There's no doubt that Minecraft often creates beautiful features with its generated landscapes, forests and caverns. We're often making great stone fortresses, traversing above and below ground, or making videos of a ridiculous script (okay, that last one is a bit less common). It's all good and fun, but there are times when a break from the usual look for the game is in order - you can only punch the same wood for so long, if you get what I'm saying. If you didn't giggle at an alternate euphemism, you probably did.

There are a plethora of different texture packs avaliable to us crafters out there, and a fair chunk of them are high definition. These require a plugin mod to convert some game files so you can go tear apart some highly detailed chunks of coal.

If you're thinking that you need a high-definition break from the pixelly lands of Minecraft, you can download the patcher here and go hunting - we list a few HD textures below. Without further ado, let's take a look at 5 Minecraft Texture Packs Worth Looking At:

Scribblecraft

This is a hand drawn 128x128 texture pack that both adds a really neat, personalized look and makes for a surprisingly smooth appearance. All the landscape items are in super scribbly form, and even the floating item images look like they were scribbled down in pen. The author is still working on armour and such, but for the most part the entire texture pack is sure to leave you feeling like you're living in an inked world - just beware, creepers will still blow up your stuff like it was paper mache.

Here's a video so you can check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pi3eL2clmc

You can download the texture pack here, as well as take a look at more screenshots and the like. If you like the idea of a hand-drawn world, this is definitely a texture pack you could get used to using for a long, long time.

LB Photo Realism

This is the most jaw-dropping, gorgeous texture pack you'll see for Minecraft, period. The Realism pack stays true to its name - you'll now find that blocks are bumped map, so you can see the thick ridges  to add actual depth to cobblestone and experience detail like you haven't been in the usual, plain lands of Minecraft. The texture pack is a work in progress and has its flaws, but the creator is pushing out updates and bug fixes - you can take a peek at the download thread for it here.

It's supposed to be used in conjunction with mods like Wildgrass, which let dynamic grass grow upon the landscapes. As you can see, what you're left with at times is an almost unrecogonizable screenshot of Minecraft. You can download the HD pack in 64x64, 128x128 and 256x256, though it might stress out lesser computers. Never fear, the game itself still makes things generate in blocks - check out the video, which is recommended to be watched in both high-definition and fullscreen so you can get the full Minecraft Photo Realism experience:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA8wg1d0LSU

If watching ten minutes of high-definition, bump-mapped Minecraft didn't get you excite to traverse the mines, we are very different people. Just remember that it's a work in progress, so feel free to check back in a few weeks when the author is likely to have put some more features and bug fixes into it. When completed, it's certain to be one of the top texture packs out there.

Dokucraft

One of the most longstanding texture packs, Doku RPG (now named Dokucraft) has been out for about as long as custom textures were supported by Notch himself. As you can see, the object of the texture pack was to add an RPG-Stylization to the game, and it really adds its own flair to all the objects. Your home fortress may have never looked so awesome before Dokucraft got involved - even the doors feel like they're probably from a pre-millenium RPG (are we allowed to say that? Are we making you feel old yet?).

Doku, the man behind the pack, created three skin versions for his texture pack: Light, Dark and High. The Light Pack is the pictured original, while Dark changes the color pitches of everything to be gloomy and desaturated. High, on the other hand, features an elvish blue theme with ornate gold plugged in to a lot of the objects and blocks. The texture pack is completely updated for 1.5, and you can download it here.

Here's a sneak peak - with an old-game-style soundtrack to match - of the texture pack for your consideration.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLzdZD20AHQ

Last Days

While having bright and friendly texture packs is a welcome sight for many sore eyes, sometimes the opposite is in order. Inspired by the likes of Fallout 3 and post-apocalyptic living, and originally started by Doku of the previous texture pack, 'Last Days' features a gritty, industrial and bleak Apocalyptic feel.

You can check it out here, as well as see a progress list - the textures, GUI, particles and mobs are all styled for Last Days, and the current author is just working on items to capture the finished feel of, well, a finished society. If you feel like it, you can even try out as a voice actor for some of the edited mobs!

Clean Design

The Clean Design texture pack stays true to its name - textures are simple, easy to see and self-described as cute. This is a texture pack for the gamer who doesn't want to stare at the default anymore, but doesn't exactly want to be caste into a world that looks dramatically different. There's a plethora of screenshots you can check out in the download thread for the pack, and if you feel like you want to try out a simple pack, it doesn't require an HD Texture Patch to make it work - just put it in the folder and away you go.

While we wish we could display all of the gorgeous texture pack styles out there, from Borderlands to Gameboy, we'll leave it to you to quest further onwards if you want a fresh face on those scary, scary creepers. Feel free to tell us what you think of the Minecraft texture packs, and maybe even link to a favorite of your own. There's never enough room in the world for some difference faces to Minecraft!