Final Fantasy VII is one of my favorite games of all time. I could write a long article about why and how, but suffice it to say, after I'd played it, I could not have been more eager for Final Fantasy VIII. Imagine my surprise when that wasn't the next game in the Final Fantasy... Continue Reading →
At long last, Behemoth! Console players got him last August, but as of December 21, we PC Monster Hunters finally get the opportunity to have a go at the iconic Final Fantasy monster. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this. I got even more excited about it after the Monster... Continue Reading →
The Arch-tempered monsters are starting to make their way to the PC release of Monster Hunter: World (and by the time this article publishes we'll have Behemoth, the Final Fantasy XIV crossover. YES!!!). Arch-tempered Kirin has come and gone-- don't worry, he'll be back-- and until December 27th, we get to take a crack at... Continue Reading →
Whether you are new to the series or just jumped aboard since the latest game, Monster Hunter is a game that requires both skill and patience. Yes, there is a grind involved for gear. No, this grind is not required for you to enjoy the game, it's perfectly playable if grinding for loot isn't your... Continue Reading →
Another Extra Life is in the books, and our third event went even better than last year's in just about every way I can think of. We had very few technical hiccups, for example, and what issues cropped up were promptly and skillfully handled by our tech crew, Ed and Kay, who generously donate their... Continue Reading →
Two years ago my friends and I started The Cartographers Guild project, where my fellow Guildies and I stream the video and tabletop games we like to play on Twitch, mostly full plays of story-driven role-playing games with lots of plot analysis. And riffing, lots of that too! The point of the Guild is to... Continue Reading →
If you've been reading this article series, you know I typically try to make the tone universal, so you can apply the lessons learned to any game where you can play a healer. But what about games where there isn't a dedicated healer class? How does one play support in a game like that? If... Continue Reading →
Well, Monster Hunter: World has been out for about a week, and The Cartographers Guild has been busily delving into it . . . along with over eight million other people worldwide. MH: World has become both the fastest-selling and best-selling game of Capcom's history. I was worried, as a long-time fan, about what would... Continue Reading →
A little more than fourteen years ago . . . I can't remember how precisely it started. I remember that it wasn't my kind of game, or so I thought. My bread and butter at the time was the more old fashioned class of console RPGs, which involved menus and turn-based combat. My first legitimate... Continue Reading →
In the Stormblood expansion of Final Fantasy XIV, not long after entering the Ruby Sea, you glimpse a complicated Jenga-looking tower in the distance, stretching impossibly up beyond the clouds. When I saw it the first time, I couldn't help but wonder what was going to be inside it. You don't put a wondrous structure... Continue Reading →
The Cartographers Guild 