Hey guys, this be my annual update.
I'm not dead, I'm not gone (completely), I'm just lurking a bit.

Anyways, as the title might 'suggest', this post is about a wonderful Indie-game called Minecraft. I don't feel it gets enough love here on Xanga, so if you feel like you like the game (after you read my post) feel free to recommend it to your friends (maybe recommend the post too, so Xanga can read it). It's a hell lot of fun, I'll show you just in a second (I know some people on Xanga wrote about the game before, but not in a fashion that got too many attention I think).

Disclaimer: Please read the full post and watch some of the videos. If you are at all interested in games, this might be for you, even if it doesn't look like it at first (be it the graphics or the general concept, believe me, it's addicting)

So, why don't I start by telling you what this game is about, that sounds like a good idea, right (There's videos at the end of this blog, if you don't like reading)?

MINECRAFT

Goal/Genre/What to do:

Basically, this game is a Sandbox-game which means you don't really have a "goal" you need to achieve (other than not getting blown up by mean creepers in the night, but I'll get to that later). You have a giant randomly generated world in which you can live and build and do things as you please. You start with nothing, and slowly you begin to build stuff and create things. The world is entirely made out of different kind of blocks (i.e. Dirt (with grass on it), Wood (which form Trees), Sand, Stone etc.). By harvesting material and 'crafting' it into tools and things, you begin to form the world into almost anything you can imagine. Since words cannot do justice to this game, you can see a little introduction video on how the game starts:

I say it again: Please read the whole post, even if you are not too hyped after this video

At night, Zombies and Skeletons awake. The game-mode that is available for now is called Survival. While you're safe to run around at daytime, in the night you should seek shelter, or otherwise those monsters will try to get a bite out of you (or to practice their shooting)

Features of the Game:

This list contains by far not all features, but it contains some of the most interesting things about minecraft:

- Totally random and HUGE world:
     The game creates a world for you which will always be different than the last time you created a world, and this world will be huge. Whenever you walk into
     unexplored areas, you will trigger the game to create more 'world' around you. It is theoretically possible to create a world 8 times as big as the Earth's surface.

- Total freedom in what you want to do:
     No levels, no goals, no nothing. While this may sound boring at first (wait, there's nothing to finish, then why play?) the I-just-want-to-finish-my-castle
     experience will get you really quick.

- Crafting:    
     Make axes, pickaxes, bows, swords, farm wheat, kill pigs, smelt iron, build doors, make glass (and soon: go fishing)

- Playable in the webbrowser:
     You don't really need to install anything, just go to the site and play.

- Contains multiplayer (even though still buggy since it's in alpha):
     Possibly one of the best features. Nothing's more cool than building some giant stuff with friends.

- It's cheap!
     While it is not for free (costs 10 USD right now in alpha mode, when you want to buy it later, it will get more expensive, 20 Bucks when it's released) it's some
     of the best bucks I've ever spent for a game. Also, once you buy it, you get all updates and expansions for it for free.

- It's GF-approved
     Your girl might just love this game!

Videos:

Here are some more videos, look through them to see how awesome this game is:

Heh, I'm done with shamelessly advertising this. Thanks for reading.

Haha, I just came back to Xanga for a while, and after reading a bit around (with nothing really piquing my interest) I felt the strong urge to go onto some religious block and write some atheist stuff.

Man, life's truly funny at days