Bright and sunny. Nice time to build a bridge.
If you’ve never heard of Terraria, you’ll be forgiven. The game is so new that it was only released last month, May 2011. Yet, if you look at screenshots of the game, you’ll ask yourself… “is this Harvest Moon?” or “is this a re-release?” And forgivably so, because the 2D game looks like it came from the SNES. It isn’t. It’s a 2011 release that your netbook can run with no fuss at all.
Mining, alchemy, combat
Don’t underestimate this game. It isn’t a game which your 90′s PC can run despite what the graphics look like. Loading can be excruciatingly slow so much so you think that the game has hung. But this game is a lot of fun and it’ll be a mistake if you dismissed it because it looked like the 90′s. Or 80′s.
The concept of the game centers around a sandbox concept, whereby there isn’t any goal, though the powerups and better weapons which you can build give you an automatic impetus to take the effort to go mining, exploring and killing zombies. A simple summary on this game would be a crossbreed between The Sims (build a house, furnish it, just no WooHoos), Harvest Moon (mining, chopping trees and collecting items) and Metal Slug (killing). A very unique crossbreed, indeed, and very well done at it.
At night, the whole place becomes Raccoon City
The game is quite unintuitive at first, because the only person you’ll be getting help from in-game is the Guide. The Guide is an NPC that gives you tips on how to play the game, but isn’t very helpful in explaining the mechanics of the game. You’re better off just going to the Terraria wiki. Spend sometime learning the basics of the game, and you’ll have a lot of fun.
The best part about this game has to be the fact that it can be played directly out of the box on a netbook without any modifications at all. You can play it at 1024×600 with no complains and no mods. It runs well at 30fps, no slideshows at all.
It costs $9.99 on Steam and is worth every penny. If you happen to like The Sims, Harvest Moon and Metal Slug, then this game is perfect for you. Prepare hours of free time before you even buy it, though.
Everyday I'm shufflin'
Problems
Generally, the only problem you’ll face when starting Terraria on a Windows 7 system is the .NET or XNA Framework error which requires you to download the respective updates manually from Microsoft.
Links
Microsoft .NET 4 Download
XNA 4 Download
Other errors that you might face while playing Terraria are covered on the official Terraria website.
Like
Fun, addictive, multi-faceted gameplay
Cheap
Runs perfectly on a netbook
Dislike
Poor guidance makes it hard for beginners
Verdict
That's what you get when you don't pay the entrance fee.
Terraria’s multi-faceted gameplay is what makes it so special. The fact that you can do so many varied tasks in the game keeps you glued to your screen for hours. Its low resource demand, coupled with the fact that it’s a 2011 game with widescreen support, makes it the prefect candidate for netbook gaming. Get it!
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