The advertising tag line for Terraria is DIG, FIGHT, EXPLORE, BUILD. For many gamers that will draw an instant connection with the highly successful Minecraft. But can this 2D side-scrolling game with RPG overtones live up to that comparison? The first step should be to play the tutorial.

As always, when a game proves to be a breakout success, similar titles flood the market. Terraria is obviously inspired by the smash Minecraft, but is it able to stand on its own?

My time with Terraria has been a rollercoaster ride of frustration and intrigue going from wanting to turn the game off immediately through to an uneasy acceptable. Find out below as I chronicle my time with the game as I approach it for the first time.

There's an expectation that Minecraft must come up in discussions about Terraria , and it's not entirely unfair. In the most literal sense, Terraria is a game that's centered around mining and crafting, so comparisons are inevitable.

Finally getting some power tools

How many times is that boss going to push me off the map

100% HAPPY :-)

"Part of the beauty of a game like this is that there really is no direction..." "...it's going to be awfully hard, even this early in the year, to find a downloadable game that can offer this much content."

Absolutely tons to do; Everything can be mined; chopped; and rebuilt; New content for PC expatriates

Early game is a drag; Occasional slow down; Crafting without a mouse

The first urge is to point your finger and shout "Minecraft!" Seriously, it's practically unstoppable and highly noticeable. We did it, we've seen and heard others do it, and if we had started by explaining that this pixel-heavy and two-dimensional adventure involves smashing blocks with a variety...

While many have seen Terraria as a rip-off of Minecraft, that couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Terraria expands on Minecraft's premise of sandbox survival in nearly every way by adding a huge variety of weapons and armor, ore, and boss fights.

Spelunking in a vibrant 2D world; destructible environments; multiplayer; more RPG elements than Minecraft

"Hard-Mode" bosses are too hard for single player; can feel like you have to grind to get some equipment; lack of tutorial in the PC version creates a reliance on external game guides

Alone in a godless universe and out of shake 'n' vac? What if you could escape into a miniature world that you could carry around in your pocket (alright, your slightly large pocket), shutting out the cold harsh winter in favour of a lush green and slightly dangerous landscape.

Imagine what Minecraft might be like if it had been made with pixel-art sprites and released in the Super Nintendo era. That sums up the overall vibe of Terraria pretty well. This devious little indie sandbox game borrows so many ideas that it essentially is Minecraft in 2D, but it also beefs up the...

Improved controls; Deep crafting system; Huge worlds

Unintuitive crafting combos; Limited multiplayer