Zombies in Minecraft: The Blocky Undead

Ah good old Minecraft, the addicting sandbox game where you can build anything, provided you're fine with using lego-style blocks.  The game includes a day/night time cycle, and whereas building a masterpiece in the morning can be a peaceful experience, nighttime is when the game decides to unleash its horrors upon you.  You wouldn't think that a game like this would include hordes of undead zombies, but it does....yes it does.

Appearance-wise, the zombies in Minecraft aren't too threatening (there's not too much a graphics artist can do with limited blocks), but once you run into one in the pitch black, you will be afraid.  You can usually tell when a zombie is around by their distinctive moaning sounds, at which point you should have your sword equipped for battle.  In terms of combat, zombies will attempt to melee you to death (sadly the graphics don't allow for detailed flesh-biting animations).

One entertaining/horrifying feature of zombies is that they will attack any doors they encounter, producing loud pounding sounds that are startling, and have you wondering if your block fortress is really all that safe.  On higher difficulty levels, zombies can actually break down doors, raising the terror level quite a bit.

Just when you thought you were safe...

In conclusion, when playing Minecraft, always wear armor, always carry a sword, and fortify your base as well as you can (place torches everywhere!).  If you prefer to ignore this advice, then at least make sure to avoid leaving your safe areas until the sun comes out, which will cause these undead terrors to burst into flame and die.