical sequel to one of the major entries in this franchise. However, in contrast to the first numerical sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, this game followed a game that had been received far less po…

The Assassin’s Creed franchise is my favorite new franchise to come out of this generation of gaming. Back in 2007, the original game introduced us to the Animus; an amazing machine that allowed Desmond Miles to relive the experiences of his ancestor, Altaïr ibn-La'Ahad. Altaïr lived during the Crusades and was a member of the Assassin’s Brotherhood, a group engaged in a war with their enemies, the Templar Knights. As the franchise has continued, Desmond has learned more about their enduring…