‘Minecraft’ content and competitors update: While celebrations culminate with new content, a threat arrives
(Mojang)“Minecraft” has received a recent update aimed at Windows 10 Edition users, but a new game is intent on creating a different experience for “Minecraft” players.
“Minecraft” could be on a good start to 2016. Aside from improvements to their “Pocket Edition” and “Educational Edition,” a new skin pack arrives as part of Mojang’s welcoming the new year. However, there’s also the case of a new game which has been dubbed a ‘Minecraft killer.’
First,Game Spot’s report updates players on the issue of a new skin pack which brings improvements to “Minecraft’s” Windows 10 Edition. The said pack is dubbed “Journey to the West,” and it brings to the game a Chinese-themed pack of blocks and buildable structure true to the theme’s namesake, “Journey to the West.”
The skin pack, currently available for $1.99, brings characters like ‘Princess Iron Fan,’ ‘Lord Hundred-Eyes,’ and the ‘Monkey King’ into the game. However, players will also be able to download additional characters like Red Boy and Guanyin free of charge.
The pack, sadly, is only available for “Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition” and “Pocket Edition” on mobile. However, various platforms with the said edition stands to receive the latest from “Minecraft.”
In other news,Venture Beat got wind of a curious game in the making—”Portal Knights.” According to the article, the said game is sandbox-adventure in nature where players can build things and fight monsters in single-player and multiplayer games—making it sound like the gameplay of another game, “Minecraft.”
That’s the main reason why it’s being called a “Minecraft killer.” Furthermore, it’s set to be released in Steam’s Early Access on Feb. 25 for PC subscribers. It’s got a lot of elements from classic RPG; there’s dungeon-crawling, castle-building, and boss-fighting.
Players can choose between three classes—a warrior, a mage, or a ranger. They can then travel world-to-world by using ‘portal shards’ that are craftable into portals.
This early, it’s not clear whether this could effectively pose a threat to “Minecraft’s” dominance, but it’s good to see that there are other games which has been inspired by the sandbox-adventure.
As you probably knowMinecraft: Wii U Editionhit the Wii U in late December, and it’s doing particularly well in Japan. It’s the number one selling game in theWii U charts in Japanat the moment.
That’s not discouraged publisher Cypronia from releasing its Minecraft-inspired titleCube Life: Island Survivalinto the Japanese territory, however. It launched there this Wednesday for only 1000 Yen (compared to Minecraft’s asking price of 3,888 Yen) and has already found successjumping straight to number 15 in the charts. That’s actually pretty impressive when you see the calibre of games in the charts which it is competing with!
Cypronia assures us it’s not resting on its laurels with the development of the game. Update 1.2 is currently under approval with Nintendo and should be released for free soon; this will offer the ability to share maps in a similar way toSuper Mario Makerand lots more.
The battle of Minecraft and its clones still rages on.
NewThor: Ragnarokstory details have been revealed, and if accurate, it sounds like we’re finally getting thatPlanet Hulkadaptation.
Take this with a pinch of salt for the time being, but a new report fromGeek.comclaims to reveal how The Hulk will factor intoThor: Ragnaroknext year. Revealing that Hela manages to destroy Mjolnir and banish the God of Thunder from Asgard, the site adds that the hero apparently ends up not on Midgard, but an alien gladatorial planet instead. Knowing he needs to stop her and Loki, Thor fights his way through all of the opponents put before him so he can escape this world, but it’s when he runs into the current champion that he gets an unpleasant surprise.
As you’ve probably already guessed, that’s The Hulk, and“he’s managed to avoid reverting back to the Banner state since we last saw him in the Quinjet in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Hulk in Hulk form is pretty much unkillable, so he survived the trip to Sakaar (however he got there). His ‘Banner’ is starting to seep through into the Hulk persona, and because of the Hulk-Banner melding, Hulk actually remembers Thor and his relationship to him. That’s what starts the two on a Midnight Run to the MacGuffin that Thor desperately needs.”That sounds awesome and all, but seeing as the script is still being worked on, it may be too soon to get excited!
Still, this sounds like a pretty cool way of utilsing thePlanet Hulkstoryline even if it isn’t a direct adaptation which will lead to World War Hulk somewhere down the line. Do you hope this is how Thor: Ragnarok plays out? Share your thoughts in the usual place.
The Solus Project looks like a story-driven Minecraft in space
Survival sandbox games feel a dime-a-dozen these days. And while plenty put their own twist on the genre by adding things like dinosaurs or player permadeath, The Solus Project aims to do something different: it wants to tell a story.
