Game Review 2#: Minecraft Pt. 1

  Hey everyone, I'm making a new review tonight.

   Tonight's review will be a rather long one and will be on one of the most popular games on the market right now; Minecraft. Oh yes Minecraft, Notch's wonderful  world of 16-Bit fun. If you aren't already nauseous with Minecraft fever or plain sick over how much attention this game has been getting, then feel free to continue reading this review. Aside from that, this game can actually be quite a bit of fun (who'd have guessed?) and I would definitely recommend buying it. It is certainly worth the now doubled price of 28$ Canadian.


   There must be thousands upon thousands of YouTube videos of people with too much time on their hands who have spent hundreds of hours creating to-scale models of the worlds most spectacular creations, and creations of their own.  These videos give you a very good idea on just how much fun- and how addicting this game can be. There's something for everyone, the adventurer, the architect, and the artist.


   So it's no surprise the game became as popular as it did. But whats the game about? You begin the game surrounded in a 16-Bit word inhabited by livestock and mountain ranges. All you have to begin with are the clothes on your back and your enthusiasm to create and destroy the wold around you.. There are sandy beaches, green valleys and towering mountains. Trees, flowers and reeds brighten the landscape and the playful sheep scatter before you as you explore. You will find everything is made of blocks, from the trees to the wandering cows around you. You can go wherever you please, since there no barriers, the further you go the further you will generate your map. In other worlds, this entire strange blocky world is yours.


   The first time you play Minecraft, there is a high chance you won't survive the first night as nasty things come out at night and it's rather easy to be killed. After your first death you'll probably want to start building a house to spend the night in, somewhere to hide between bouts of exploring and gathering materials to make tools and weapons. This will be your Minecraft fortress of solitude. (continued)

Game Review 2#: Minecraft Pt. 2

   To advance in the game however, you'll need to learn how to start creating tools, weapons, and armour. Things start simple enough with you punching a tree to excess, until you have collected a piece of wood. Turning that piece of wood into a tool, and so on. Eventually you'll learn how to make a multitude of different items by creating the recipe in a three by three grid that will allow you to create "recipes". But wood alone will not be enough, your going to have to make a pickaxe and start digging.


  More advanced blocks, like coal, iron, redstone and so on, require you to break earth, putting the "mine" in Minecraft. Eventually you will be able to build a furnace which will allow you to turn iron ore into iron, sand into glass and pork into a delicious, life-giving meal. This will be vital to creating some of the most fun aspects of the game. So you have spent hours digging for diamonds, collecting materials and your now completely decked out in full diamond with a bow and arrow just ready for adventure. But that's just the problem, there is nothing left, you have done it all. You may feel ripped off and violated for paying thirty dollars for a game with 10 hours of game play, but no worries.


   Punching trees and digging are only a fraction of the fun in Minecraft. With all that rock and dirt just piling up, you might be tempted to build a bigger and better fortress, and while your at maybe a roller coaster... This is where the addicting side of the game comes in. With all this open space, material, and imagination just waiting to be used one small project can become an extravagant masterpiece. You will probably at this point find yourself playing the game soley for the purpose of building structures and cities, finding yourself at 3a.m. building a 1:1 scale model of the starship enterprise. Sadly this is where the game ends, and becomes more of an open template to create.


   If I was to rate this game, I would give it a far rating of 6/10. Although the game can become very addicting, I don't quite feel it makes up for the apparent lack of game play the "game" has to offer. If we do not start to see some real game features like a leveling system and weapon/armour stats etc, then I feel Notch should simply make Minecraft a ten dollar program to build shit, focusing entirely on optimizing the building part of the game rather than an RPG.


   Well if you have made it this far, thanks for reading my rather long review of a game that has probably been reviewed one too many times. Take care and try to enjoy your Monday.