Minecraft: Wii U Editionis getting a Nether-sized update tomorrow. This digital vitamin shot should bring the Wii U iteration of Mojang’s tremendous adventure / building game up to speed with other console versions of the game (or at least close).
According to a press release distributed by Nintendo earlier today, we’re looking at “a long list of new potions, blocks, mobs and biomes. (…) Players can also purchase the new Biome Settlers Skin pack, which brings 24 new settler characters into the game and even more biome-themed skins they can use to role-play with their friends.”
The Wii U version of Minecraft is a humungo hit on the eShop,particularly in Japan. While any good news about the Wii U is inspiriting — Nintendo’s spunky console is an underdog if there ever was one — Minecraft: Wii U Edition’s success inspires conflicted feelings amongst Minecraft fans because it’s a standing example of wasted potential.
The first bullet point on the list of game updates should be “You can use the Wii U GamePad for inventory management now!” Obviously, it’s not there. Neither can you use the GamePad as a screen option when playing local split-screen with a pal.
Granted, one of the biggest selling points for Minecraft: Wii U Edition is its off-TV play, which prevents families from igniting a small war whenever someone wants to watch TV but someone else wants to play Minecraft. It’s a good option, but it’s theonlysecond-screen option for Minecraft Wii U, and that’s a darn shame. Someday game historians will write essays on the wasted potential of the Wii U GamePad, and Minecraft will be noted in the first paragraph (along with the Wii U’s baffling lack of Pokémon Snap 2).
But the list of disappointments for Minecraft: Wii U don’t stop at its lack of second-screen options. Nintendo should have latched onto the Minecraft property in the Wii U’s earliest days. It certainly didn’t have to do anything as drastic as buy Mojang (how ironic that we saw Minecraft on Wii U only after Microsoft snapped up the Swedish studio), but Minecraft’s Nintendo no-show until the tail end of 2015 is mind-blowing.
It also proved to be a bad business move. Minecraft is selling like crazy on the eShop, regardless of the fact the game has been around long enough to see release on PC, major consoles, handhelds, mobile, and electric toothbrushes (OK, not yet, but someday). What has Nintendo missed out on by not securing a Wii U version of Minecraft in 2012 or 2013?
Finally, Nintendo’s not doing a sufficient job of nurturing Minecraft: Wii U Editionnow, even though the game is funneling money directly into its mouth (after Microsoft gets its bite, of course). Any version of Minecraft living on Nintendo’s real estate should offer players official character skins and world builds from day one.
Mario, Peach, the Inklings, Hyrule, Zebes, the Mushroom Kingdom — why can’t we access glorious chunkified versions of these people and places? When will we be able to, if ever?
We may as well take solace in the hope that Nintendo will know better than to ignore Minecraft when the NX launches. Regardless of how you feel about Minecraft, no one is going to argue that a version of the game packed with official Nintendo locations / skins would turn some heads at the NX debut.
Lee—who produced The LEGO Movie—added his team is “also doing visual designs to show the studio what the world will look like.” And according toCollider, Minecraft developer Mojang will be “very involved” in the film’s development. Warner Bros. and Mojang will work in collaboration, sharing ideas so the film stays connected to updated versions of the game’s world.
“Minecraft would be part of a multiverse where humans can enter,” Lee said of the film, “that has the feel of what the live action version of a Minecraft experience.”
Warner Bros. Minecraft film is looking to target the same audience as Jurassic World. And asCollidernoted, it’s unclear whether this means it’ll be rated PG-13 like Jurassic World, or PG like The LEGO Movie.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia co-creator and starRob McElhenney will write and direct Minecraft. There is no set timeline as of yet, but Lee reported the movie should go into production later in 2016.
Independent game developer Mojang took the world by storm in 2011 with the release of open-world sandbox game Minecraft. Odds are, you’ve heard so much about Minecraft that you’re sick of it by now. For those that haven’t, here’s the gist. In Minecraft you explore a procedurally generated world in search of raw materials, which can be used to craft tools, weapons, or armor. You’re also able to build structures from the materials. It may not sound like much, but Minecraft has become one of the most popular games in the world. People were captivated by it’s open-ended gameplay and multiplayer capabilities, and it became a global hit.
Of course, with popularity comes imitators. Since Minecraft was first released, the gaming industry has seen a massive influx of games that are similar to it. Games that are open-world, multiplayer, and survival/crafting oriented. Some of these games are pretty bad. Others are fantastic. If you’re getting bored of Minecraft, and you’re looking for a new game that shares some of it’s core gameplay mechanics, then take a look at this list of a few games that are similar.
