Minecraft (BETA) Review

Minecraft has taken gamers by storm. Its simple graphics and the lack of a clear goal make it a PC sandbox game that will be remembered for a long time. So grab your iron pickaxe and a couple of torches ‘cause we’re going to Minecraft.

The experience Minecraft brings to the table is almost entirely based upon the enjoyment a player can bring to the game. If you just mope around swinging your fists furiously then you’re not going to have a very good time. This, unfortunately, is probably what many players will do when they first enter Minecraft. The game has no intro, no tutorial, no goals or objectives, no guidance, no mini-map, nothing. You can be brave and trek around and see what’s what, but you’ll probably run to the nearest guide for assistance.

Now that I’m done describing my first moments in Minecraft I can get to the actual game. When you figure out what to do, you quickly realize why Minecraft has obtained such a kind nod from so many gamers and sites. Essentially you gather raw materials, such as wood, stone, coal, or dirt, and build tools and a shelter. This is the ONE goal you must follow in the game as if you do not build a shelter you will die. The reasoning here is because at night creatures called mobs come out and attack you. A shelter can bring peace of mind during the night unless of course you left the door open.

Not all shelters are impenetrable either. If you leave at night only to be followed by a Creeper mob then if you attempt to run back to your base he could blow it up. Thus wasting all the time you spent to build it.

Playing Minecraft is pretty simple. Look at a piece of a resource you want to obtain then hold in the left mouse until it breaks and it shows up in your inventory. Placing blocks isn’t any more difficult. Just look at the area where you want to place it and right click with it equipped. Crafting simply involves you placing collected resources on a grid pattern to fit a recipe to obtain the item created. These simple and intuitive controls allow you to quickly get into the game once you memorize a few recipes and will quickly have you reminiscing about the fun of building blocks.

Minecraft is only in Beta and has had over a million purchases and countless updates. The game only gets better with each new addition of resources, recipes, and enemies. You could play it as a creative affair, a zombie nightmare, or maybe you just want to build a sword and some armour to go kill all who oppose you. Minecraft is a fantastic game, indie or commercial, and shows that in an industry with sky rocketing production values, that a mere good idea can be worth more than any amount of funding. I applaud Notch and can’t wait for his next update.

Interested in Minecraft? Go over to minecraft.net to purchase yourself a copy.

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