The Minecraft DayZ mod is pretty ambitious, attempting to recreate most of the mechanics of its namesake within Minecraft. Here's how to try it out yourself.
You can watch the video above for a peek at the game itself, but if you want to try it out, it's pretty easy. There are two ways to install the mod — manually, with the Forge modloader and automatically with Technic Launcher and a custom mod pack. They'll both give you the same mod, but I found Technic to be the easier way to go, and even better, it's attached to a multiplayer server. You can play the mod in singleplayer, but it lacks the loot chests that make the mod work.
The Forge installation instructions are on the mod's official forum page. I suggest checking out the Technic version, which will let you go straight to the SESIGames server I played on.
How to install Minecraft DayZ with the Technic Launcher
- Download the Technic Launcher and log in with your Minecraft account.
- Click "Add New Pack" and copy either of these URLs. This one bundles in other mods like OptiFine and Shaders. This one is more barebones.
- Launch the new pack "SESIGames DayZ", and the server should be in your multiplayer server list.
Check out the SESIGames site for more info and troubleshooting here.
There also seem to be several people rebuilding the Chernarus map in Minecraft as well, although they all seem to still be in progress.