Minecraft: Story Mode Episode Five - Order Up!

By: Robert Murphy

The biggest question on my mind when entering into the latest episode of Story Mode was where could the tale possibly go to with Jesse and his friends? The last episode brought the Whither Storm saga to a close and the new Order of the Stone had come out on top and were ready to take on a whole new adventure. This is precisely what "Order Up!" sets out to do as our heroes head forth into an unknown land in search of a legendary item with immense power. But, they may all be sent further down the rabbit hole than they initially had planned.

Jesse and his friends have grown up immensely since their initial debut back in October of last year. They have all since become mirror images of their idols the former members of the Order of the Stone and it rather suits them. The people of the world look at them as if they were great heroes and they have proved it to them time and again by not only beating the Whither Storm but also going on countless adventures since then in search of mythical items that the world has only dreamed about. However, not everyone is as enthused with our new heroes as we soon learn. The former members of the Awesome Ocelots, who now refer to themselves as the Blaze Rods, have become envious of the groups fame and feel they are stealing all of the best items for themselves. Thus they set out to challenge our heroes and claim their latest find for themselves, a flint and steel with some mysterious powers. 

The discovery of this item is what sets the story in motion as a lost order that was even more impressive than the Order of the Stone is revealed. They had done many experiments with portals and thus the flint and steel comes into play by transporting everyone to a strange city in the sky. The idea of which plays wonderfully with those familiar with Minecraft's randomly generated worlds and how often times chunks of land can form that simply float on air. It's usually simple enough to get to though or look upon them and admire the ridiculousness of it but what happens when that's all there is? What is Minecraft world where you cannot destroy everything around you and build it into whatever you wish? Well, Jesse and his friends are about to find out.

An interesting stand alone idea comes from the story this time around as the people of the land have never been given the chance to build for themselves. They lack the simplest knowledge of building and even things like ladders are a mystery to them as to how you would create them. Naturally the hero worship for Jesse and his friends becomes even stronger here do to their abilities but this is a double edged sword that gets them into serious trouble here as building without permission is expressly forbidden. It's an interesting dynamic to be sure as there are characters presented on both sides, those who want to freely build and the followers of the Founder of the land. Neither are necessarily bad or good as you will find out but there in lies an issue for the choices presented.

The choices for Story Mode have never been all that grueling to begin with, there have been many interesting combat points and fun little nods to the audience but here the choices feel rather bland. I had almost forgotten that the game was a choose your own style game until almost the very end of this episode. The dialogue wasn't at all bad and in fact it felt as though the freedom of an independent story made things feel looser for the writers. But, by the end their is a relatively simple choice to go with as you can simple wrap everything up with a few kind words. It's rather story book and for a game geared more towards younger audiences I can see the appeal, it just doesn't wow you. 

By the end however, I was satisfied with where the adventure has gone with this latest entry into Story Mode. I know that after the last episode I questioned what exactly was the end game for Telltales' Story Mode, but with the series renewed for four more episodes following "Order Up!" and an enticing finale to leave everyone off with, I feel that even better episodes are just around the corner. 

Good:

- The writing feels lose, fun and free

- Solid stand alone tale that sets up for so much more down the road

- A beautifully crafted world that once again makes great use of Minecraft lore 

Bad:

- The "tough" choices were lack luster

- No true semblance of conflict to be had here

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode Four - A Block and a Hard Place

By: Robert Murphy 


All roads have led to this point, but why so soon? The fourth episode to Minecraft's: Story Mode teaches our budding heroes in the consequences of blindly worshiping their own idols while also continuing to delve ever deeper into the rich lore and wonder that Minecraft has to offer. Unfortunately, the journey there is filled with all manner of low points for the characters who either don't live up to there potential or just don't garner the development they deserve. 

"A Block and a Hard Place" starts out on solid footing when a mystery surrounding our legendary Order of the Stone starts to come about but before you get there the group has to take a trip to the farthest reaches of the known world, the "Far Lands." The concept of The Far Lands is not a far fetched one as many have managed to reach the seemingly impossible to find edge of the map in Minecraft. It's a place where nothing can be built or mined and thus the perfect place to somehow spawn an evil lair that holds all the Order's most valued artifacts. A very clever idea by the developers to be sure and one that digs even deeper into the development of this world into actually being a place where people live and spread secret legends about the games most famous glitches, tricks and mechanics.

