Terraria lets new console owners get in on the 2D exploration

A new console means more Terraria!

Minecraft may have its cute, low-res, 3D pixel-men, but Terraria fans have long-since proved that crafting and exploring is just as fun with one less dimension. And now, just as its 3D precursor has expanded to fill every format going, Terraria is primed to make the leap to the new generation with a fresh patch of new content and some new console-specific features. In fact if youre been building your own world already, you might even want to think about starting from scratch, because the new consoles are getting one hell of a Terraria package.

While the game is coming to both new systems, only the PS4 version was available to play at this year's E3. Terraria PS4 will feature the recent 1.2 game patch released in October 2013, which added a ton to the already robust experience, tripling the size of Terrarias world, adding over 1000 new items, and presenting four new bosses. The PS4 version also takes advantage of some of the consoles unique features, like the ability to cross-play with the Vita. Even better, that's not just about playing on a different screen. Utilizing cross play can actually double the amount of players in one game from four to eight, making for some crazy-hectic fun. And obviously the games controls are being optimised nicely for the DualShock 4, putting the all important map controls on the touchpad for easy access. Terraria's world's are huge, so you'll be wanting that thing to be as readily to hand as can be.

Terraria for Xbox One and PS4 releases this fall. You should probably get excited about it. But if you're a total novice in the ways of 2D mining and building, check out the rest of the slides for a crash course in everything that makes the game great.

There's tons of discovery involved, but each players world is different to every other. No two experiences will be the same

There are a slew of different environments; you can visit a desert, jungle, snow-capped mountains, even an underworld at the bottom of the map

Sometimes a substance called Corruption will infest the world. It's an evil, purple blight, and can be spread to pure areas

Daylight in Terraria is much safer than night-time. Zombies and other monsters come out at night

Every part of the world is persistent and alive whether you're directly exploring it or not; you can plant a tree, then come back later and see it grown

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WHY HELLO THERE! Name's Jason, hailing from right outside Philadelphia. I've been playing the vidya games for well over 20 years, starting with the NES and making my way all the way up to the Wii U. My mother tells people that I taught myself to read at age 3 using Wheel of Fortune Family Edition on the NES. I'm the type of guy that will try anything once, but I do have a few favorite genres, fighting and RPG being at the top. I've been writing about video games since I finished my Broadcast Journalism degree at Temple University in December 2008, mostly for www.gamernode.com. Since then I've been to three E3s, two New York Comic Cons, the first ever PAX East, and many more to come (I hope). I hope everyone enjoys my stuff as much as I love producing it. Hit me up on Twitter @bigmanfanelli, I love talking games with anyone and everyone.