Minecraft 1.8 Review

For those eagerly waiting for the first half of the first half of the Mincraft adventure update, the wait is finally over. And no I’m not talking about some buggy pre release that is a pain in the ass to properly install that’s been out for just over a week prior. As of Sept 14 it’s available to the masses who are looking to feed their “minecrack” addiction.

Because of the recent changes I figured it was time for an updated Minecraft review covering some of the recent changes. This is not a complete review on the 1.8 adventure update, just what I’ve seen and experienced in the game so far to give you an idea what to expect.

1. The terrain

The biggest change to the game is the terrain, no longer are their tiny deserts, beside a hill with some trees. What you get now are massive biomes, each with its own unique look and style. There are now actual forests full of trees, mountain ranges, plains covered in long grass, artic tundra’s, and vast desert regions.

There are also some new terrain types; the first is a marshland or swamp type of environment. This is made up of shallow ponds surrounded by tall grass and trees. The trees are often generated in the water and covered in vines that run all the way down.

Another new feature is oceans that seem to literally go on forever. Not only are they massive, there also extremely deep, so deep that they almost go right to the bedrock that marks the very bottom of the world. It’s also common to find tiny isolated islands from time to time.

Sticking with water another new feature for the Minecraft adventure update are rivers. These range in size and depth, however it’s very common (from what I’ve seen so far) that they divide different terrain types such as deserts and plains. I’ve also noticed that clay which prior to the 1.8 adventure update was pretty rare now seems very common on the bottom of rivers or lining the sides of them.

The last new features I’ve come across so far are ravines. They appear both above and below ground and cut huge open huge portions of the map. So far from what I’ve seen they seem to appear more near plains and river portions of the map. They also aren’t limited to just above or below ground. I’ve seen a few now that start out exposed to the outside and wind their way underground, usually below a mountain or hill.

2. The villages

One topic that generated a lot of buzz was the inclusion of villages full of NPC’s wondering around doing their thing. So far these villages are empty with the NPC’s coming probably in the next update. The villages themselves are usually generated fairly close to your first spawn point and have between 2 to almost a dozen buildings. Larger villages will have a tower close to the middle, a well, a forge or blacksmith type building, and at least one farm. Most of the buildings are usually empty except for bookshelves, tables and on one occasion a work bench.

It’ll be interesting once these villages are full of…….well whatever is going to inhabit them. But for now there more of a navigational point or place to get some quick resources.

3. The hunger bar

A lot of talk went into the new hunger bar, forcing players to have access to food or risk starvation. When you first start playing the hunger bar takes awhile before it starts drop. I’ve noticed that once it starts and drops a couple chicken drumsticks (that’s what it looks like) it really speeds up.

It also has an effect on your health bar. Food no longer directly heals your character; instead it instantly refills your hunger bar. Your character will start to slowly regain health over a period of time making combat a little trickier.

4. Combat

Fighting has changed up a little as well. Your sword regardless of type can now block enemy attacks, while your bow can now be charged at hit enemies at twice the distance. You can also sprit and hit enemies which send them flying backwards, this is a really handy move for knocking them off cliffs or down ravines.

5. Lighting and brightness bar

I really like both of these changes to the game. The brightness bar allows you to do things at night without having to worry about falling off a cliff because you can’t see, or sitting in a dirt house on the first night waiting for the dawn.

Lighting effects are much more natural looking and much smoother. Sunrise and sunset are no longer a chunky transition, but smooth and constant. Another nice change with lighting is the light generated from torches and furnaces. Torches have an almost glow like affect and allow you to see much farther then before. As for furnaces when you’re your burning something they now actually light up the room or area you’re in.

6. The Enderman

Of all the things talked about with the 1.8 adventure update (besides its release date) is the Enderman, the new mob that was supposed to be super creepy and tough to kill……….is anyone else disappointed by them. First off yes they can teleport can do so from very far distances, if you can see them moving blocks in the distance and you put your aimer on them they usually see you (it doesn’t always work if the Enderman are really far away) and rapidly teleport to your position. Also if you’re on a high feature such as the top of your house, they can teleport beside you so being high up isn’t always an advantage.

What I find disappointing is just how easy they are to kill, a wooden sword can take one down in 2 hits, and stone is about the same. I haven’t tried with other material like iron, or diamonds yet but I’m going to assume it’s about the same. They also burn up in sunlight like skeletons and zombies, not sure about water yet but I’ve seen videos where water kills them as well.

The other disappointment I have with Enderman is what they drop when their killed. When you kill one they drop what’s called an Ender Pearl, which as yet is totally useless, hopefully in the next update these will actually do something.

There are a tonne more things that were added to Minecraft such as abandoned mines, poisonous spiders, silverfish, and new farming and food types, I’ve just covered the things I’ve seen so far. For a complete list of all the changes to Minecraft you can follow the link below.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Minecraft/comments/jw93e/list_of_new_confirmed_18_features/