Minecon hosted in Las Vegas

Minecraft fans have long waited for this event.  The first Minecraft conference, and the official release of Minecraft. 

Gaming commentators across the country have been posting videos of the recent patch updates, and are eagerly waiting the official release.  That’s not the only thing exciting about Minecon though.

Participants of Minecon will enjoy costume contests, build contests and classes.  There will also be speeches from different developers and gamers, most importantly a speech by Notch himself.  And the middle of the exhibition floor will feature an indie game theater for independent game developers to show off their games.

Mojang recently announced another bonus: all Minecraft attendees will receive free alpha codes for the games Scrolls and Cobalt when they are released.

Everyone on the Mojang gaming company team will be staying for the conference.  Many Youtuve gaming commentators will be going.  ChimneySwift has talked about going, and the Yogscast is considering it but has not yet confirmed.

Minecon will be held from November 18 to 19 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Tickets bought before September 30 will cost $99 and after that will cost $139.

The conference will be all-ages, but anyone 16-years-old or younger must have an adult chaperon.  And anyone wishing to reserve a room at the hotel must be atleast 18-years-old.  For a limited time, the room rates are $69 for Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and $99 for Friday and Saturday.


The full schedule has not been confirmed, but the following times have:
Friday:
10 a.m.: Doors open
1 p.m.: First keynote speaker
Friday and Saturday nights: parties for 21 years and older.

For more updates, check these websites:
Minecon website: http://minecon.mojang.com/
Hotel reservations: https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=3651403
Mojang website: http://mojang.com/

Movie Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Apes are in charge of the world.  How could this happen?

It all started out with an experiment gone wrong, a heart-wrenchingly cute baby monkey and an oddly handsome scientist wanting to cure his ill father.  (More heart wrenching)

It ends with the destruction of mankind.

The Planet of the Apes series is a little extreme to begin with, but the newest movie The Rise of the Planet of the Apes has taken it to a new level.  It has added new meaning to the series; new metaphors, new depth and new perspectives.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes did a great job of explaining the back story to the original Planet of the Apes movie.  However, it did not explain why its name is so tedious and why it uses the word “of” so much.

On one hand, the CGI monkeys had fantastic graphics.  They were realistic looking, and all the actions done by the monkeys seemed like things real life monkeys would do. 

On the other hand, there was not a single real monkey in the whole film, and you could tell.  The CGI monkeys were very close, but there were many moments when their computer animated-ness was jumping out at the audience.  It’s hard to lose yourself in the story when you keep noticing that the monkeys are not real.

Another thing that was unrealistic: Tom Felton’s jerk act.  We all know by now that Tom Felton doesn’t have to pretend to be a jerk.  He just naturally is.  But this time he overdid it.  He did his job of making the audience hate him while sympathizing with the monkeys, but he was just a little bit too obnoxious. 

It’s not that he was faking it – we know he can’t – he just overdid it.  Maybe he was too passionate about his role.  Maybe the director was pushing him too hard.  Either way, he just seemed like a scruffier version of Draco Malfoy.

And what was up with Frieda Pinto’s role?  They hired a Bollywood actress to look pretty and act wussy.  They had to have atleast one female role in the film to satisfy feminists, and they had to have one minority race role who didn’t die to satisfy just about everyone else.  So they figured Frieda Pinto could cover both.

The only female role in the film was so weak, I don’t even remember the character’s name, and I didn’t know for the whole movie.  She just did a lot of small, pointless scenes and she was barely fit in there.

But Tom Felton and Frieda Pinto gave room for other actors to shine.  John Lithgow was the most believable character.  The audience groaned and their hearts broke as he tried to remember  through his Alzheimer’s how to play the piano and how to hold a spoon. 

This is also one of James Franco’s best performances.  He was a captivating main character, and a good companion to Caesar. 

Caesar was not an actor, but his acting was just as brilliant.  Whoever thought him up – his actions, his facial expressions, even his words – deserves a medal.  There were moments when his character was so intense and so developed that I believed he was really alive.  He was the only monkey that remained believable almost the whole time, despite the constant CGI. 

Overall this is a really creative movie with a moving plot.  There are very few slow parts, and the movie moves along naturally.

I give it 4 stars.

Game Review: Minecraft Beta

Minecraft Beta
Mojang

Many people have heard of Minecraft and might have even tried the free version, but some people still haven’t heard of it or aren’t convinced of how awesome it is.  And with the official version coming out soon, hopefully at this year's MineCon (http://minecon.mojang.com/), beta deserves one last review.

Minecraft is a seemingly simple game where everything is made of blocks. It’s not as simple as it seems though. The object of the game is to gather resources, build weapons and shelters and survive when monsters come out at night.

So, it’s like a combination of Sims and Left for Dead, but everything is made of blocks and it’s infinitely more awesome.

Several mobiles or mobs are in the game. They also are block shaped. The friendly mobs spawn during the day and include cows, pigs and chickens. Other mobs spawn at night and are hostile. These include zombies, skeletons that shoot arrows and creepers that blow up when you get too close.

The player must kill these mobs for other resources such as meat, leather or feathers. Resources are used to build or craft. Players can combine items to craft weapons, tools and armor. Things can also be combined to form more interesting things such as dynamite, clocks and bookshelves.

The simple graphics of structures built out of blocks are more impressive than they sound. Minecraft extends infinitely and generates landscapes as you play. There are vast oceans, immense mountains and lurking forests, all made out of blocks.

The array of things to be build is near infinite as well. Players have built complex structures ranging from rollercoasters to castles to a full-scale model of the Star Trek starship Enterprise.

The possibilities and entertainment are endless. For anyone who has too much time in the real world, Minecraft provides the perfect fantasy world.

I give it: 5 out of 5 stars

This article was originally published in the Puyallup Post.  Can be found here:http://www.puyalluppost.com/game-review-minecraft.htm/