The trip there however proved to be nothing compared to the grand spectacle that was the previous episodes opening credits. Cut together here are bits of time skips of our heroes traveling to the ends of the world in order to reach this legendary location. The chunks of time are filled in with choices for players to pick that include things like "Are we there yet?" over and over again to the annoyance of everyone in the game and myself. This also proves to set the tone for the rest of the stories dialogue choices from here on out.

Surprisingly little is done to grow Jesse and his friends as characters in this tale and once again most of the focus revolves around the Order and their past rather than what lies in the present. While the Whither Storm is a product of the groups past sins and the story developments that come from it do lead the story down a solid path, there is just little for Jesse and his team to do outside of generic compliments to one another. For that matter, many of the choices players will come to face do not end up being all that dire once all is said and done either. This is truly a shame since issues with Petra were growing into something that would potential damage the team forever and the reoccurring rivalry Lukas was beginning to heat things up as well, but they are simply dropped like they never happened or just forgotten for the sake of moving the story ahead. 

Fortunately the chapters climactic conclusion proved to put the focus back where it belonged as Jesse and his friends surpass their would be heroes in a big way. There is a charming battle that ensues here that mixes actual combat with ridiculous building, something that Jesse's friends are particularly great at and I loved choosing a final creation to help distract the Whither Storm as well as choosing mine and my friends battle gear. There were also some surprisingly intense combat moments involving the quick time button prompts and a tough sacrifice made by a character that I'm sure was a fan favorite.

The looming question in my head though continues to be, what is next? There is still a fifth and final episode planned for Story Mode somewhere in the near future but with all the lose ends tide up here it is hard to say what exactly that chapter will end up being about. Perhaps a bit of uncertainty going in is a good thing and a chance to correct the story issue of the past can be made but it is anyone's guess at this point. 

What I appreciate most about Minecraft's: Story Mode thus far has been the attention and appreciate that went into making the world of Minecraft come to life even more than the original game already does. Telltale Games has a clear understanding of the world and all of the crazy things that it can be capable of with the right mind set. However, the slow pacing and poor story direction for "A Block and a Hard Place" keep it from being totally enjoyable all the way through. 

Good:

- Triumphant conclusion

- Wonderful use of Minecraft lore

Bad:

- Important story issue get dropped

- Slow pacing and poor dialogue

- Focuses more on the Order rather than Jesse and his friends

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 3 - The Last Place you Look

By: Robert Murphy

If the opening sequences to the third episode of Minecraft's: Story Mode told me anything it was that this would be a much stronger addition than its predecessor. Minutes into "The Last Place You Look" players are thrust into a giant monster crusher with thousands of everyone's least favorite Minecraft mobs coming at you in every direction. It's the kind of thing that puts the excitement right into the story immediately and had me dispell any thoughts of disappointment going into this new chapter.

"The Last Place You Look" continues the ideas and new interpretations that the first episode of the series had going for it and makes players think differently about the world that millions have become familiar with over the past few years. This includes thrusting it's players into a giant flume ride of enemies, witnessing massive Iron Golems completely clobbering said enemies as well as a new look at perhaps one of the most hated enemy in Minecraft, Endermen. This is all thanks to the final member of the Order of the Stone Soren who has not only been hiding out in a massive mountain fortress but it goes even deeper when you discover an End Portal. Turns out Soren has been studying Endermen for years, watching them, learning from them and needless to say it's left him a little off. Despite this Soren gave me new hope for the Order as he offers great comic relief throughout the episode. The amazing world he created in The End is also fun to explore as he's created his own slice of sunshine there through some clever wool use, among other things.

Tracking down Soren though does involve some rudimentary puzzles that really anyone could solve in an instant. I chose to look over this fact because the audience for Minecraft reaches out to so many young ages that it's understandable to have easy puzzles. They're all very unique regardless and I was far more impressed by Soren's redstone skills than the teams resident expert Ellegaard. 

There was also some improvements made upon the two lack luster members of the Order Ellegaard and Magnus. It seems with Soren at the helm things become much more evened out with the two's bickering and even when it does come bubbling out Jesse has plenty of chance to show off his new leadership skills. There was also room for your friends to grow here as well, but what I took most notice in was the budding rivalry between Jesse and Lukas. It seems he doesn't much care for the leadership role that you have found yourself in and how quickly everyone rushes to you for guidance. It's a nice little touch of drama to underline the tension and excitement happening all around you right up until the episodes final climactic battle. 