Top Five Games like Minecraft
5. 7 Days to Die
One of the most common complaints that I have heard from gamers about Minecraft is that it is too child-like. True, it is a more light-hearted game, and it’s very popular among children. If you’re looking for a game like Minecraft with a more mature twist, you may want to look into 7 Days to Die. 7 Days to Die is a survival/horror game, where players traverse an unfamiliar landscape and gather resources to protect themselves from hordes of zombies, who attack when the sun goes down. Sound familiar?
7 Days to Die has several mining and crafting mechanics that are very similar to Minecraft’s. You’re able to craft tools of varying effectiveness, which are used to mine different materials. These different materials, like clay and iron, can be smelted in a furnace to create weapons, armors, or other kinds of defenses. You don’t have to assemble items in a specific shape on a grid like you do in Minecraft’s PC version, but you still have to gather a specific amount of materials. I would argue that 7 Days to Die’s crafting system is more challenging than progenitor’s because it takes time for your items to be created. In Minecraft, you can craft a set of armor as quickly as you can click the button. In 7 Days to Die, you have to wait a certain amount of time (usually between 5 and 45 seconds) until the item is complete.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. The survival/horror Minecraft-esque genre is pretty oversaturated. Just off of the top of my head, there are games like Day-Z, H1Z1, The Forest, and many more. So what sets 7 Days to Die apart from its extensive competition? 7 Days to Die has a very active development team, who work hard to deliver regular, free updates on a regular basis. In my opinion, 7 Days to Die is currently the best in its overcrowded genre, if only because it’s constantly improving.
4. Lego Worlds
To me, the ability to create grand and magnificent structures has always been one of the best parts of Minecraft. Lego Worlds is one of the few open world sandbox builders out there that is able to capture that same level of creativity. As you can probably guess from the name, Lego Worlds is a game made by the fine folks over at Lego. Lego is already known for an expansive series of video games based off of movies and comic book characters, but Lego Worlds is very different from those games.
Lego Worlds is a game where you take third-person control of a character of your own making. You’re able to run around and explore a vast Lego world, fight skeleton monsters, and build structures. Since Lego World is brought to you by Lego, you can be sure that the building aspect of the game is absolutely phenomenal. There are so many different kinds of pieces to choose from, which allows you to create smaller, more detailed structures than you can in Minecraft. Lego Worlds will feel very familiar to the average Minecraft player, with other features like rideable creatures, pre-generated villages, and the ability to explore underwater biomes.
Lego Worlds, like 7 Days to Die, is still in early access. Certain aspects of the game are still a little glitchy. The game is prone to crashing unexpectedly, and there are a few key features that haven’t been made public yet. For instance, one of the biggest draws of Minecraft is its large and expansive online community. At the time of writing, Lego Worlds has yet to implement an online multiplayer mode. Still, the game is in active development. I think that if we give Lego Worlds another year or two, it could give Minecraft a run for its money.
3. Roblox
I don’t know if it’s completely fair to call Roblox a “game like Minecraft”, when it was released several years before it. If anything, Minecraft is a game like Roblox. Regardless, Roblox was a game that was wildly popular during the late 2000s, and it still boasts a fairly active user base. If you like the building and multiplayer aspects of Minecraft, you’ll love Roblox.
Roblox is a game that enables players to build their own worlds and levels, in an environment very similar to Minecraft’s creative mode. Roblox’s character customization is also roughly on-par with Minecraft’s, allowing users to equip different skins and hats and what not. Roblox doesn’t really have a single-player survival mode like Minecraft does, however. The bulk of Roblox’s success has come from its active and friendly online community, where groups of people will come together and build a massive city together. If you watch someone exploring a Roblox world, odds are it was all built by a few dedicated Roblox users.
One of my favorite things to do in early Minecraft was jump into a server with a few friends and work on building a skyscraper or a bird or something equally silly. Roblox captures that same level of camaraderie and teamwork perfectly, and they’ve been doing so for ten years now. Roblox also has a lot of PvP style arenas and games that bear a resemblance to the competitive PvP servers that we have seen in Minecraft. If you find yourself spending a lot of time playing with strangers in Minecraft, you should give Roblox a shot.
2. Subnautica
A common criticism of Minecraft is its percieved lack of graphical fidelity. While I can understand the complaint, I think it is arguable that the voxel-based simplicity of Minecraft’s visuals will stand the test of time. However, for those who can’t stand looking at endless piles of cubes, there’s Subnautica. It’s stylized underwater wonderland is breath taking. Each and every monstrous beauty you encounter a work of art. Few games can match the atmosphere of this survive ’em up.
