This update is going to be huge, huge to the point where they may split it into two updates. Thew new weapon system is different ways of fighting, Notch was trying to make the games combat feel more substantial. The health system now has you regenerating health, instead of eating food just to get health instantly, you now have to eat food in order to keep your hunger sated and the less hungry you are the faster you will regenerate health. The new enemies are the Endermen and the Silverfish, but the Silverfish isn't confirmed and only speculated. We have a decent video of the Endermen, from the youtube, and they look delightfully creepy and powerful, but they do drop diamonds! and they can teleport to you instantly..looks fun. Take a gander at that short video.

Leaked Minecraft 1.8 Endermen Gameplay

The update looks to be as big and game changing as Notch promised, I can't wait to see it. Unfortunately, there isn't a release date for this update (or updates) and it was merely said that they would show off 1.8 at PAX and then afterwards do some bug testing before releasing it. Presumably, that means it will be coming out sometime in the next month. I used to play Minecraft all the live long day, but it's been a long time since I've taken a interest in it and I'm hoping that this update will rope me back in. The promise of NPC's, villages and expericne alone is pretty exciting, but throw in everything else and it looks to be fantastic. Thanks for reading and here is the main 1.8 footage, from PAX, that shows off several of the updates features. Tomorrow is Monday, so expect much more news then.