Lonely without the Mobs （；＿；）

I've spent a couple of days playing the Survival mode in Minecraft: Pocket Edition and while it makes for some enjoyable gameplay there are a few flaws.

The difficulty bar I mentioned a few days ago makes it impossible to allow mobs to spawn. Due to the inaccuracies of the touch screen controls you stand no chance of survival against the hoardes of monsters. It makes the experience very dull and without mobs you can't lay your hands on any of the items they leave when defeated.

The Road to Nowhere

The other problem with Survival mode is the sheer lack of things to do. I spent forever digging beneath the surface to find some sign of a cave or dungeon and apparently there aren't any at all. I actually tunneled to the edge of the map! You'll find no diamonds, lava, gold, redstone or any other item that makes Minecraft what it is.

The Creative mode on the other hand is an entirely different story. You gain access to a much wider variety of blocks and items so you could easily while away a train journey constructing whatever springs to mind, I've nearly missed my stop a few times. 

With that being said; here is a giant Gameboy I built a while back that you can run around in. ^_^

Not too shabby.

Seriously, I have no idea how these two got up here.

I decked the place out to look like the fortress levels from Super Mario Bros. 3

Moo!

Minecraft Pocket Edition

Today I decided to dig out Minecraft Pocket Edition on my iPhone. I hadn't played it in ages and I wanted something different to brighten up my commute.

Here's where I started, a quaint little spot by a river.

Aww, look at the adorable baa lamb.

Anti-gravity pigs

This is the last thing I remember seeing when night fell, I think I died 3 times consecutively. If you look in the background you can see many more monsters waiting to kill me as soon as I respawn.

The reason I was killed so many times is because of the difficulty bar in this picture. Set to the left and you can enjoy a peaceful meander, set it to the right and you open the gates of hell...it only has these 2 settings. ^_^

I got fed up after I snuffed it countless times, so I started a new seed with this amazing view.

The cuteness level...it's over...9000!!!

I finished the day where most first days in Minecraft end, with a poorly constructed shack.

Day 42 of 100 Happy Gaming Days: Plague Inc

Plague Inc is a mobile game where your objective is to obliterate the whole of humanity. You choose from a variety of diseases, each with their own unique abilities (you can give them a name too), then you pick a country to infect and try and develop your disease into a full blown catastrophe for humankind.

The map screen shows the areas of the world that are still fit and healthy alongside the areas that have succumbed to your plague. It also shows the passage of time (scarily from todays date, unless you have the wrong date set in your phone for some reason), and you'll see the planes and ships making their way across the world helping to spread your disease. There's even a news reel that let's you know how humanity is responding to your plague alongside humorous reports based on current events, it's updated regularly and it's a nice touch.

The Disease menu shows its biological makeup and various statistics; for instance how many people it infects on a daily basis and how many it kills. You can also earn DNA points by infecting new countries and preventing cures so you can spend them on new abilities. This includes transmission abilities (how your disease is contracted and spread), the symptoms of your disease and unique power-ups depending on which plague you chose (there's 7 in the main game).

Plague Inc is possibly the most gruesome mobile game I've ever encountered, but its dark humour is undeniably fun and a great way to kill time on the way to work. A majority of the updates are free but there are one or two 'premier' updates such as the zombie pack and the recently added Planet of the Apes pack. If you know of a more grisly mobile game than Plague Inc, let me know about it in the comments.