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Minecraft The Essential Guide Book Review

jdodson gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

jdodson gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

As Minecraft is now one of the most influental and popular games of the last decade it made sense that someone would make a book about it. In fact a ton of books have been written about Minecraft but the one that I saw sold in stores and advertised the most is Scholastic's 2014 "Minecraft The Essential Guide." It's priced right for it's audience and at $7.99 it's an impulse buy for anyone curious about what the game is. So many copies of this book have been sold that I found it used at a second hand thrift store for $3. Since I own a few video game guides and this one is the right kind of pocket sized hardback in great condition, purchasing it seemed like the right... Read All As Minecraft is now one of the most influental and popular games of the last decade it made sense that someone would make a book about it. In fact a ton of books have been written about Minecraft but the one that I saw sold in stores and advertised the most is Scholastic's 2014 "Minecraft The Essential Guide." It's priced right for it's audience and at $7.99 it's an impulse buy for anyone curious about what the game is. So many copies of this book have been sold that I found it used at a second hand thrift store for $3. Since I own a few video game guides and this one is the right kind of pocket sized hardback in great condition, purchasing it seemed like the right thing to do.

If you've played Minecraft for a while now nothing in this book will be new to you. In fact, it's already aged as there are things in Minecraft the guide doesn't cover. That said, if you like collecting stuff about the games you love then this will be a fun romp through the high points of Minecraft. The book has a brief history of Minecraft and contains a really good primer on how to get in and play the game quickly. It even features sections by Paul Soares Jr, Notch and Jeb that really light up the book with a bigger context to the history of the game and some of it's biggest players. For Mincrafters like me that haven't memorized every recipe, it's nice to have this guide tell you but obviously an Internet search could yield the same result. Still, it's nice to have it all in this little book and if the Internet goes out and you HAVE to play Minecraft and need to craft a bucket this is a nice option.

This book is so well put together that it feels like Minecraft from the header fonts it uses that mirror the base game to how the pages are laid out. It really feels like a Minecraft field guide that you'd want if you were inside the game and I bet the kids that got this as a present loved it. The practical tips it gives are also spot on and one specifically from Paul Soares Jr. about building a house and putting a light on top of it you can see from a distance to not lose your house are super helpful.

If you love Minecraft or want to get a fun gift for someone this book hits the sweet spot at $7.99. But if you don't like Minecraft or the thought of owning some dead trees turned into a physical book isn't your thing, skip it.

Digital Foundry Takes A Peek at No Man's Sky on XBox One In 4K

If you were wondering how No Man's Sky faired on the XBox One Digital Foundry has an incredible(as always) analysis. The video even goes over the new stuff to No Man's Sky as well as a bit of a retrospective on the game at launch. Looks like XBox One X users are in for a special 4K treat even if the framerate isn't always as consistent. Still the game looks amazing at those frames and someone you might want to look into if you an ultra fan of the game.

Leia Will Be Back For Star Wars Episode IX

Some big Star Wars Episode IX news dropped today that I wanted to share with you all. Not only is Luke Skywalker coming back for Episode IX but so will the entire principal cast of the The Last Jedi including Lando Calrissian! Wasn't sure if they'd bring Lando back but it was confirmed along with some awesome news on how they plan on including Carrie Fisher from the director of Episode IX J.J. Abrams:

"Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honor Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX... Read All

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/28/2018 at 04:27pm

I really hope this goes well!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/28/2018 at 04:28pm

I could see it becoming another Superman's Lip if not done well

Travis Admin wrote on 07/28/2018 at 05:35pm

Yeah that's interesting. I'm glad they've found a way to do this and make it work. December 2019 is too far away!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/28/2018 at 07:41pm

Yeah, I could see them making her say things maybe she didn't to make it work based on past footage. Some Marvel movies got it fairly right in Civil War and Guardians 2. Hopefully they will have enough time to sort it out properly.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/30/2018 at 04:16pm

> Yeah, I could see them making her say things maybe she didn't to make it work based on past footage. Some Marvel movies got it fairly right in Civil War and Guardians 2.

There was past footage in Civil War and Guardians 2?

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The New Glass Trailer Is Incredible

When Unbreakable hit in 2000 super hero movies weren't as huge as they are now. I think saying it's a super hero movie is a huge spoiler anyway considering what the film is but it's 18 years old so you've had plenty of time to see it. M Night's Unbreakable was part of the power trio of his early films that solidified him as one of the best directors of that era. M Night followed up Unbreakable with the sequel Split and he plans on ending the trilogy with the upcoming Glass. As a fan of Unbreakable and Split i'm really looking forward to Glass and curious if anyone else is? With the super hero movie hype in effect it's a good time to finish the trilogy and if the movie... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 07/27/2018 at 03:19am

This is such a weird superhero universe but wow. Unbreakable was always above The Sixth Sense for me. I wasn't a big fan of anything Shyamalan did after Unbreakable until Split (there are a couple between them that I haven't seen). And that ending tease was amazing. I think saying Split is a sequel to Unbreakable is a bigger spoiler than saying Unbreakable was a superhero film. But I mean, still, it's been a while.

