Build Shed

This review is based on the original Minecraft experience without mods and texture packs.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past year and a half, you’ve probably heard of Minecraft. Since it’s alpha release it has been rapidly gaining fans and is greatly supported by a strong community of people, all of which make the game what it is today. Now it is officially released, is Minecraft a game worth your time and money?

At first glance, it can be puzzling as to why this game has such a huge fan base; pixelated, outdated visuals and no real direction within it cause most to not even give it a chance. However, after only after an hour’s worth of play it soon becomes clear as to why Minecraft is as popular as it is-its creativity and versatility.

To those who don’t know, Minecraft is a world of blocks within which you do as the title says; you mine and you craft. That may sound a little basic at first, but give Minecraft just a small amount of your time and it’s almost certain you’ll be hooked. It’s not only mining and crafting items, youll also have fun exploring the ever-different and randomly generating environments to building intricate structures with the vast array of materials available, you have free reign over your experience of the game.

In addition to this, Minecraft also includes monsters that attack mostly at night from which you have to shelter from to stay alive. There isn’t much variety amongst the enemies, but there’s still enough excitement to keep you on edge. It also adds some sort of direction at the beginning of the game which seems to deteriorate the further you progress and the more items you collect. To some, this can be great, it literally lets you do as you please; others though may get tiresome of the experience due to lack of purpose and reward the game gives you.

Sounds and music effects are basic, but this just adds to the strange charm that Minecraft has, it also allows practically anyone to play due to its undemanding hardware requirements.

However, some components and items in Minecraft feel as if they could have been handled better, the most notable of which being red stone, which has strange rules about how it is used within the game. This lack of explanation is apparent throughout the beginning of the game, leaving you to figure everything out on your own, or to go onto a Wiki page.

The way in which Minecraft excels is the huge community that supports it; just a few minutes on YouTube can show how versatile it can be. However it still feels unfinished and lacks a sense of direction that most gamers need. None the less, once you get into it, Minecraft can be a great gaming experience.