This post is, admittedly, an amalgamation of many posts I haven't got round to doing. Fact of the matter is though, I've been having a lot of fun. Lets gets right into it (and in no particular order)
Minecraft 1.3.1 update
The latest version of Minecraft is delicious! If you don't know what Minecraft is, as unlikely as that scenario is considering it's forever-growing popularity; it's a game by independent developer Mojang where you mine, craft, explore and survive in a world made entirely of of cubic structures. It looks dated, perplexes many, but ultimately rewards players who stick with it and make the most of a world where you can more or less make anything.
 |
| Sometimes I like to go sailing. With a sword. Other times I play the game like a normal person. |
|
Back to the point though, even before Minecraft was completed people who bought the game have been given every update for free. New content, bug fixes and massive increases in possibilities downloaded automatically to your gaming computer sometimes months after your initial purchase. That's great in itself. Some super games on the market remain glitchy and stale for very long periods of time and few ever get decent new content if at all, whilst this unassuming game is throwing new shapes at players consistently.
So, here's what's new that's got me excited"
- Integrated multiplayer access to games over LAN
- The ability to trade emeralds for rare gear from NPC villagers
- 'Ender chests', allowing a pool of items to be retrieved from multiple points wherever such chests are placed
- Books you can write in (a lot) and then share with other players
- Tripwires, so you can also be really horrible to other players
- The ability to generate 'large biome' maps with massive expanses of terrain. Effectively turning your world into huge frontiers.
It's really cool stuff, and before I even get into the new multiplayer possibilities I'm enjoying a solo adventure into a massive desert: working on writing books on my survival trials as I explore and look for other civilizations.
Nuzlocke Challenge on Pokemon Yellow
 |
| Graphical representation of my team. The Pidgey is grey while they sit in my PC. I'd write something funny but I'm terrified I will blubber like a small child if one of my team dies! |
As I've written before, the Nuzlocke challenge where Pokemon die when they faint and only the first monster from each area can be caught, is an emotional rollercoaster in the most unflattering way. Attempting it on Silver did not go well, so with a friend we both started the challenge on 1st generation games: Yellow for me and Red for her. Asides from the fun of revisiting the games that started it all, there's a certain wonderment in being forced to play with Pokemon I may not have bothered with before. In effect, it's a fresh experience, and as I start my grueling trek through Mt. Moon my inner child feebly questions which of my precious few am I going to loose just to make it to the next town? Gripping stuff!
'ZerothGhost' Youtube channel
 |
| This is Zeroth Ghost. He's a lot more chromatic in real life. |
Ok so clearly, this isn't a game. What it is however is a very entertaining youtube channel by a Mister Cameron Rose, largely focusing on gameplay with commentary and wit. At turns he is both informative about the features you want to know about, and thoroughly entertaining. He does not aim to promote himself as a guru or expert gamer, but simply an equal-level funster and charmer, who's simultaneous insight and flaws endear him to the side of gamers oft reserved to solo gaming: the character who expresses bewildering emotional highs and lows tempered by an unrestrained sense of personal enjoyment. Hard to really put across the joy of his videos in words alone, so check it out for yourself
here.
Team Fortress 2 finally working on my Mac
 |
| Fear the bright colours! |
For months it refused to play, and now it does. This isn't really a review or anything, TF2 has always been good, but with new gameplay modes and a constant onslaught of new items it's forever worth a play if first person shooters are your street. On an interesting side note though, I've recently learned that I am actually better playing with a touch pad than with a mouse. No idea why.
Left 4 Dead 2's Cold Stream DLC and update
 |
| Remember that feeling when you first saw these guys? Now you get to watch them die in new locales! :P |
Yes more Valve-goodness! Hot off the presses, news flitted across blogs and social networking sights that the slightly delayed Xbox360 release of this zombie-blasting joy-slice had finally arrived just a few hours ago. At 560 Microsoft Points (£4.80, ignoring the cost of purchasing points in set block multiples of 500 points) it's pretty reasonable for what you get. Stings a little that PC/Mac gamers get it for free, but considering the start up costs of personal computer gaming it doesn't seem so bad. Importantly the content is joyous for everyone:
- All mutation game modes now available from the menu screen.
- A brand new campaign, Cold Stream, originally made by fans of the game but now integrated into the main game completely spare canonically-speaking.
- All the campaigns from the first Left 4 Dead that had not been added to L4D2 are now fully playable and include minor tweaks to bring them up to modern standards. That means Crash Course, Death Toll, Dead Air and Blood Harvest; all with added crowbars, jockey-humpings and grenade launchers!
So far I've played through a bit of Lone Gunman and Last Man on Earth mutations (great solo challenges, if a bit on the difficult side) and finished the Cold Stream campaign on Normal difficulty. The new campaign is, without a doubt, brilliant. It's what Crash Course was to L4D1, and even that's on L4D2 now! The potential for amazing Versus games is hugely apparent here, with close attention to choke points and player distractions feeding into a thoroughly exciting experience. There's a lot of fun to be had here, and no noticeable problems since some initial download glitches were ironed out earlier to report. Highly recommended!