So yeah, I'm stoked.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/27/2018 at 04:31am

Yeah, the bit about Split is but how do you talk about the movies without spoiling them?

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/27/2018 at 05:19am

This does look pretty cool. I still need to see Spilt though lol. And probably a rewatch of Unbreakable. I watched it when it was new, then never saw it again (wasn't into superhero movies back then).

Travis Admin wrote on 07/27/2018 at 05:34pm

Yeah Jon, you can’t really. And I think by now with Glass coming out it’s beeb spoiled for everyone anyway.

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 07/27/2018 at 10:21pm

Shyamalan has been hit and miss, which makes me nervous for this movie. I did like his last two movies (Split and The Visit) though.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/28/2018 at 04:57am

The only Shyamalan i've not liked were... I can't think of any I saw actually I didn't like in some way. I skipped Avatar. I thought After Earth was fine. I thought The Happening was awesome b movie camp.

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Is Cuphead Worth The Hype?

Cygnus Destroyers latest video reviews Cuphead and I'm sharing it because it doesn't paint the game in an entirely all positive light. His critiques of the game are valid and frankly I didn't really like Cuphead that much either. It's a fine super-ultra-hard platform shooter that's basically Contra but it never stuck with me. It wasn't quite the difficulty, I own really hard games, it just never really gelled because I wasn't sure what the point was. For people that love super-ultra-hard games Cuphead is amazing but beyond the art style the game just didn't click with me.

I know Cygnus review video and my opinion might be a bit controversial but i'm curious what you... Read All

Mega Man Maker Exists And It Just Launched A Big Update!

Mega Man Maker is a really fun fan project where you can create your own Mega Man levels to share. The project just released a huge 1.4 update and it looks to bring Mega Man 6 & 7 content to the game. Mega Man Maker has a solid and growing community and if you are interested in checking this out it seems like a good time for it. So far Capcom hasn't sent any legal takedowns to the project and hopefully it doesn't as this is a really amazing fan project that I hope can live on long into the future.

Mega Man Maker is available for free on the website linked below and runs on PC.

Read all about the 1.4 update on the Mega Man Maker forums:

... Read All

Digital Foundry Analyzes The Tech Behind Octopath Traveler

Square's newest JRPG Octopath Traveler is a beautiful game that mixes pixel art with 3D and recently launched on the Switch. Digital Foundry analyzes the game tech and to my surprise the game is running on top of the Unreal Engine. The game looks incredible on Switch and even if it's capped to 720p it gets a solid 30 fps to back it up.

"t's a hybrid JRPG for a hybrid console. Octopath Traveler looks beautiful on Switch - and there's a lot more going on under the hood than you'd expect! Square Enix blends a 16-bit aesthetic with the cutting-edge features of Unreal Engine 4 to fascinating results. Tom examines where the developer draws the line between old and new."

Ben Paddon Talks About Sony's Lemmings Problem

Lemmings is one of the coolest DOS games out of the 90's and seems to not have taken hold of modern audiences. In the latest episode of Ports Center Ben Paddon talks about this and the big reason why. Lemmings would make a great mobile game so why hasn't it come to everyones smartphone?

Cheerful Ghost Radio Episode 29: Deadpool 2

We're back in this episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio with a look at Deadpool 2, just in time for next month's home release. In this episode, Jon attempts to predict the plot of Deadpool 2 without having seen it, and Tim and Travis struggle to keep talking about DP's antics through fits of laughter.

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/24/2018 at 02:16am

It was fun trying to predict the plot to DP2. I still want to see it, sounds like a fun movie.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/24/2018 at 04:24am

I'm going to try and listen to this tomorrow! I saw DP2 on opening day (my mom took me lol) and absolutely loved it!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 07/26/2018 at 02:39am

It really sucks that CG is blocked for me now when I'm at work lol. I always forget to comment now! But I'm here now :)

I loved Deapool 2. On opening day, I saw a double feature of 1 and 2, and 2 was just as good, if not better than 1. And there were *so many* callback jokes to 1 that I'm glad I saw it right before 2. The X-Force was fantastic, I was 100% surprised by how it went out. But then looking back, of course the wind advisory they kept mentioning was going to affect them somehow lol.

I really enjoyed the reveal of Juggernaut. I was fairly sure it was going to be him, but was thrilled to see him. And did you notice that he was crawling out of the pond at the end?

I don't think we'll ever see Deadpool in an Xmen/MCU movie. They're not as "serious" as the DCEU, but still probably too serious for him.

Great review, especially by Jon!

jdodson Admin wrote on 07/26/2018 at 05:18am

> Great review, especially by Jon!

I approve of this comment.

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World of Warcraft Makes It Way Easier For New Players To Get Into The Game

World of Warcraft is the king of MMO's and will continue it's reign for quite some time and they just changed something that will keep it on top for the considerable future. In the past if you wanted to get into World of Warcraft you could pay the subscription and download the base game and play. Thing is there have been 7 total expansions for the game post launch and if you want to experience all the content you need to acquire (usually buy) all of the expansions. It makes it hard to get in and play with your friends if you friend new to the game doesn't have all the content but Blizzard just made it a lot easier.

"The Battle for Azeroth pre-patch is here, and with... Read All