The answer: I can't stand playing most 3D games on a touchscreen for very long. I love playing “Minecraft,” Microsoft's smash-hit block-building game, on my iPhone with my nephews, but the control feels weird and unnatural to my withered 30-year-old hands. I could play it on PC, naturally, but then I lose the portability.
This is why I was so eager to try “Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition,” the $30 version of the game for the new Nintendo Switch console. I thought, perhaps, this version would strike the perfect compromise:
Because the Switch is a TV games console, it uses a traditional joystick setup, the kind I'm very accustomed to. And because you can detach the Switch from the TV, I can take it on the go.
Well, the game met my expectations, and actually exceeded them. And in so doing, it shows off what's so great about both “Minecraft,” and about the Nintendo Switch itself.
Mining and crafting The actual experience of playing “Minecraft” is exactly the same here as it is on other versions.
In Survival Mode, you begin alone and unarmed, and are challenged to craft tools and weapons in a blocky, charmingly pixelated world. In Creative Mode, you're freed from the shackles of responsibility, and can zip around the world using the game's amazingly intuitive interface to build massive structures limited by your imagination.
minecraft nintendo switch The Switch can either be plugged into a TV to act as a normal console, or else used as portable system, as pictured here. 4J Studios This version's sole twist is a Nintendo-exclusive “Mario Mash-Up Pack,” which optionally lets you play as various Super Mario characters, while also giving a Mario-style makeover to the game's items, buildings, and enemies. If you happened to play the Wii U version of “Minecraft,” it's the exact same here as it was there.
It's a fun addition, but not game-changing (so to speak). If you've ever played “Minecraft” before, and you should, you know what you're getting. One thing I would note is that the game's graphics get just a little worse when the console is in its portable mode, with the distance you can see noticeably diminished. That's a quibble, though.
Playing with power The real beauty of this version of “Minecraft” comes in the unique stuff that the Switch brings to the table.
Again, I can't get used to touchscreen controls. So having a portable version that supports the Switch's trademark Joy-Con controllers, thumbsticks and all, was a welcome blessing. I found myself playing the game more, and for longer sessions, than I had with other versions of “Minecraft.”
My absolute favorite moment with the game, however, came when I showed it to my nephews. Like the Xbox and PlayStation versions of the game, “Minecraft: Nintendo Switch Edition” supports a split-screen multiplayer with up to four players, so long as the console is plugged into the TV.
Minecraft (Super Mario) The game has a pre-built Super Mario world for you to explore. Microsoft/Nintendo When the Switch isn't plugged into the TV, though, you still keep the power to have two local players. It meant that my nephews could play with each other sitting at the coffee table, while a movie played on the TV. They love “Minecraft;” they love playing “Minecraft” with each other, and they were totally into this idea.
The caveat is that “Minecraft: Switch Edition” doesn't support the Switch's nifty method for turning one of its Joy-Con controllers into two, meaning you'll need a full two controllers to take advantage. That part is a bummer.
Still, to me, it proves two things. First, Nintendo's boasts of the Switch as a social console are well-deserved. Whether it's attached to the TV, or in your backpack on a trip, the Switch really does let you have fun solo or with friends.
Second, “Minecraft” is really an extraordinary game. It's incredibly flexible, and is equally as fun on phones, consoles, and PCs. It's no wonder that the game has had such staying power when it's so easy to get started everywhere the game plays. And when Switch players of “Minecraft” get the ability to join their Xbox brethren later this year, you can expect the fun to get cranked up to 11.
For the first time since the original “Minecraft,” the series is getting a new entry.
It's not a sequel — the game is named “Minecraft: Dungeons,” and it's a dungeon crawler along the lines of “Diablo.”
“Minecraft: Dungeons” is scheduled to arrive on PC in 2019. It's not clear when it will come to other platforms.
For the first time since “Minecraft” arrived in 2011, a new entry in the series is in the works from the same studio that created the original. It's named “Minecraft: Dungeons” — it was revealed on Saturday during an annual “Minecraft” live broadcast known as Minecon Earth 2018.
From what we've seen so far, it looks like a very “Minecraft-y” version of beloved classics like “Diablo.” It sounds lke that, too!
“Dungeons” is described as, “an all-new action-adventure game inspired by classic dungeon crawlers,” in its announcement. Alone, or with a group of up to four friends, you'll tackle, “a ruthless swarm of new-and-nasty mobs” in a variety of locations: “canyons, swamps and — of course — mines.”
