Zelda + Minecraft = Minicraft / Minitale

Minecraft creator "Notch" joined this thing called the 48-hour game development challenge which had developers make their own game from scratch in a span of 2 days. Markus "Notch" Persson made a top-down Zelda looking game which had some crafting elements similar to Minecraft.

Originally this game was named "Minicraft" but Notch has then since tweeted that the game is now going to be called "MiniTale" and even snagged both a .com and .net domain for it. He also announced that there will be a sequel to this game so MiniTale may get a full release some time soon.

You can try out the game for free here.

Source [PressHearttoContinue]

Our Top 5 Best Games of 2011 [Update: Migoy's Top 5 added]

2012 is only hours away and just like last year, we came up with our top 5 games of the year. It was yet another amazing year for gaming. 2010 was great and all and had good announcements, but those announcements became a reality in 2011. This year had so many big titles coming out all at once that made all our wallet's bleed. There was a lot to pick from for our top 5 so it was definitely a tough one. With how great 2011 was, it made me wonder, can 2012 be just as great or even better? There were so many great triple A titles that I still can't believe all them came out in a span of just one year. From the start of the year, until the end, there was always that big title that people have been eagerly anticipating for release. Sadly, we didn't get a chance to try ALL the big games that 2011 has to offer so we only consider games that we've played during 2011.

Quash's Top 5 Games of 2011

#5 L.A Noire

Oh Rockstar, thank you for releasing an amazing game each year. I think I'll always have a Rockstar game on my top five. L.A Noire was simply amazing. While it was not perfect, it was a successful first attempt to immerse a player with actual police work with interrogation and all. A unique game that you might not see in a long time. The new technology used to capture the facial expressions from actors is just genius. It worked so well that it succeeded in making it a clue for players to identify if the person being questioned is either lying or telling the truth. Definitely a must try.

#4 Batman: Arkham City

This is the best video game based on a comic book character to date. The freeflow combat and the sneaking around is just perfect. It literally feels like you're playing Batman. If you've played Batman: Arkham Asylum, then you know what to expect. My only problem on the first game was that you're restricted in just the Asylum. Well now that complaint is gone since we have a whole city to roam around in. With how stunning Arkham City looked, it's one of the best looking games of 2011.

#3 Dark Souls

God this game was a freakin pain in the ass. I died numerous times were I wanted to throw my damn controller for dying over and over. I got over it, got better at the game and is one of the best games I've played.  Character customization is so deep, the boss fights are epic and oh so challenging, and the game has online features that you will never find anywhere else. It's a sequel to the painful Demon's Souls and is now an open world game. Yes, it's very challenging, but to be honest, that's the beauty of Dark Souls. Give it a chance and you'll probably regret it. Stick to it, and you'll be just as amazed and satisfied as I am when I finished the game.

#2  Portal 2 

To put it simple, this was just one of the most well crafted video games I've ever played. Literally pure genius and was such a treat going through its 10+ hour campaign. It has quite a complex concept, at the same time it first started out as a side game for Half Life 2. People honestly started buying Orange Box just for Portal. It was just really good. The sequel is now a full retail game and just got everything right.  From the well designed puzzles that have a perfect difficulty curve, to the hilarious dialogue between Wheatley and the famous GLaDOS. Any gamer or even a non-gamer will appreciate Portal 2. It's that good.

#1 Elder Scrolls: Skyrim

Literally blown away by Skyrim. One of the most anticipated game on my list. Since its been years since the last one, my expectations of Skyrim was damn high. When I finally got a chance to play the game, I was gone for days and was over satisfied with what this game has to offer.  Surpassed my expectations easily.

The new leveling system with perks and all just made the game so much better and of course you can't forget the amount of content this game has. This game can easily clock over 100 hours. Game looks amazing and the fact that you can be and do whatever you want is just great. Skyrim for me is the best Elder Scrolls to date, and possibly the best western RPG out now. If you haven't played Skyrim, you're missing out.

What about you guys? what's your top 5 games of 2011?

