Recent Blog Entries

I still don’t have 280 characters to tweet.

It wasn’t long ago that we talked about Final Fantasy XV‘s incomplete story, or at the very least its weird and seemingly disappointing storytelling. Leaving crucial parts of the story for DLC wasn’t the coolest of moves but… ok. Whatever. You wanna make an extra buck and will release this clearly omitted segments for a price. Cool. But then they changed Chapter 13. They added extra segments to appease fan complains about that specific part of the…

Destiny’s Reddit, as it often happens with most game subreddits, has turned from praising Destiny 2 to reveling in posts about flaws or suggestions that could fix some of the problems people say the game has. Some big, some small, and some still fixated on the shaders issue (previously “wearable” items are now consumed on use). What is good about community feedback is that for every “OMG Bungo nerf MIDA” there is a bunch of good observations, some of which I very much agree on.

But let’s get s…

People mock this generation for having way too many “remakes” or “remasters”, but I am actually quite happy with them – with a condition. They present opportunities to enjoy old favorites again or even play an old fan-favorite for the first time when switching consoles. For the lazy in us they even provide the chance to play some game you have on an older console without the hassle of plugin it again, with modern day enhancements such as screen captures or trophies. But the true lure of this ga…

I played two hours of Destiny 2 last night. That stupid little voice on the back of my head warning me about the very real dangers of falling asleep on the wheel the next morning. Still, those two hours were very enjoyable and cannot wait to get back to it tonight! For now, I wanted to give a small suggestion to those who are just starting out on their new adventure.

Will contain slight spoilers from the Beta version.
On your first playthrough I advice going slowly. Don’t run everywhere. Do…

And he shall return when it is time for the end.

Destiny 2 launches tomorrow and I just can’t wait for it to come. I have been playing Destiny on and off, from the Alpha to the final expansion (Rise of Iron), and few other games have captured my attention with its rich universe and deep lore — very important things both. This past weekend I booted up the game for what could very well be the last time. I did not go to every planet or strike, I didn’t visit the Crucible or did some much needed (a…

The post-apocalyptic world has become a fairly common setting across various fictional mediums. Whether it is caused by biological weapons, nuclear war, artificial intelligence, or the growing and crushing spread of mega-corporations and garbage, there are countless narratives which tell the story of humans (or an adorable robot in that last case) trying to survive and rebuild after some world-ending cataclysm. Horizon Zero Dawn is another entry in this genre, but there’s something distinct a…

FFXIV

1. FFXIV Random Complaint Thread II: DPS can't count to potato
2. Omega Discussion: Show me what you got.
3. The Official Forum fail thread: 4.0 is Cancelled and its Raubahns Fault
4. FFXIV Random Praise Thread: Time to melee RDM
5. Red Mage General - Be Just or Be Red
6. Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - June 20 2017
7. Dark Knight 4.0 - Blood Dark Blood Dark Dark Dark Blood
8. FFXIV story/lore thread
9. Possibly returning - Questions
10. Paladin 4.0 - The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit

FFXI

1. Dev Tracker: Dis…

Destiny, the game some consider the record-holder for the 'World’s Longest Beta' is drawing to a close. With the September release of Destiny 2 approaching, Bungie offered players their first taste of this new and improved(?) take on Destiny with the Destiny 2 Open Beta -- a Beta for the game we have been beta testing for three years, if you will. As something of an ardent Destiny fan, I felt it was my civic duty to explore this Beta during the early access period this week to provide an asse…

Ah, E3. The time of year when gaming companies try to sell gamers on their future projects, the big three try to show why their minor differences make them better than the competition, and gamers argue about why these two companies failed in their press conferences, but this company that I coincidentally support had the greatest press conference I’ve ever seen, even though they were more or less the same. E3, hoo-rah! That cynicism aside, one of my favorite E3 traditions is watching the pres…

2017's E3 in review:
See you next week.











Oh, you wanted more?