What's more is the budding issues with Petra leave you to make some difficult choices among your friends. Not many of the problems presented to myself during my playthrough of the game have left me grieving over what horror I have unleashed by a particular choice. That's the point though, Minecraft's: Story Mode is an all around forgiving experience in terms of the choices players have to make or even the possibility of you actually dying. Nevertheless it is good to have dilemmas pop up and with Petra getting worse by the day it adds a solid level of intrigue to keep you guessing.

"The Last Place You Look" gets things back on track by giving a much more solid story than players had seen last time. Action, comedy and drama were all here and the continued efforts to incorporate everything that makes Minecraft awesome gives this episode extra brownie points to be sure. The new interpretation on Endermen and the addition of Soren to the team leaves plenty more to be excited for and I cannot wait to see what's building up in the next time.

Good:

- Plenty of laughs especially thanks to Soren

- Action packed from start to finish

- Solid story developments

Bad:

- Puzzle difficulty is extremely low

Scully Rating: 8.2 out of 10 

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 - The Order of the Stone

Robert Murphy


Open world gaming is perhaps the most sought after genre of the past decade, players no longer want a linear story and want a vast world to explore and do what they wish with it. Minecraft is probably the purest among this genre of games where you literally start in a world with nothing but the materials to build whatever you wish so there has never been a need for a story nor a real concept of one, until now. 

The story revolves around Jesse (voiced Patton Oswalt) or Catherine (voiced by Catherine Taber), depending on your gender selection, who is an aspiring builder and sort of the leader of his group of friends who are trying to become the next big name in building. While it isn't flat out said what being a prestigious builder means, you are in Minecraft so building literally is everything. In order to prove yourself, you and your friends head off to the local Endercon which is where local builders set out to show their creation in order to be crowned champion. You guys however are frankly known as the local loser in this category but this doesn't stop you from entering in once again for fame and glory.

The situation turns dire for your friends (and your pet pig) though when a world ending scheme begins to unravel before your eyes. The local legends known as The Order of the Stone have a rich history and their tale is one that has been passed down throughout the world for years but their is more to the story than what everyone knows. There is a powerful lie hiding from the world and now a terrifying evil is being unleashed that threatens to destroy the world, block by block. Heavy stuff, right? While the story is mostly full of laughs and makes use of excellent material from the Minecraft universe, there is a degree of life threatening danger to the story but it's played all in good fun. There also heavy conflict choices that you are faced with among your friends and former enemies players will face along the way which made the story all the richer.

While the main story is jam packed with characters that will be joining you on your quest, very few of them actually prove to make an impact with you. Jesse/Catherine are greatly explored main protagonists and I had a blast playing along with them but as for the rest of your friends there is little to be invested in. Axel (voiced by Brian Posehn) and Olivia (voiced by Martha Plimpton) are with you since the beginning but only recieve the basic of character backgrounds, Axel is loyal and strong and Olivia is smart and assertive, that's about it. This can be said for all the other characters you meet as well, Petra (voiced by Ashley Johnson) is strong and Lukas (voiced by Scott Porter) is your enemy turned friend. It leaves little to be invested in when the action starts to kick in and I was left to reflect on the  one real connection I had with any character Reuben, my pet pig. 

Now, one of my biggest gripes with Telltale over the years has been that while the story choices you make in each of their games can be very impactful to what you're playing, things never truly felt that different if you went back for another playthrough. In Order of the Stone however, players can experience a variety of different circumstances depending on their choices, in the very first episode no less. Twice the story had given me a choice that I barely thought anything about as they were happening, I acted on instinct and what I thought would truly happen if I went one way or the other. Later I came to find out that I could have gone through a whole other ordeal by going on a rescue mission for one of the characters. These were the biggest by far but there were other small choice that I went back a second time just to test out just because my curiosity was so strong and all of it leading to a finale where you could essentially decide what adventure you will be going on in episode two. 

Even though our story features little in the way of free roaming and actually collecting of materials to build massive in-game structures, there was more of the Minecraft charm to go around with The Order of the Stone. Players will be able to build, to the themes of an 80's style montage I might add, as well as craft items and enter a world where some of the most iconic and ridiculous things Minecraft players have ever built are brought to life. The drama and choices were also an excellent direction choice that fit the overall story perfectly, even if I wasn't entirely invested in the characters I was involved with. Whatever the case, I am wrapped up in the story and I cannot wait to find out what mysterys lie in wait with the legendary members of The Order of the Stone.