Subnautica is your standard survival/crafting game, where you explore an uncharted world and do everything that you can to survive in it. However, there’s a twist. As you may have been able to determine from the name, Subnautica takes place almost entirely underwater. You spend the majority of your time exploring the unknown depths of the terrifying ocean. And trust me, as beautiful as the game seems, it can be pretty scary. The ocean is a really mysterious, quiet place. It can be pretty unnerving to be searching for food, knowing that a dangerous fish of some kind could be lurking behind any corner.
Crafting in Subnautica is obviously more science-oriented than Minecraft crafting. You wouldn’t have very much use for a set of iron armor at the bottom of the sea. Subnautica is a particularly refreshing game, because it manages to be similar to Minecraft despite being so fundamentallydifferent. Subnautica is still in early access, but the development team is very serious about delivering updates on a schedule, so I don’t think you have to worry about it being abandoned. Subnautica doesn’t currently offer online multiplayer, and there are some slight optimization issues currently, but the dev team promises that fixes are coming soon.
1. Terraria
No surprise here. If Terraria got a dollar for every time it was put at the top of a “Games like Minecraft” list, it… would have a lot of money. Terraria was released around the same time as Minecraft, and its fundamental gameplay elements are pretty simple, which means that it was one of the first games to have been compared to Minecraft since the moment it was released. (I don’t envy them.)
At first glance, Terraria looks really different from Minecraft. To start off with, Terraria is entirely two dimensional. There is no first or third person, because you view your character from the side, platformer-style. Combat in Terraria is also completely different from combat in Minecraft. In my opinion, it’s vastly superior. In Minecraft, combat often consists of strafing in a “strategic” manner while mashing the same button over and over again. Terraria’s combat feels much more Metroidvania-esque, and it’s an absolute blast.
What makes Terraria and Minecraft similar is that they both place a strong emphasis on crafting, mining, and exploration. When you play both games, you’ll realize that your general strategies are similar. You mine to craft and level up your gear in order to take on a larger boss. In both Minecraft and Terraria, you can’t really get by without crafting and mining, and you’re rewarded for taking risks and exploring dangerous areas of the world. Although certain aspects of their gameplay are radically different, the fundamental values are pretty much the same.
The Future of The Open World Survival Sandbox
As I mentioned before, Minecraft is really popular among younger gamers. It’s the game a lot of the world’s budding game developers will grow up on, and so I think it’s safe to expect more Minecraft-like games to come in the future. Even today, games like Guncraft, Unturned, Starbound, and Don’t Starve, are pretty successful and borrow heavily from the central mechanics that once made Minecraft unique.
Personally, I’m happy with the popularization of this genre of game, if only because it’s constantly being tweaked. There are very few popular games out there that are just likeMinecraft. Games like Lego Worlds and Subnautica are very similar to Minecraft, but they still manage to feel brand new. Minecraft’s core mechanics are married with other unique ideas, creating something both expansive and innovative. If people are making games where incredible worlds can be explored, terrible beasts can be defeated, and friendships can be forged over the construction of a mighty fortress…I think that there are far worse directions for video games to go.
Minecraft Upcoming 1.9 Patch Will Bring Many Cool Features
The last major patch that Mojang has released for Minecraft is Bountiful Update (version 1.8) and the fans were wondering when they will get a new patch. Their dream is about to come true, as in two days, Mojang will launch Combat Update (version 1.9) which will change completely the way miners and crafters will play this game.
Mojang won’t bring another set of blocks and other improvements to the game. Minecraft will suffer a great combat change, and the players will explore and farm better. Dual wielding is the big change and will allow the players to hold a torch in one hand and a mine in the other, or seeds in one hand and in the other a hoe. Both way, the farming operation will become more efficient, and the game will feel a little bit more realistic. Multitasking was necessary, as it will help the players use the best combinations for dual wielding.
The players are not only capable of working and eating at the same time (while holding food in one hand and a tool in the other), they can also enter dangerous cavern systems holding a torch in one hand and a sword in the other, for protection.