Migoy's Top 5 Games of 2011

Yet another great year for gaming. A lot of big releases and empty wallets plus I finally got a PS3 even though we are arguably at the end of the PS3's life span. Now being late to the current gen HD gaming party, I missed out on a lot of great titles released this year so forgive me if my list is a little unorthodox but here are my Top 5 video games of 2011.

5. Beyblade: Metal Fusion (DS)

I may be the only living person in this world that would out a Beyblade video game in his Top 5 games of the year. I originally got this game just for shits and giggles, sure the real thing is a fun little spinning top toy and usually games based of movies, animes and especially childrens toys are just made for a quick cash-in. To be honest the game surprised me very much and in a positive manner too. Previous Beyblade games have been nothing more than a either a digital simulator of the real thing where you barely had any control aside from waiting for a super bar to fill up and activating it or some campy RPG/plaformer with characters from the show.

This one felt like a legit video game. You spin your top and instead of just watching it clash with another, you could actually move it around, attack, jump, and defend while all fighting against the physics of a spinning top which, in my opinion, was very well done considering that this is a DS game and usually details like that are forgotten given the nature of the source material in general.

I know you must all thing this is pretty bogus to be in my Top 5 or even on my gaming radar but hey, there must have been SOMETHING in the game that let me spent a good 30 hours of my life on it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lHk4v_KMUg[/youtube]

4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)

This may not be the "Ocarina of Time" killer that some people been claiming and it may also not be the best Zelda game out there but Nintendo did a damn good job with what they were going for in what I would say is the real Zelda release for the Wii.

Most people say that the first hour or so of the game is super boring which I can see the merit of their opinion but after Twilight Princess' boring ass first (4?) hours this was very refreshing. The motion controls works great for the most part outside of aiming and the mixed art styles of Wind Waker x Twilight Princess looks really good.

My only real gripe with the game is the lack of seamlessness in the world. If you could fly in and out of the surface world and Skyworld without it having to load then that in itself would have made a ton of difference. Not only that but Skyloft alone is it's own area that needs to load every time you go to it (which happens a lot in this game). Now I understand that these maybe due to hardware limitations, plus this was the only real major release that the Wii got this year but it is indeed library.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zm1tLH1Oks[/youtube]

3. Dissidia 012 (Duodecim) Final Fantasy (PSP)

The prequel to one of my favorite PSP games of 2009. Duodecim added more features, more characters, and a new story to the convoluted Final Fantasy crossover action fighting game w/o sacrificing quality.

The additions did nothing but bring good to an already great game. Dissidia Final Fantasy used to be one of my top PSPs games but has been dethroned by Duodecim. Back then I couldn't even imagine what a Final Fantasy crossover fighting game would look like, now I wouldn't have it any other way.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTWNthnswWE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeKoDl6KXto[/youtube]

2. Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (PS3)

Seriously, I need to stop playing this game. I am having such a good time with this game that it is impeding my progress in other games such as Skyward Sword and GTA4 (which I borrowed) where there is an actual story to push through and finish.

Usually when I boot up Ziggy (my PS3), UMvC3 is often the first game I pop in for reasons beknownst even to myself. Playing online has been a very laggy experience but I still want to try it even if I spend more time waiting in lobbies than actually playing. This was the first PS3 game I ever bought and it does not disappoint.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuTeQ7MMz9o[/youtube]

1. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (DS)

When I heard that this game was being developed by the same team who made the Phoenix Wright series, that was enough to hook me. Though hearing other people describe the concept of the game and the actual gameplay itself was really hard to figure out in my head. I did not want to watch gameplay videos outside of the officially released trailers as since this is essentially a puzzle game that I would see the answers to some of them.

I went into this game knowing next to nothing on how it actually played but with all the excitement in the world and I gotta say I loved every second of it. Everything from the story, the twists, the gameplay, the kickass soundtrack, and the very colorful characters just makes this game all the more memorable. A lot of people might say that once you are done with this game that there is no more replay value but I would say that it's just the same as reading a good book. Even if you know what's going to happen next, you just want to read it all over again once it's done.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JzevLn-N0M[/youtube]

Getting sucked In By amazing Steam Sales

Just when I said I'm done getting new games in 2011, I see myself with three new games on my PC.  I honestly had no plans on getting it but great sales and pure luck got the best of me. Hey, not really complaining. Bastion and Dungeon Defenders where two games I've always had an interest in. When I saw the huge sale for each game while exploring their Steam Holiday Sale, I couldn't help it. Oh and to top that off I got access to the Dota 2 beta. Win!

