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    Per Landin
    Written By
    Per Landin
    Published
    2/6/20

    Our Marketplace Picks: January 2020

    An extra-large guide to our favourite Marketplace items from the previous month(s)!

    Welcome players to the first Marketplace roundup of the year – and a very special one at that! “What makes it so special?” you ask. You see, this time we’re featuring not just three, but SIX Marketplace maps, scouted and handpicked by Mojang’s fantabulous Content team. The reasons for this are few almost as many as there are maps. Did we feel extra generous when writing it this time? Yes. Did we aim to bring you the best maps that can be built with blocks? Always. Did we totally forget to post about our three favourite maps back in December last year? Absolutely!

    Every month, we pick our favourite maps from the Marketplace, and for January, we’re happy to have Moesh, Oskar and Sara bring you their hot takes and personal opinions on everything from space missions and dinosaurs, to haunted forests and tricky parkour. Let’s find out what stood out amongst two months of content.

    Space Adventure

    By Everbloom Games

    Charge your Space Blaster and don your combat gear. You’re about to embark on a Space Adventure across the stars in an expansive three-chapter story! As the commander of your own crew, face and fight evil aliens – a dark menace that risk threatening the entire galaxy. Space Adventure also comes with an original soundtrack, voiced characters, and not just one, but two different endings. Are they good? Sara has experienced at least one of them.

    I loved how the characters had their own personalities and traits, to the point that you could almost guess what would happen next based on how they'd been acting throughout the game. The story was my favorite part of this map, thanks to its twists and the ability to affect the game's ending!

    Sara

    My favourite part is when I get to link people to Marketplace, because that’s all I’m good for. Curious to find out more about Space Adventure? Activate your hyper-drive engines and go here!

    Space Battle Simulator 2

    By QwertyuiopThePie

    If you thought Space Adventure was the only cold dark trip in this roundup, think again. Space Battle Simulator 2 introduces you to the next generation of ship-to-ship combat, with mechanics that have been completely rebuilt from the ground up based on its previous installation. This team-based game allows you to battle in both old and new ships, with weapon types like EMP, torpedo, and the devastating Higgs Cannon. Does it contain Higgs bosons? We have no idea, but what we do know is that SBS 2 requires your best strategic skills in order to succeed. And lackeys, according to Oskar.

    Ahh, mankind's antediluvian (a word that means “‘ancient’, but I also have a degree in applied linguistics” – Editor’s note) dream of being a starship captain. Having lackeys you can boss around just by quipping 'Make it so'.

    Delegating others to fire the torpedo when the enemy ship's shields are down. Remaining firmly entrenched in the captain's chair as everyone else works the ship. While my perfect starship captain experience would require much more subservient friends than I currently have, you might have the perfect setup to live out my dreams!

    Oskar

    Thank you Oskar, and while you’re busy bossing people around from that couch you call a ‘captain's chair’, we recommend that everyone check out Space Battle Simulator 2 over at its Marketplace page.

    Shiver Mist Exiled

    By Monster Egg Studios

    If you prefer the ghost hunting business over space operas, Shiver Mist is your game. In it, you assume the role of a ghost hunter. Together with your friends, you search for things called ‘Exiled’ in forests, estates, and many other areas. This would be the easiest job in the world if it wasn’t for one small, almost insignificant detail  You can become possessed and then possess others. Personally, I always say that a little possession never killed anybody. But maybe we should get a second opinion. Sara?

    I was taken aback by the gorgeous visual design and art style in Shiver Mist Exiled – and I hadn't even left the lobby yet! The audio design and custom soundtrack are equally fantastic, fitting so well with the environment and adding to the atmosphere of the game.

    Sara

    Since Sara seems possessed by the game, we’ll just send you right to Shiver Mists’ Marketplace page while we move on to our next item in the list.

    Dimension Parkour

    By Hielke Maps

    Parkour is a Minecraft genre players can’t seem to get enough of, and rightfully so. Puzzles and tricky jumps make for a great genre, and the new map from Hielke Maps doesn’t just take you through new levels – it goes through new dimensions where you get to face off against the Ender Dragon itself. The only question is if that’s enough to make it a good parkour map? Here’s Moesh with his hot take on it.

    Dimension Parkour rises above its genre by forcing the player to intuitively explore the world through the use of its main mechanic. The terrain is built to allow players to view the builds at different angles while they make their ascension towards a very cool take on the Ender Dragon fight. I hope other creators look to this project for inspiration when creating their parkour challenges. I believe Dimension Parkour sets the gold standard.

    Moesh

    Sure you didn’t get jump scares while fighting the Ender Dragon? Get it? Jump scares? I’ll see myself out. Parkour your way to Dimension Parkour’s Marketplace page and try it yourself!

    Tales of Jobutara Kingdoms

    By Pathway Studios

    Some say that Minecraft’s textures are flawless, a work of art that is as close as possible to perfection in its design. “Some” happens to be me and my imaginary pet cat Mr. Whiskers who are currently trying to butter up Mojang Lead Artist Jasper Boerstra, but who’s counting?

    If you do want to replace Minecraft’s textures, Tales of Jobutara Kingdoms is a great and beautiful supplement. It transforms your world into a vibrant, colourful universe with textures reminiscent of old school RPGs. It comes with biome-unique villagers, custom textures for blocks, mobs, tools, weapons, and UI. Moesh has been using it for several days now, and now that I think about it, I haven’t seen or heard from him since? It’s high time that I check in on him.

    Tales of Jobutara Kingdoms enters the top three of my all-time favorite resource packs. This is a rare example of a pixel artist at the top of their game going all out with bold, vibrant color choices. I hope this texture pack inspires you to create builds using block pairing you'd never thought would work before. They work here. WONDERFUL!

    Moesh

    What is that Mr. Whiskers? You agree with Moesh that it’s an amazing pack? Even though there could have been more tuna? Well, who am I to question you both. Check out Tales of Jobutara Kingdoms at their Marketplace page.

    Dinosaur Dig

    By Everbloom Games

    Besides the treasure that is Jeff Goldblum, anyone who attempts to dig up old dinosaur bones to use in scientific projects with the goal of bringing them back to life has found themselves at the tail end of a catastrophe. Still, Everbloom Games thought this was a great idea and made Dinosaur Dig – a game about resurrecting dinosaurs with the help of drills, excavators, and the magic of science. 

    Mine with giant machines within deep caves to uncover ancient bones and use them to assemble an entire dinosaur skeleton and bring it back to life for you to interact with! Somehow, Oskar can’t seem to see all the very red flags that I have attempted to point out.

    In many ways, Minecraft trumps real life. I’d like to be able to wake up one morning, go out to my backyard, start digging and eventually find a bunch of diamonds. Sadly, most convenience stores I know don’t accept wheat as a fair trade for gemstones. Dinosaur Dig continues this trend of disappointment in what real life could be with the fine art of archaeology. If you want to kick it old school you can, otherwise you could just put a bunch of dynamite around your excavation site, light them on fire and blammo – dinosaur bones collected!

    Oskar

    Great. Now I’m more worried about Oskar’s love for explosions than actual dinosaurs. Someone take those TNT blocks away from him, please. I need to get as far away from here as possible. Learn more about Dinosaur Dig over at this Marketplace page.

    There’s tons of content just waiting to be explored. Go ahead and browse the Minecraft Marketplace to find your new favourite!

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