Minecraft Dungeons Like other dungeon crawlers, “Minecraft: Dungeons” appears to feature different classes of character to choose from — from a warrior to a mage, and everything in between. Mojang/Microsoft Studios The game is said to be a passion project for the folks at Mojang — the Swedish studio that was founded to create the original “Minecraft.” It's the first of several new initiatives within Mojang aimed at expanding the universe of “Minecraft.”
Unlike “Minecraft,” the focus in “Minecraft: Dungeons” is action.
“We wanted to focus on making sure that we made the dungeon crawler part as good as possible,” Mojang creative lead Jens Bergentsen told me in a phone interview last week.
To that end, don't expect to see a lot of the usual mining and crafting.
“I would say that it's a distilled version of ‘Minecraft,'” Bergentsen said. “Building in the game is something that we've talked about a lot, but we were concerned that it would distract from what the game was about. So in ‘Minecraft Dungeons,' it's strictly an adventure game with a story attached to it.”
The game is scheduled to arrive on PC first in 2019 — a beta will precede its arrival, but don't expect anything like the soft launch “Minecraft” had. “Minecraft: Dungeons” is getting a relatively standard beta before a “traditional” release, we're told.
This week’s Xbox Live Deals With Gold have begun trickling in, and there are a number of great deals on titles offered by WB Games.
For instance, Batman; Arkham Knight and Batman: Return To Arkham are available for dirt cheap, which means you can enjoy the full Rocksteady Studios trilogy for a swell deal.
On top of that, several Lego video games are also marked down, including the latest release, Lego The Incredibles, as well as classic favorites like Lego Batman 3, Lego Marvel’s Avengers, Lego Jurassic World and several more. And you can snag Grand Theft Auto V for cheap, too!
The sale prices are good between now and October 2nd at 6 AM EDT, so you’ve got time to do some serious shopping and add games to your library. Let’s take a look at the deals that are on hand!
Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion- $29.99 Beast Quest- $12.00 Ben 10- $15.00 Defunct- $4.49 Divinity Original Sin: Enhanced Edition- $10.00 I, Zombie- $2.67 Lords of the Fallen Digital Complete Edition- $7.50 Mega Man Legacy Collection- $6.00 Mega Man Legacy Collection 2- $11.99 Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 + 2 Combo Pack- $15.00 Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2- $8.00 Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Deluxe Edition- $10.00 Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered- $22.49 Road Rage- $9.00 Rock of Ages 2: Bigger and Boulder- $7.50 Shiny- $7.50 Slain: Back From Hell- $6.00 Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Season Pass Edition- $16.00 The Coma: Recut- $7.50 The Golf Club 2- $12.00 The Golf Club 2019 Featuring PGA Tour- $37.49 The Surge- $10.00 Transcripted- $4.70 Valkyria Revolution- $26.79 Vampyr- $40.19 Warhammer Bundle: Mordheim and Blood Bowl 2- $16.50 Bastion- $7.50 Batman: Arkham Knight- $10.00 Batman: Arkham Knight Premium Edition- $20.00 Batman: Return To Arkham- $10.00 Cars 3: Driven To Win- $20.00 Dying Light- $14.99 Dying Light: The Following Enhanced Edition- $20.09 Grand Theft Auto V- $19.49 Grand Theft Auto V + Great White Shark Cash Card- $32.49 Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition- $32.99 Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition + Great White Shark Card Bundle- $40.00 Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition + Whale Shark Card Bundle- $55.00 Grand Theft Auto V: Premium Online Edition + Megalodon Shark Card BUndle- $80.00 Hyper Sentinel- $10.04 Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham- $11.99 Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Deluxe Edition- $17.50 Lego City Undercover- $15.00 Lego Jurassic World- $10.00 Lego Marvel Super Heroes- $8.00 Lego Marvel Super Heroes Bundle- $24.00 Lego Marvel Super Heroes Deluxe Bundle- $30.00 Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2- $24.00 Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 Deluxe Edition- $30.00 Lego Marvel’s Avengers- $10.00 Lego Marvel’s Avengers Deluxe Edition- $12.00 Lego Movies Game Bundle- $20.00 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens- $10.00 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Deluxe Edition- $12.00 Lego The Incredibles- $41.99 Lego Worlds- $20.99 Mad Max- $8.00 Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition- $8.00 Middle-Earth: Shadow of War- $24.99 Mortal Kombat XL- $10.00 Scribblenauts Showdown- $20.00 The Elder Scrolls Online- $10.00 The Elder Scrolls Online Collection- $40.00 The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset- $23.99 The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset Collector’s Edition- $35.99 The Lego Movie Videogame- $10.00 The Lego Ninjago Movie Video Game- $25.00 The Surge- $10.00 Hurry up and get these great deals while you can!
