Milestone + Stepping Down. Yep.

[Frozencry]

Yep, you guessed the thread, and hell when my Heroes VI review was done, many got the hint.

As of my Heroes VI review, I am stepping down as a writer and going back to being a forum member. No, I'm not leaving the site as some others have. I'll stick around because I'm too addicted to posting here, and I originally came from posting a lot on the forums anyway. There are two primary reasons for me stepping down.

The first is the less important one but a primary concern for many members of the community, and that is the state of PALGN and the motivation to continue writing for it. After 3.5 years I'm actually pretty burnt out, and the way things are going at the moment it's fair to say that I have little motivation apart from favours and working with the PR I know to get things done. Unfortunately I can't talk much more about this stuff but that'll all be revealed to you soon (sorry!).

The second and more important aspect is my health. While I love writing and continued to do so over the years, it also became apparent that compared to last year and the year before, the amount of content I personally released dropped significantly, and it's because of several problems I've had to face over this year. A fair amount of forumers already know most of the stories but to put it blunt, my year has been absolutely shit. I lost a close family friend, had several medical problems particularly with teeth, financial difficulties, a job that was breaking me apart, and several therapy sessions. It's stabilised much more now after some huge therapeutic sessions and also meeting a wonderful girl who I'm now dating, but things are still pretty crap. I don't have a job and I need to find one, and my fitness levels have dropped quite a lot too, and it's time I prioritised all of it and got myself active again.

With that said, I've had an awesome time writing for PALGN and couldn't ask for a better audience either. It's given me a lot of experience and helped me develop my writing, and hopefully in the future I can write and deliver content to some of you once again.

Also, this is my 8995th post. Sure, no 9000 just yet but close enough.

Now for the obligatory thanks messages:

Jeremy:
Yep, we had our conflicts, and we had a nasty exchange of words. But regardless of this, I see no reason to be holding a grudge about it as over the years you've proven to be not only a fantastic editor but a great friend. You've also managed to hold this site together and bring forth the best and most diverse writing team we've ever had, and that is no small feat. Thanks for everything mate and I'll see you for lunch again sometime soon.

Adam:
Trolling Jahanzeb with you is awesome fun. You've also got a damn good knack for film and constructive criticism with your video games, and it's been a pleasure trolling and working with you when it comes to both PALGN and your film projects.

Jahanzeb:
One of my best trolls but also a great guy to talk to on msn and share content with. You're one of the only guys who actually understood my insane passion for some video games, as unhealthy as they can seem sometimes. While I will never see eye to eye with you on Bayonetta, those are just minor disagreements over a mostly similar taste and it's been great working with you and sharing many stories, and then you worrying about me falling down the stairs one time when I got really drunk with Rockstar and played pool (yeah I remember that, somehow..).

Adam Guetti:
How the fuck did we not meet at the Rage hands-on man? I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW WE DID THIS AGHH. But regardless you deliver some wicked content dude and you're a patient man considering you were able to work and wait for me to deliver my interview content to you. Shame that you didn't arrive to the team sooner, but nonetheless it's been awesome working with you.

James Varoutsos:
PC vs Console, podcast. I remember it and remember it well and it was hilarious to boot. Apart from this you're a great friend and I haven't seen you in a couple of months now, so we definitely need to catch up at some stage. But I know for a fact we'll be keeping in touch anyway

Jarrod:
Oh Jarrod. Your love of Quake III and its music makes me warm and fuzzy inside, because someone in the staff finally understands why it's such an addictive and warm pie even if it's over a decade old now. Also your content is awesome, and as long as you're going to give something a 4 out of 10 because I didn't have the balls to, we cool mang.

Anthony:
Podcast and Call of Duty guy is pretty much what goes through my mind. I've done a handful of podcasts with you and have a large amount of respect for the content you deliver, as your scores tend to be pretty much spot on when it comes down to it. Sure, you're one of the flag holders for the console side and I'm the self-entitled PC prick that dismisses anything that doesn't allow for Eyefinity levels of pixel density, but we don't let that get between us. Hopefully.

Cian:
I'm pretty sure out of all forumers, you're the one guy I actually pissed off so much that you wanted to slap me. But hey it's all good, troll's gotta troll and eventually I'm gonna cross the line. Your reviews and content has always been excellent and your rantiness when it comes to games in general is something that we both share. Also, CoD ranting is always hilarious.

Michael:
You are my favourite writer on the site, period. You and Neil from way back in the day. I absolutely love how your articles read out, and it makes me feel almost retarded compared. You're a passionate and fantastic person too with an absolutely awesome taste in games. In some ways I wish you did the Dark Souls review instead, solely because it'd read out like a majestic scroll or something. That kills you. Because it's Dark Souls. Keep in touch!

Bev:
I..we...haven't mingled much, surprisingly. You seem to have a huge passion for shmups and many eastern games, You're also developing games of your own, which is awesome and something I should've been trying to do a long time ago. Also, your content is great. Keep in touch and good luck with your project too! Oh and EDF does not suck. YOU JUST DONT GET IT MAN.