This year's E3 has been truly special, I tell you. In an "odd" sense of special. I will refrain from commenting on EA and Bethesda's conferences because I did not watch them, and also because from what I gather from my timeline they were both pretty boring - one of them being a disaster (guess which one!). I'll focus on those I did watch.

Microsoft's Exclusive X

I am not the right person to talk about this one, …

FFXIV

1. Letter from the Producer LIVE XXXVI Set for May 22!
2. The Official Forum fail thread: This game wasn't meant for alts.
3. FFXIV Random Complaint Thread II: DPS can't count to potato
4. Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood - June 20 2017
5. How's your ping?
6. Bloodstorm Prep

FFXI

1. May 2017 Version Update
2. Dev Tracker: Discussion
3. Windower 4 - Discussion and Support
4. New Recipes - May 10th, 2017 Version Update
5. Gearswap Help Thread!

A bit late if you wanted to try the 15th anniversary Return Home to Vana'die…

How often do you think about the future? Are you the type of person who lives in the moment, or are you the type of person who needs to have a plan (and a series of backup plans for when the original plan inevitably fails)? If you fall into the latter camp, how far ahead into the future do you plan? Tomorrow? One week? A year? Ten years? The reason I ask this question is to posit another question -- how many of our favorite gaming franchises started with a plan? Some of the oldest gamin…

I love Square-Enix (SE). In decades past it was a company that you could count on for its consistency: practically all of the games they released were surefire hits and amazing experiences. These days? I can still count on them for consistency... in making weird, weird decisions.

Two years ago SE floored the world by revealing they were remaking one of their most beloved games: Final Fantasy VII. You know the story by now: the JPRG that took JRPGs out of niche status, the JRPG that made JRPG…

When Dragon Age: Inquisition launched in 2014 it was a game that got a lot of hype. Lots of people on the internet and on my twitter timeline were saying how good it was. Alas, for reasons I can't remember I was spent and couldn't afford it. Shortly after the new year, the EA or Origin twitter account started asking people which games they'd missed for Christmas, and I replied with DA:I.

I thought it was just them trying to connect with players - social networking, you know? Moments later I …

I know what you're all thinking... and you're probably right.

I was recently contacted by someone from LootCrate, which is a service that I had heard before but by the virtue of my location and our imbecilic leader's fantastic ideas (and where to find them) it's little more than a dream to me. You have probably seen one or heard about them from people on Twitter or Youtube. Short version: monthly sub to get a box full of small geek/gaming goodies that range from apparel to pins to figurines.…

FFXIV

1. The Official Forum fail thread: This game wasn't meant for alts.
2. Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXXV - April 28th - Stormblood
3. FFXIV Random Complaint Thread II: DPS can't count to potato
4. FFXIV Stormblood Score Comparisons: WHAT IS YOUR POWER LEVEL MINE IS PRETTY HIGH
5. FFXIV Accomplishments Thread - Yay I did it!

Since the game is so boring between expansions we have to rely on the OF and Reddit as entertainment.









FFXI

1. Dev Tracker: Discussion
2. Windower 4 - Discussion and Suppor…

Have you already tried the Stormblood benchmark? It is up now!

And in good time, too! Just yesterday I was tweeting about how Squeenix has been quiet about Final Fantasy XIV's new expansion, which has been a common topic of a few podcasts I have heard this past week. While I do share the sentiment, I took some time yesterday to research just how this info drip compares to Heavensward's. Basically, it's almost the same as before.
With the exception of the gear set preview (which we got a s…

I have to talk about Persona 5. No spoilers.

What is most amazing to me about P5 is not its dazzling visual style, full of color and personality like few games before it. It is also not its soundtrack (oh, dat soundtrack). It is simply that P5 is, at its core, an RPG that doesn't deviate much from the genre's and its name's roots to bring that sense of pureness that I was missing for so long.

P5 has its systems. Some are returning staples from old Persona games. Negotiation, Confidants, the…