Download an entire modern city made in minecraft! Mineton is an early 20th century contemporary Minecraft city, as impressive in scope as it is in detail. It even comes with its own texture pack, although I have to say it’s not all that different from the original texture packs, save for the GUI.

The city is vast and grand, with buildings of state and capitalism vying for space in the central regions. Especially impressive are the number of Testificates. As you wander the city you’ll heard doors opening and closing as Testificates wander in and out of houses and city buildings. (This may be unique to the Minecraft snapshots, or indeed, to the new release that has yet to come. I played the map on screenshot 12w07, but found that many of the elements were broken, so keep that in mind. I also played it in the original 1.1 release and found it entirely delightful, not to mentiopn much larger as new chunks hadn’t generated in the middle of the builds.) Outside the city, extensive wheat fields spread across the plains outside the suburbs. Windmills, farmsteads and more lie beyond the view distance. When night falls, the city succumbs to a devastating plague, but wily citizens of Mineton will be able to find food and light to fend off the twin terrors of monsters and hunger.

One might wonder what the point of an entire pre-built city is. Well, besides general admiration, one can spend many enjoyable hours knocking it apart, setting things on fire, or indeed building one’s own additions to the map. Those looking to start a multiplayer server might use Mineton as a starting city from which a world can be civilized. If nothing else, it is a testament to what can be done, a minecraft inspiration.

Download and play in Mineton!

This is a challenge based survival map set on a single 50 by 50 cube of varying terrain. It will appeal to people who like to complete challenges rather than attempt to find meaning in the general idea of surviving. Some of the challenges will be fairly difficult, such as creating an underwater house and getting a pet wolf. Others, like collecting twenty pieces of zombie flesh are pretty much just a matter of time.

I especially liked the way this map has an ‘exit strategy’. Most minecraft survival maps are played until the player simply loses the will to live and starts doing something else instead. This one requires you to build yourself a minecart rollercoaster back to the ground.

Although the prospect of spending a game trapped in a 50 by 50 secion of land might seem intensely boring to those who lack imagination, this is a prime opportunity to think inside the box (we’ve all been thinking outside the box for so long we’ve forgotten that good things sometimes come in boxes, like candy.)

If you’re looking for a compact survival map with defined challenges, surprises galore and a defined end point, Survival Cubed ticks all the boxes.

Click here to download the map!

Real, (and by real, I of course mean virtual) Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots you can play whilst playing Minecraft. Yep. Moving on. Skip to 1.35 to see the robots fighting.

Or watch the whole thing and feel the super wonder meister power of Seth Bling!

Download these from Planet Minecraft!