The Solus Project starts with you marooned on a strange planet. There are no creatures here, just plants, caves, ruins, and dangerous weather. There are also no other players to hunt you down – the game is meant to be experienced alone, just you exploring the environment, crafting the resources needed to survive and uncovering the planet’s secrets. It’s just spaceman Joe vs. the alien volcano.
The game is broken up into traditional levels, but each features both open-world exploration and crafting, as well as more linear story content. Judging from the trailer above, I’d say it makes me think of “walking simulator” narrative games like Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, but with more ways to interact. We’ll have to wait for the game to come out before judging how well it successfully marries the concepts, but color me intrigued.
Developer GRIP Digital plans to release the game episodically via Steam Early Access and Xbox One Preview starting February 18 and February 26, respectively. The final launch, with all levels completed and polished, is planned for May.
It’s official: Marvel Phase Three is here. So what the heck does that mean? Well, for one, it means that many of your favorite characters are about to take a dirt nap. Here’s a look at some of the huge characters that will probably die in Phase Three—and why. Watch our video above or read about who’s going to most-likely get killed below. Plus, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more awesome list videos.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
No spoilers, but in the comic Captain America: Civil War is based on, Captain America gets killed. Wait, did we say no spoilers? Sorry. But that’s not the only reason we don’t expect Cap to make it out of Phase Three alive; while star Chris Evans has spoken publicly of his desire to continue working with Marvel, he’s also been forthright about wanting to work behind the camera instead of in front of it. Evans might be around for Phase Four, all right. He’s just more likely to be directing Stan Sebastian as the new Captain America. RIP, Steve Rogers.
THOR
If there’s one thing we learned from studying Norse mythology, it’s that Ragnarok is very, very bad. After all, it involves the destruction and death of all the gods. So expecting Thor to survive the events of Thor: Ragnarok is beyond optimistic. There is some hope, though; in the comics, Ragnarok is an endlessly repeating cycle of death and rebirth, so it’s possible Thor could be reborn. But he’ll have to die first for that to happen, so don’t be surprised when ol’ goldilocks takes a permanent arrow to the knee.
THANOS
At this point, big cosmic baddie Thanos has almost had more cameos than Stan Lee. But in the two-part Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos is finally going to get the spotlight—and it’s going to be a bloody one. Thanos, after all, worships Death. So even when he inevitably loses, he still gets what he really wants most in the end. The question isn’t whether Thanos will die, it’s how many heroes he’ll take down with him. Speaking of which…
IRON MAN
Of all the stars powering the Marvel Cinematic Universe, none is as important as Robert Downey Jr.—and none have been quite so up front as Downey about being tired of putting on his costume again. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if Iron Man makes the ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Infinity War, especially given the clear foreshadowing of exactly that in Tony Stark’s dream sequence from Avengers: Age of Ultron. At least it’s probably going to be epic.
THE VISION
Tony Stark is just one of many heroes we’re expecting to meet their end in Avengers: Infinity War. Chances are that The Vision is going to join him in perpetual rest. Why? Well, the synthetic man who stole every scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron was given life by the Infinity Stone he wears on his brow—and Thanos is going to need that stone in order to complete the Infinity Gauntlet. Hopefully someone will be able to rebuild Vision after Thanos dismantles him.
DRAX THE DESTROYER
Drax the Destroyer’s entire reason for living is to exact vengeance on the villains who killed his family. And that means Thanos. It’s inevitable that Drax is going to get a showdown with Thanos at some point, but given their relative power levels, it’s also inevitable that Drax is going to come out on the losing end. Don’t be sad, though. When you think about it, is there really any other way the single-minded Drax could go out?
GAMORA
Drax isn’t the only member of the Guardians of the Galaxy who has a grudge to settle with Thanos. His adopted daughter Gamora is also one of many looking to permanently wipe that giant grin off of Thanos’ ugly mug. Given that he trained her to be the universe’s deadliest assassin, she has a better chance than most. But, like Drax, Gamora has one big thing going against her odds for survival: in the comics, they both were killed by Thanos. Hey, it ain’t easy being green.
EVERYONE
If it sounds like pretty much everyone you care about is going to die, that’s because they are. In the comic book Infinity Gauntlet, which all of the cosmic stuff in the Marvel movies is based on, Thanos actually wins and kills everyone. Don’t be surprised if that’s the cliffhanger ending to Avengers: Infinity War Part One. Of course, eventually Thanos is defeated anyway and most of the heroes are resurrected, so don’t worry, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will survive. Whether you’ll survive the stress of the viewing experience, though, is another question.