Good:

- Plenty of laughs

- A great story filled with mystery and intrigue

- Excellent decision making problems and actual effects to them

Bad:

- Characters are mostly generic

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Terrafirmacraft

Sean Dibble

So I hear you like Minecraft, and I also hear that you like mods. Well, why not combine the two? Terrafirmacraft does just that, and does it amazingly well. Where vanilla Minecraft allows you to be as creative as you want with very little disturbance Terrafirmacraft puts a wrench in that idea. This game mod adds gravity, thirst and hunger on top of many other realistic modes that we all begged for inside Minecraft.

Don't support your mine shafts and you'll be eating dirt.

You have to be careful where you dig for at any moment a cave in could happen and kill you. Night-time is even worse, because not only are the old mobs back, but they are much meaner (well except for zombies they are easy). For example, skeletons must be killed by crushing weapons, where spiders are easier killed with slashing. And even though there is no nether realm in this mod Withers still make an appearance as javelin throwing menaces. 

You must also learn how to farm, as for seasons have a big impact on what food will grow and when they are able to be harvested for example most veggies and grains can be planted in early spring, but fruit trees while able to be planted any time have different harvesting seasons. Animals have changed drastically also adding genders, and they actually have more than one baby (if they do in real life) and there is a waiting period to get said baby. For example, cows they have one calf and it takes 9 months for it to enter the world, while pigs can have up to 12 piglets and only take 3 months to enter the world. There are an assortment of tools from the standard axe, pick, and sword, all the way to a scythe, saw, and hammer. On top of those changes you have hundreds of new blocks, trees and two types of water saltwater and freshwater.

All in all, this mod adds a lot to love, but also a lot of frustration. It is a tad complex to download because you need to run forge and can only run in version 1.7.10. No new versions will be implemented so if you like 1.8 this isn't a mod for you, but if you want a harder version of Minecraft then Terrafirmacraft is the mod for you.

Good:

- SO MUCH NEW STUFF!!!

- Harder and less forgiving that vanilla Minecraft

- As realistic as you'll get from Minecraft can get

Bad:

- Hard to install

- Only uses 1.7.10 and older

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

In the News: The Universe has been Hacked

Zach Goodier

The universe has officially been hacked.  Hans Lemurson has created a version of Minecraft that is playable on the new Minecraft game system.  Ok, so it won't be running Crysis 3 or anything, but perhaps a Mario-styled game isn't too far on the horizon.  The system is still in development, but expect Skyrim quality games with the next game patch... Or, you know, probably never.  Still, this looks cool, considering people have already started building working calculators, hard drives, and now simple game systems.  Our technology is getting so intense we can now develop technology inside of it... This is getting too Matrix for my liking.

Minecraft (Xbox 360)

Originally platformed for the PC gamer world, “Minecraft” makes its debut into the console for the Xbox 360; the game is an open world sandbox builder where players are placed in a massive 8 bit world in which players can create anything their heart desires. The game involves players taking on the role of an avatar assigned at random and then they proceed to be plopped in the middle of a world made of millions upon millions of boxes of anything such as sand, dirt and wood, which they can use to create and destroy to begin making amazing structures of their own personnel design. Whether it is wood for a house, glass for windows or pix axes to travel deep down into this three dimensional world’s core, a player can set out and create and destroy anything and everything that they come across. While there is no underline point or storyline to “Minecraft” a player can easily get lost in the endless hours of enjoyment the game has to offer whether it is by themselves or with a group of friends where and upwards of four people can play together and enjoy building and adventuring together. The game however is not always a safe and happy place to be there are also creatures to watch out for mainly at night players can come across a variety of enemies such as Skeletons, Zombies and the ever so popular Creepers who have an explosive hug so best keep your distance. Right on par with the PC version of the game “Minecraft” is a game that can have any player busy building away and creating anything they can think off.

The graphics aren’t traditionally beautiful seeing as you are placed in a world made like an original Mario game for the Nintendo, but they’re so iconic I wouldn’t want to imagine playing “Minecraft” any other way. While the lack of some PC features may be disappointing to some players who are die-hard fans of playing it on their computers it’s still a great and rewarding creative experience where you can create the things that you only dreamt about. With its randomly created worlds, there’s little reason you can’t play “Minecraft” for endless hours and if it receives updates to be brought up to where the PC version is then it could easily become more addicting than the original.

Good:

-Endless lasting appeal

-Graphics aren’t next generation but they really weren’t meant to be

Bad:

-Not up to par with the PC version of the game

(Game Reviewed on Xbox360)

Scully rating: 9.0 out of 10