At this point, there are some of you that finally beat Spider-Man on PlayStation 4. Not 100 percent yet, mind you (save for a few of you), but at least gotten through the story. So you’re probably wondering…what’s next? Well, besides the DLC that will start debuting next month, there’s also a fun side story that’s coming to the comics as well — and we’ve got a first look at which way this version of Spider-Man will be going in this particular universe.
Marvel has released some teaser images for Spider-Geddon #0, which is set to make its debut on newsstands and comic book stores starting September 26, introducing this Spider-Man to this particular world.
The first few pages have an interesting story to tell, penned by writer Christos Gage, alongside Jed MacKay, and artistically created by Clayton Crain, Javier Garron and Israel Silva. You can see all the pages below, but here’s the quick lowdown:
Spidey begins by swinging through the city, listening to J. Jonah Jameson’s latest podcast (to a point, anyway), before Mary Jane decides to give him a call. She explains that some sort of maniac is tearing his way through the city, and the hero goes to confront him.
It turns out to be none other than the Tarantula, who lets loose with a number of mechanical appendages, threatening to crush Spidey underneath them.
After making a joke about copyright infringement, Spidey tries to find a way to stop Tarantula, only to find his webs are ineffective with his electrical shielding. However, he’s able to finally subdue him with the help of a web bomb, leaving him tied up for the police.
But then things get really interesting, as another Spider-Man suddenly appears from another dimension, addressing him as Spider-Man of Earth 1048. He tells him that “he is needed,” in which he’s thrown for a loop. And that’s where the tease comes to an end. Check out the first few pages below!
You can read the rest of the story for yourself in just a few days, so be sure to pre-order your copy when you get a chance!
Spider-Man is available now for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.
In case you missed it, yesterday, out of nowhere, Telltale Games — the team behind The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, Batman, and more — announced its closure.
Details around the shuttering are still quite scarce — and much of what we do know is unofficial — but Telltale has confirmed that all that is left of its once 250-plus studio is a skeleton crew of 25 that will remain “to fulfill the company's obligations to its board and partners.”
At the time, it was believed that such obligations would include finishing the ongoing, and last, season of The Walking Dead, which premiered last month. However, reports have since come out that claim the 25 developers left are actually working on Minecraft: Story Mode — which is being made in collaboration with Netflix — and that The Walking Dead: The Final Season has been cancelled. And these reports are further validated by Netflix confirming that Minecraft: Story Mode will not be impacted by the studio closing.
The whole situation is very confusing, and hopefully, further elucidation will arrive in the coming days from Telltale, who said it would soon provide an update on what the closure specifically means for its portfolio.
But the confusion doesn't end there: people are perplexed about why the studio is closing in the first place. And part of this is because the studio's considerable size and its involvement in huge IP gave off the aura of nothing but the greenest of pastures.
Telltale was founded in 2004, but it wasn't a household name in the gaming community until 2012, when it released The Walking Dead, a game that would go on to be not only a critical success, but a commercial one. To this day, it is considered one of the best games of last-generation, as well as one of the most impactful.
Not only did The Walking Dead put Telltale on the map, allow it to scale rapidly, and tackle some of the biggest IP in entertainment, it brought back the adventure genre, which was a ghost before 2012. Granted it was with a Telltale-style twist, but it helped paved the way for many games in the forgotten genre to since release.
With all of this in mind, it's easy to understand why some are confused and dumbfoundead about the studio's sudden closure. But according to a new report, it's quite clear why it closed: it wasn't making money on any of its games.
According to Joe Parlock, a contributor at Forbes, who cites an inside, anonymous source, only season one of The Walking Dead and Minecraft made money for Telltale, everything else, especially Batman, was a failure.
Apparently, only Minecraft: Story Mode and 7 Days to Die were making a profit. The rest was investor money and the netflix deal, which dried up.