Cody:
One of the palgn bro's I've met several times, and a wicked guy to boot. I never thought I'd meet someone who can outhairy my face and chest, but you can pull it off. Guess my Balkan Barbarianism is nowhere near as Barbaric as your style. You're an awesome guy and have a great taste in games, and your writing has always been a pleasure to read. We'll definitely catch up again soon.

Kim:
I've worked alongside you for a very, very long time yet we have hardly ever spoken. You're like en enigmatic staff member to me where you'll appear with an insane amount of news posts, then promptly disappear. The one thing I do know though is that you're incredibly consistent with content, far more than I could ever be and your passion for sports titles is very much evident in your reviews. Thanks for everything!

And that about does it. Obligatory thanks goes to all the forumers too, especially the ones who've supported my writing and helped me grow, and of course the ones who play the games with me too. Like I said I'll still be around so I'm still willing to play a tonne of games with you all. Especially Quake.

Thanks and here's a cool video of people shooting people with stylish moves:

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[Jeremy]

Even the best of friends have the most unfortunate of exchanges at times. However, the true test is being able to get through it and come out better on the other side

It's been an absolute pleasure working with one of the most reliable writers that has ever produced a word on PALGN, and your growth and improvement over that time was no mean feat.

All the best, and we will lunch and pizza it in the best of spirits, soon

[LeonJ]

I don't really understand what's going on but it seems to be not good. Are there going to be any staffers soon?
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Shin J Leon.

XBL - LeonJ
PSN - LeonJ

[emwearz]

Will us normal user ever find out the reason why everyone is jumping ship?

Bank Ads? haha

[Nietzsche]

Shock.

Nah I saw this coming but it's still disappointing. While I could say all these nice things about you, rattle off some achievements, list my favorite reviews ect, I will instead just say good luck and see you on some servers.

[Fetidchimp]

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kill, kill, kill.....the white man. Kill the white man, kill

[mikezilla2]

Jeremy: damn dude whose sister did you sleep with ?- everyones by the look of things

still all i can say is you guys are awesome and i hope everything works out for you Jeremy/danny
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[Smurf80]

This is a get healthy msg and not a goodbye msg, your appreciation and passion for Killzone is where it is at,

Stay Frosty!
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Thanks to segax for the sig!

[Jedi_Amara]

Lovelove, you sexy beast I'm glad you're sticking around on the boards.
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Games I'm after | Play-Asia link
MY PSP IS NOT PINK! - now with added blog

[Gizmocreative]

dude, good luck with life. there comes a time in your life where you gotta decide what's important and what isn't. good luck dude.
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check it

[Benza]

Sad to see ya stop writing your reviews. You've quickly become one of my favorite reviewers.

Glad to see ya sticking around though.
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[Cyph]

Denny, thank you for your dedicated service and thank you for sticking around. Hopefully with people like you we can pull PALGN out of whatever mess it is in.

[admeister]

I'll miss your reviews Denny, I've always enjoyed reading them. It's great to hear that you'll still be around on the forums though, it wouldn't be the same without you.
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"The first person to prove that cow's milk is drinkable was very, very thirsty." - Fact Sphere.

[MIkes]

Is its for the good then all the best mate. Thank you for your reviews.

[Cramsy]

[theory]

THOSE EYES!
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[Windburn]

Sadly, as of this thread, I have very little reason to visit the front page of PALGN anymore.

Denny, thanks for all your hard work-- I eagerly looked forward to all of your reviews, you were like my own personal reviewer as I unfailingly agreed with all of your reviews and MOST of the comments you made The lacunae left by your stepping down is going to feel like a gaping chasm to me in not too long, though.

I could always rely on you to have the integrity to champion those games that you strongly believe deserved it (and they certainly did) and put your foot down when you thought something needed calling out, notwithstanding popular opinion. Your final scores may not have always reflected your personal opinions, but the soul of your critique always shone through

Personally, I'm rapt that you're taking what I'm sure will be the first of many positive steps towards getting your life back to a happy place, and I wish you all the very, very best with whatever you do next.

PS. If you thought your reviewing days were over, think again-- I'm going to be hitting you up frequently via PM/Steam/whatever other platforms we've shared a game on, for a healthy chin wag re: your thoughts on the latest
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[jprockbelly]

I bet you won’t be so snooty without that fancy silver badge

While I’m sad you won’t be doing any more reviews, I’m glad you'll be redirecting your (not insignificant) writing talents into full time trolling.
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Da Bessssss

[ZeroX03]

You will still retain your colourful name right? I always liked that :3

All the best dude!
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b+2,1 mindgames

[theory]

He'll retain the coloured name as that goes to anyone with over 5000 posts (PALGN Master status).

Question is, will Frozencry be reborn?
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[mikezilla2]

what if we just demote him to "MOD" rewind the clock and set him lose on the game exchange
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[Gizmocreative]

[theory]

Were you Design staff at some point?

Not disputing your awesomeness, Sir, just suffering from drugnesia.
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[Shadow Wave]

Good work man, pity there wont be any more articles, hopefully more Starcraft matches to compensate lol.
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[Frozencry]