MineCraft is a sandbox survival game which was released in mid-November, 2011 for several computer systems, including PC and the Mac, and was later released for the mobile phone. The game has gained major popularity, and has amassed a very large fanbase. During early May in 2012, a version of MineCraft was released for the Xbox 360 for roughly twenty dollars, which is the main version that I am reviewing. In this article, I will discuss the game play mechanics, compare and contrast the PC version and the Xbox version, and will give it my personal rating using the ten-star system.
MineCraft doesn't have completely defined objective, but for the sake of explaining the game in this review, then I must state the fact that the game works in the manner of the player being able to build structures and mine resources and minerals from the earth. The player is able to build structures by collecting building materials by doing things such as cutting down trees with a hatchet mining cobblestone from underground, or even using blocks of dirt and gravel in case of emergency. The player can also mine things such as iron, gold and even diamonds, which can be used to create powerful armor and tools. The main tools of the game are pickaxes, hatchets, shovels, swords, and hoes. The better the pick, the better the ore that can be mined, and the better the hatchet, the faster the tree can be chopped. Hoes are used to prepare areas for planting crops, mainly wheat. Swords composed of different ore differ in damage. Therefore, a diamond sword is much more powerful than a wooden or stone sword. The types of ore in MineCraft include iron, gold, diamond, and obsidian. While obsidian is included in that list, it cannot be crafted into tools, and is instead used for building structures and even portals to an alternate dimension known as the Nether. The game's damage and health system is measured in the form of heart containers. While it is true that when many people think of the heart system as a measurement of health used primarily in Legend of Zelda, it is mainly just a general measurement of health that can be incorporated into essentially any game. The game's building system doesn't require blueprints for a structure, but instead allows the player to place blocks in any amount of height, length, width, or shape. Therefore, the game allows the player to build virtually any structure that they can think of.
While MineCraft is considered by many to be very enjoyable and very open to the player's building and crafting desires, there are a few notable differences between the Xbox 360 edition and the PC edition. For one thing, the Xbox 360 lacks the XP system that the Computer version has. In the PC version, the player is able to advance through multiple levels by collecting XP from mining ore and defeating monsters. The Xbox 360 edition also does not have the features of potion creating and enchanting weapons, a very useful and dynamic game play mechanic. However, the biggest pet peeve that many players have with the Xbox 360 edition is the fact that the crafting system is rather simplified. In the PC version, players are able to put minerals, tools, or any other items inside of a three square by three square crafting interface. By placing certain materials in certain squares, a picture of an item comes up in the "Result" square next to the crafting interface, therefore giving the game a "this plus this equals what?" feeling.
MY PERSONAL RATING: 8.75 / 10 stars