According to the source, Batman t a n k e d and was one of the worst commercial failures for Telltale.
Basically, only the first season of The Walking Dead made money. Everything between that and Minecraft was a financial failure – Wolf, everything post-Season 1 of TWD, Borderlands, Game of Thrones. All failures.
As always, all reports should be taken with a grain of salt, after all, the only thing you can really ever take to the bank is official confirmation. However, it's obvious something had to go wrong, and that some games had to fail in order for Telltale to shutter like this.
And it's not very hard to consider that after The Walking Dead season one, none of Telltale's games — besides Minecraft: Story Mode — were successful for the studio. Not Wolf Among Us, not Game of Thrones, not even Batman, ever could generate the same type of critical and larger mainstream commercial buzz that Clementine and Lee did eight years ago.
Streaming content leader Netflix (NFLX) punched higher in soft trade Monday, easily leading its FANG stock peers and climbing further up the right side of a developing base pattern.
The gain came despite news from video content developer Telltale Games on Friday that it was paring back to a skeleton crew, preparing to fulfill certain obligations before shutting its doors for good. Loss of the developer for content tied to such high-profile series as “Walking Dead” (AMC) and “Game of Thrones” (HBO), and films including “Guardians of the Galaxy” (Marvel Studios) rattled the industry.
A statement from Netflix said its “Minecraft: Story Mode” title, under contract to Telltale, “is still moving forward as planned.” Industry news sources reported that plans for Telltale to develop Netflix' “Stranger Things” interactive series had been scrapped.
Netflix grew up around renting movie DVDs, delivered by mail to subscribers' homes. It was among the very first major names to dive full-flung into online video streaming services. And as the industry has shifted toward higher-quality original content, Netflix has duked it out with AT&T's (T) HBO and Amazon.com (AMZN) for creative precedence.
Minecraft: A More Mature Interactive Series The “Minecraft: Story Mode” project with Telltale reveals another advance in creative content. It reportedly aims to develop a five-episode narrative feature allowing users to “choose-their-own-adventure” path through the series. Netflix had previously developed and launched several similar series based on children's titles, including “Stretch Armstrong”, “Puss In Boots” and “Buddy Thunderstruck.”
Although not really games, the series use gamelike programming to offer “branching points,” at which users can make choices from optional plot lines through which the protagonist will move forward. This provides users multiple optional narrative adventures from each branching point.
The Telltale shutdown gives a sense of how challenging and talent-consuming the new medium might be. Despite its high-profile contract wins, the company apparently still could not remain afloat.
The “Minecraft: Story Mode” and “Stranger Things” deals with Telltale appeared to be Netflix' first efforts to present the interactive storytelling technique to a slightly more mature audience.
In an interview with IndieWire in May, Netflix writer Kevin Burke said Netflix' interactive efforts have grown increasingly complex, offering more options at each branching point, requiring multiple layers of writing, and of animated footage.
“Your experience could be from, I believe it's like 13, 14 minutes is your shortest way to get to an ending, and I think it goes up to about 44 or 45 minutes to play the longest path connecting. And then there's a lot of variations in between that,” Burke told IndieWire.
Netflix' New “Diablo” Series Builds On Castlevania Success In another video game-related angle, on Friday, Variety reported that Netflix was also fattening up its original content lineup by developing a series based on Activision Blizzard's (ATVI) successful video game “Diablo.” The hack-n-slash video game is on its third edition, “Diablo III.”
The project will be Netflix' second series based on a video game. It is just preparing to release the second season of the vampire thriller “Castlevania”, a game developed by Japan's Konami Holdings. The Netflix release is scheduled for Oct. 27.
The 2.3% advance of Netflix shares Monday hauled the stock about 4% above its 50-day moving average. That put it a bit less than 20% off its Aug. 20 low, and above the midpoint of the left side of a developing base pattern.
Netflix has been battling to hold support at its 10-week line since mid-September. Monday's move, like the other two advances in that struggle, came in very weak volume. That is part of the reason the stock's Up/Down Volume Ratio has slipped to a subpar rating below 1.0.
Fortunately, all of the losses since mid-September have also occurred in weak trade. That suggests institutional investors are neither selling nor buying, but waiting for the stock to find its direction.
Netflix' Accumulation/Distribution Rating corroborates that reading, holding at a better-than-average B-. This suggests institutions are holding steady, but not exiting the stock.