What a way to end 2011. With just 367 pesos($8.75) spent, I have three new games to seek my teeth in. I first got bastion on its one day sale in Steam for five bucks, then the next day Dungeon Defenders was on a one day sale for only 3 bucks. With Bastion turning out to be an amazing game and how addicting Dungeon Defenders is, its money well spent.

Bastion - A superb indie game

I finished Bastion the next day and it's literally a masterpiece. This indie game just blew me away. The narration, solid gameplay, and satisfying RPG elements just made Bastion one of the best games coming out of 2011. I want to talk a bit more if bastion but I'll save it for when I make a full review post. It should be back to 15 bucks on all platforms, but it's worth the buy.

I actually played most of my first playthrough on our live streaming channel. Apparently my PC can take streaming and Bastion running all at once. Yes, my PC isn't that strong anymore and a hardware update is long overdue. Quality is indeed not the best but it will get better in the future. Not shelving the game just yet, I'm still playing my second playthrough on New Game Plus with all idols activated at the start of the game(hardest difficulty) and will be streaming that as well so look out for that. Already started and I believe I'm halfway done already. The game is only 4-5 hours  really.

Dungeon Defenders - Tower Defense + Diablo/Borderlands style loot + RPG elements + 4 player co-op = WIN

It was past midnight and the Steam Holiday Sale showed their next one day sales for the day. One of it was Dungeon Defenders at $3.75. Just that much for a game I was considering to get on the Xbox 360 at 15 bucks? I just clicked it and bought the damn game. Thats just 158 pesos for countless hours of game play. The bold description above says it all on what Dungeon Defenders is all about. Max level is 70 and you have four classes to choose from with a couple more classes if you choose to get the DLC. I didin't bother with the DLC(downloadable Content) since they haven't applied any discount on the DLC. It was still priced higher than the actual game. That's how crazy the deal was, because it was literally a 77% discount.

I'm playing the mage class and only at level 11 so I won't say much about the game yet, but so far so good. It's easy to pair up with players, and a level seems to last around 30 minutes to an hour. I was enjoying Dungeon Defenders until I got lucky with Steam's The Great Gift Pile that gives you a chance of winning coupons and actual games when completing achievements given every day until new years.

Dota 2 Beta thanks to The Great Gift Pile

I wasn't really paying attention to this. When I saw a few achievements that are just flat out easy and can be done through the Steam, so I said why not. When I say easy I mean tasks like - Recommend a game, or join a community. Pretty much asking you to be active in the Steam community. The rest of the achievemnts are based on certain game achievements, and most of the games with achievements that I need to get a gift I don't own. I bet Steam was able to lure people into buying certain games just to unlock these achievements and earn some gifts. I didn't bother.

Out of all the achievements currently given, I was able to do seven of them. Each achievement earns you either a lump of coal or a gift. The gift has a chance of giving you discount coupons or actual games. The lump of coal can be converted into a gift if you already have seven in total. those seven achievements earned me five lumps of coal, two discount coupons for Valve games, and access to Dota 2. It came as a gift and I instantly unpacked it to claim as my own. I played a lot of Dota during my college days and seeing how the sequel is shaping up first-hand is an amazing reward.

So far I got into four games of Dota 2. I'll make an impression post as soon as I do a few more matches but it's literally Dota with better graphics. Not sure if this should be called a sequel. There's really no change to the gameplay and even the old heroes play the same. I haven't even seen a new hero added that was not in the first game's roster. The only change they did to the roster was certain names to heroes since Dota 2 isn't involved with Blizzard anymore. Even skill names are different. They all perform the same way just like the old game. They must have changed it to avoid copyright issues when released.

