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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Darkmatters Review: Terraria


Terraria (PS3)

Developed By: 505 Games

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

"Can you dig it?"

Something evil lurks underground… Only you can dig to victory!!

It’s time to grab some tools and go to work!

Terraria was a superb PC sandbox game of epic proportions – like a funky 2D version of Minecraft where you can make weapons, craft useful items and fight off a variety of enemies as you dig deep underground to find accessories, money, and other useful things, gather wood, stone, ores, and other resources to create everything you need to make the world your own and defend it.

Now the mining / building / crafting fun comes to the PlayStation 3 (and the VITA later this year) and the good news is that it has been upgraded and works even better than it did before!

There is real joy in building yourself a house, upgrading it with some defences so it can be a castle – make it large enough and NPC people will move in to live there and perhaps even sell you different wares to assist you on your journey.

"Yes you can create a great home..."

The real challenges awaiting you are endless... How much time do you have and are you up to the task?

If you’ve played Minecraft you’ll have some idea about what to do except this is all in 2D, reminiscent of Classic Spectrum games like Manic Miner or Jet Set Willy. Terraria is much more of an RPG than Minecraft as you dig to find better items to make better weapons and take on better enemies allowing you to go further get better weapons etc.

One point of note – if you jump straight in to Terraria without consulting the various online guides and wiki you might not do so great… It really is worth reading some stuff before playing the game as there are many things to take in and the more you know the more fun you’ll have!

The worlds are randomly generated and in Terraria the weapons are also placed randomly so exploring is a must. Forging your own armour from items dropped by enemies is satisfying and finding the right ore to craft something very tasty is what will keep you digging late into the night.

Terraria is different at heart to Minecraft so don’t write it off as a ‘me too’ effort. This is an addictive, wonderful game that will give back many hundreds of hours of fun.

"How geeky are you? There are limitless possibilities"

The console version works a treat on the controller - I was a bit worried that it wouldn't be as easy to fight and mine without the mouse to click but if anything the PS3 DualShock (more accurate than the Xbox360 controller) actually becomes second nature very quickly and I find it easier to use...

Other enhancements include enemies now packing life bars over them and a host of small innovative improvements to the inventory system etc.

There is also the genius of online play - teaming up with some mates is a brilliant way to spend an evening.

Terraria is a highly recommended addition to any gamers inventory.




Out of a potential 5 you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööööö Dig for glory my friends

5 –  as the incredible PWEI once said… ‘Can you dig it? HELL YEAH!’ 

"Deathnote fans are known to play Terraria!?"






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