C++ is what is mostly used today for making programs and games from scratch.
Nobody writes games or programs from scratch these days. It's just not cost efficient. The reason most people use archaic languages like C++ is because they already have a lot of value (invested money) tied in to propriety software.Anyone who would want to start doing something from scratch, and chooses to do it in C++ (over C#, Java or BlitzMAX) are crazy. It just isn't worth the stress.
Ok, but is BlitzMax's syntax much closer to C++'s?
Than Blitz3D? Not really. It has some more OO functionality than Blitz3D, and some more advanced features than C++ (as Dreamora mentioned) but the language itself is, thankfullly nothing like C++.