I see a leveling system for your account but it looks like it's disabled for now. because after four games I'm still at level one with 0 experienced earned. What do you get as you level? have no idea yet, we'll see when they introduce the feature.

matchmaking is pretty awful at the moment. It literally takes 15 minutes to get a game going. I know it's a beta after all, but I keep thinking I should have spent that 15 minutes on somewhere else.

Check out Steam's holiday sale by visiting Steam's site. Also, if you have a Steam account, why not participate and do those easy achievements that will only take a few minutes to do. You never know, you might get something interesting from the gifts.

Trine 2 now out for consoles

Trine 2 is honestly the only downloadable game I've been excited for as if it's a triple A title. The sequel has been out for Steam since December 7 but it has finally landed on consoles. It's out now for the PSN(Dec 20) with it coming to Xbox Live a day later(Dec 21).

If you want a game to play with some friends, this is the game. It's a platform that needs a lot of cooperation to progress. Playing the game alone is not the way to go for this kind of game, but luckily you can connect with someone online now so if you do get the game, make a friend.

Compared to the visuals in the first game, Trine 2 is looks amazing. The world now looks alive and vibrant. While the length of the first game was just enough for the price given, I do hope its a tad longer.

Trine 2 will also feature an Unlimited mode which allows you to play any kind of character variation at the same time. Check it out the below, it looks pretty fun having a couple of wizards roaming around creating stuff.

I checked out PSN Store ande Trine 2 costs $14.99(same price in steam) with a demo already out if you plan to just try the game out first. If you haven't played the first game though, I suggest you give Trine a shot. It's still one of the best downloadable games out there and you'll appreciate the changes more in Trine 2.

Check out Steam's Holiday Sale and start shopping

Steam has its issues like when installing a game or updates that are just a pain, but they have been having sales since the black friday sale making me forget all the problems working a game through Steam. Since the start of December, they have been featuring daily sale for a specific game. It's been going for a while now having great games like Bastion and even Dead Island going 50% off. Now with Christmas only days away, it got even better with the Steam Holiday Sale.

If you're an avid PC gamer, you should check out the Steam store for the huge sale they're having. Instead of just one deal for a game for the day, there will be several choices this time. If you don't like the offers today, check tomorrow because they will have a new set of deals for the next day until January 1. gotta love christmas.

The Great Gift Pile

Not only that, they're also introducing this interactive contest called the The Great Gift Pile.  In a nutshell - if you logged into your Steam account, your given a list of six objectives to complete within 24 hours and changes daily. Those objectives are pretty much achievements in a specific game on steam. If you've completed an objective, you get either a gift or a coal item. Gifts will have special prices like free games, or discount coupons when you open it. Like for me, I was able to do an objective and I earned 1 coal and coupon that gives a 33% discount  on any Valve published game.  The coal item isn't there to just for nothing though. Each coal in you're inventory is consider one entry on the big giveaway happening on Jan 2. So the more coal stored in your inventory, the bigger your chance winning. If you want to gamble though, crafting 7 coals will result into one gift that could either lead to a coupon or a free game.Risky.

The big giveaway happening on Jan 2 is pretty exciting. Its like the big gaming lotto of 2011. There will be a grand winner(1), First prize winners(50), second prize winners(100), and third prize winners(1000). Third prize winners will earn a Valve complete pack(every Valve game in Steam), second prize winners earn the top 5 games in their wishlist, and first prize winners earn the top 10 games on their wishlist. The grand prize winner gets EVERY GAME REGISTERED ON STEAM. damn! What a lucky bastard whoever wins the grand prize. If you have a Steam account, go check if you're eligible to join.

It's an awesome interactive program but objectives can only be done if you actually have the game. It's good for us if we earn gifts but it's also good for them because their giving people incentive to buy that game just to earn an objective. Smart move Steam, like I'm tempted to buy "Orcs Must Die" since its cheap and one of its achievements is an objective.

Steam is also having pack deal discounts. these pack deals are a bunch of games made by a specific developer all packed up in one price. Those packs are now having a huge price drop.

If your planning to give a gamer friend a give for christmas via Steam, now is the time to do so. Happy Shopping!

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