Fantastic game things I have experienced as of late

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!

The strange emotions caused by Minecraft multiplayer

Last night got very weird.

After experiencing some problems getting along with fellow gamers on a Minecraft server, me and my house mate (the same man from the Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer post) decided to find a quiet area away from everyone else to start a project.

'Waterfall Farm'

The little waterfall in question. Apart from the crafting table, this was entirely map-generated. (Bonus points for spotting the Creeper who wants to spoil the fun)

With some grass facing this little lagoon, we started building up a little farmstead. The plan was simple: small house, few animals and some crops so that we could have something to do and a steady production of food and crafting materials.

The strange thing was that it didn't take much for this incredibly simple project to become something altogether more personal. Being survival mode, construction was plagued by creepers and other mobs. Gathering animals for stock became not only a vital part of the project but personal tales of over-coming adversity as evil beset us. It was all starting to get a bit biblical.

Look at them, milling around. I don't think they even realise how many times they were nearly blown up!

Then there was the farm house. It started off small, no need for a mansion, and it only ever needed to be practical. However it didn't take long for a few personal touches to creep in and turn it into something a bit odd.

Admittedly, it looks more like a strange prison but...

...it's very nice inside!

Very quickly, this was the place where two farmers were to hold out against the odds. We'd take a floor each as we built it up: sharing design ideas and keeping watch for each other and the creatures of the night. There was one time I watched from the just-installed bedroom window as my partner brought home a cow, only for a creeper to assail them. I nearly smashed the glass with my bow and arrow, but felt a real sense of relief as I saw the creeper outwitted and the cow unharmed. That doesn't happen in real life. It was like being in the old American frontier. We needed the cow, we had to survive. The thought that we might not be able to make a cake was truly worrying, much like the growing recognition of how stupefyingly involved I was becoming.

Pushing the beds together would have probably crossed a line that even the Zelda-themed texture pack would not protect against.

As night finally settled, once the cow had been put in the paddock, we instinctively hurried up the stairs to the bedroom. We laughed at the fact we were so giddy and pleased about having somewhere to 'rest'. Even through we had full knowledge of the absolute ridiculous levels of faux-immersion we were subjecting ourselves to, as we went to our beds and the screen dimmed I couldn't help but look across to the other bed and be glad that my co-worker was ok: that he hadn't respawned back in his original home and lost the livestock.

This had got very silly.

Eventually, after realising that Minecraft-sleep was not the same as real sleep, we called an end to our gaming session. The farm still stands, a testimony to our trials and achievements, and sure enough we will be back to create efficient wheat farms and orchards and pathways to lead us back to civilisation for trade.

Even though this is undoubtedly a foolish waste of time, the beauty of Minecraft is that you can make your own genuine experiences within it. Though it makes me sound like I am being employed by Mojang to say it, you do indeed craft your own entertainment by creating your own little world.

On the downside, I don't see me getting a girlfriend any time soon :/

Can't be put better than that really.

Additional: If you were wondering about the texture pack, it's called 'Xaiwalker' and can be found for download here.

Things learnt on a Minecraft server

• Minecraft + Skype = Black box recordings of the worst tragedies.
• Wolves will cross entire oceans for people who feed them bones, and not hold it against them that their new master only had room for one in their boat.
• Spiders are never in short supply. Neither are spider-related reasons for swearing.
• Creepers may very well hate you, but the entirety of the Nether hates you even more.
• If someone's bartering demands seem steep, it's because "you weren't there man!"
• Coal always appears when you don't need it.
• If you're going to play with exploding bottles of poison, expect to get poisoned.
• Further more, if you're going to invest a lot of time and effort into exploding bottles of poison, expect to muck up regardless!
• Remember to eat... both in-game and out.
• The End is always very very very far away!

Check out the rest of this blog for more game-related foolery, or if you thought this post was funny, check out my other blog: 'TOAST'

A little more on Mari0

For those of you who read my last post (if not you can catch up here) I was not all that complimentary towards the indie fan game 'Mari0'.

I may have spoken too soon.

What I did not realise is that there is much more than just the Super Mario Bros levels on offer. There is actually a whole bunch of Portal-styled levels AND a level editor! Further inspection shows that both of these utilise both Mario and Portal mechanics to great effect and are actually a lot of fun. I now have more reason to encourage you to check it out for yourselves, and hope you enjoy it too!

As for myself, Mari0 will get a bit more playtime in between Minecraft and Skyrim sessions which have taken up most of my gaming time. Those who actually read this blog will remember I said I was planning a big writing piece for this blog: it's still in the works and it will be about either Minecraft or Skyrim.

Or both.

Or something else.

Tatty-bye for now!