Another change in patch 1.9 is the “delay” to the combat, and the players will have more time to plan their strategy. Also, they will build an arena, where they will find many things. But, here’s the entire list of changes that will be brought by the Combat update:
Shields– while holding a shield in one hand and a weapon, the players will be better protected when others are soaking up arrows. Also, shields can be customized with a logo;
Axes– will be 60 percent slower, and the players can use an ax in one hand and a shield in the other;
Arrows– there will be 14 new arrow tips which can be used for healing or poisoning etc. For example, if the player is wounded, he can be shot by a healer with an arrow and this will raise his health;
Hidden Dungeons– the fans will have more opportunities to explore these places, which are placed usually in snowy areas;
Beets– with this new vegetable, the players can make soup and feed themselves;
The Changes to The End– the players will need to raid cities and ships in order to get rare materials. Also, they will harvest Chorus flowers, but it’s not sure what their role will be.
End Cities– End Rods (crafted using chorus fruit and blaze rods) will provide light as the “End” version of a lantern;
New Blocks– the most useful ones will be Purpur Blocks, which are located in End Cities. There will be four different variations, such as block, pillar, slab and stairs.
Minecraft: Wii U Editionhas been out for a couple months now, and many Nintendo gamers have since put in countless hours exploring its blocky environments. All the same, it’s not aperfectversion of the game, with many fans complaining about certain features that were absent from this release. Naturally, the game is a work in progress, and a new patch has just gone live that adds a hefty amount of extra stuff.
This update is the third to go out for the Wii U, and it brings the game up to par with the Xbox 360 version’s 33rd patch. The full patch notes can be foundhere; it’s quite an exhaustive list of additions and tweaks. There are new mobs, blocks, items, and biomes, and dozens of tweaks to existent materials. Alas, there’s still no GamePad inventory management, but it’s nonetheless nice to see Mojang continuing to improve this edition.
What do you think? Are you glad to see this update? What would you like to see added in future updates? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
More than 100 Minecrafters are competing in White Plains to win Minecraft’s Galactic Mission, a worldwide competition that lasts for four weeks. The ultimate winner receives a $15,000 scholarship. Starlord is an 11-year-old gamer, who lives in New Rochelle. He’s been playing Minecraft for five years and is reporting on the competition for lohud.com and The Journal News.
This week, he’s joined by DinoGio, one of the handful of girls competing in the championship.
During last week’s round there were a few Wi-Fi issues that delayed the start, but this week ran smoothly, except for one little problem, according to team DinoGio: “We had one hack who compromised the server and cheated, raiding other teams. He fixed it so he wouldn’t die and controlled the leader board. Not fair!”
Her dad added that the techs running the competition were really on top of all the kids, caught all the bad behavior and put a stop to it immediately.
Starlord and DinoGio recap Round Two:
DINOGIO
Who I am: Hi! I am 9 ½ and my name is Brianna, but I like to be called Brie. I started Minecrafting when I was only in kindergarten (“I think”). My mom downloaded it five years ago just to keep me busy not knowing anything about it. I love Minecraft because if it’s in your imagination, you can build it; you can do anything. I am hooked on DanTDM, my favorite Minecraft YouTuber, who just married Jenn. They try out all the latest software.
What else do you do besides Minecraft? My mom says I need more days in the week for all the things I do: I take Taekwondo, Hip Hop, Jazz lyrical and I cheer for my school and I cheer competitively. I started singing the “National Anthem” for Mahopac High School basketball games (three times so far plus another in two weeks). I play the viola, I love art, attend CCD and I have also have been a Girl Scout for five years and do things for the community.
How was the Galactic Mission on Saturday? My favorite part was the building part, but I thought the whole competition was soooo amazing!
What was the hardest part?Hmm, I would have to say the hardest and most challenging was the P.V.P. because I think they should give you more time for more challenging stages. The looting part was way too short and I could hear all the frustrated kids around me. As you check the close looted chest, then the faster kids would kill you.
Any surprises?I loved how comfortable I felt and really fit right in from the minute I walked in that theater, even if I was one out of only five girls. I was very surprised how nice and awesome my team was. We all cooperated and listened to each other’s ideas and needs. I walked in not knowing anyone. My friend Maddie is obsessed with Minecraft and had to cancel last minute because her software was not up-to-date. I felt bad. So I didn’t know what to expect entering into a large group of over 100 unknown crafters. But I found the competition to be totally amazing.
How did you do? My team, The Exotic PVP won the League for the building challenge.
Any challenges? My least favorite thing was logging in to find I had to play as a Steve because I played under my brother’s game tag. Of course the they thought I was a boy! They never checked online or in person to find out who is a boy or a girl. It was also intense getting in and seated, and set up.
What’s your strategy for next week?I can’t wait to go back. My teammates exchanged contact information with me and we will try a few gaming sessions; maybe just maybe It will be super hard because we are all so busy after school.
STARLORD
Where did you get the name Starlord?Since there was another Starlord in the system, I had to tweak my gamer name a little. Now my name is jamesstarlord10. I got the name Starlord after watching the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy” in which one of the characters is named Peter Quill a.k.a Starlord. I liked Starlord because his name is astronomy-related and I love astronomy. Plus he is a really cool character in the movie; he is the hero of the story.
You had a week to get prepared for Round 2. Did you practice? To get ready for round 2, I read “Minecraft Essential Handbook” on laptop controls when playing with the mouse and each day I practiced for an hour.
What did you do differently this week? I had the same plan, just to be more focused and to have fun.
Did you feel more confident? Yes, this week I felt more confident. I had time to practice with the laptop, which is different from playing on PC and PS4, how I usually play.
What was your strategy this week, build faster or get rid of your opponents? This week we played a survival game called “The Walls.” In my Team Base there is a character called The Wither (which is a materials trader). My team built a cage of Cobblestones to protect the Wither from people attacking him. When we played “Mayhem” (which is a survival game) we gathered as much loot (diamond sword, diamond armor and diamond pick-axe) as possible.
What were the other competitors doing? Most of the competitors were trying to get the most points and the most kills, along with building the best desert world they could.
Are people still having fun or is it getting serious? This week was more competitive; many teams were planning different strategies and trying to win. Next week I expect it to be 10x more competitive as the teams bond with each other.
Right now, who is the Minecrafter beat? The top three Minecrafters were amazing. They got the most kills in the survival games and had the lowest amount of deaths. They also knew when to get loot from the chest and when to strike.
What do you think your chances are of winning the tournament? This week my team did an amazing job. We grew a lot as a team speaking to one another and planning strategies. I think are chances are good.
What are you planning for next week? To practice more, be more focused and to have fun.
7 Days to Die has several mining and crafting mechanics that are very similar to Minecraft’s. You’re able to craft tools of varying effectiveness, which are used to mine different materials. These different materials, like clay and iron, can be smelted in a furnace to create weapons, armors, or other kinds of defenses. You don’t have to assemble items in a specific shape on a grid like you do in Minecraft’s PC version, but you still have to gather a specific amount of materials. I would argue that 7 Days to Die’s crafting system is more challenging than progenitor’s because it takes time for your items to be created. In Minecraft, you can craft a set of armor as quickly as you can click the button. In 7 Days to Die, you have to wait a certain amount of time (usually between 5 and 45 seconds) until the item is complete.
Lego Worlds is a game where you take third-person control of a character of your own making. You’re able to run around and explore a vast Lego world, fight skeleton monsters, and build structures. Since Lego World is brought to you by Lego, you can be sure that the building aspect of the game is absolutely phenomenal. There are so many different kinds of pieces to choose from, which allows you to create smaller, more detailed structures than you can in Minecraft. Lego Worlds will feel very familiar to the average Minecraft player, with other features like rideable creatures, pre-generated villages, and the ability to explore underwater biomes.
Roblox is a game that enables players to build their own worlds and levels, in an environment very similar to Minecraft’s creative mode. Roblox’s character customization is also roughly on-par with Minecraft’s, allowing users to equip different skins and hats and what not. Roblox doesn’t really have a single-player survival mode like Minecraft does, however. The bulk of Roblox’s success has come from its active and friendly online community, where groups of people will come together and build a massive city together. If you watch someone exploring a Roblox world, odds are it was all built by a few dedicated Roblox users.
Subnautica is your standard survival/crafting game, where you explore an uncharted world and do everything that you can to survive in it. However, there’s a twist. As you may have been able to determine from the name, Subnautica takes place almost entirely underwater. You spend the majority of your time exploring the unknown depths of the terrifying ocean. And trust me, as beautiful as the game seems, it can be pretty scary. The ocean is a really mysterious, quiet place. It can be pretty unnerving to be searching for food, knowing that a dangerous fish of some kind could be lurking behind any corner.
At first glance, Terraria looks really different from Minecraft. To start off with, Terraria is entirely two dimensional. There is no first or third person, because you view your character from the side, platformer-style. Combat in Terraria is also completely different from combat in Minecraft. In my opinion, it’s vastly superior. In Minecraft, combat often consists of strafing in a “strategic” manner while mashing the same button over and over again. Terraria’s combat feels much more Metroidvania-esque, and it’s an absolute blast.
