Hey gamers, Emily is here to review Minecraft, the game made popular by the internet. Minecraft’s popularity skyrocketed even though the game was only in Beta. As of November 18, 2011, the official version will be available. You can still get the Beta until tonight, which should be cheaper than buying it when the full game comes out. Buying the beta allows access to the full game for free.
Normally, Redhead Reviews rates games based off of 5 categories: story, graphics, gameplay, sound, and lasting appeal. But the fact is, Minecraft would do poorly in 3 of those categories. But I still love it, and I am going to tell you why.
Minecraft is an open world adventure game with corny, cube-based graphics. There are no quests. There is no story line. There is no objective. There’s the main charcter, you, and there is one thing to do: survive. Starting with nothing, the player must build a shelter, weapons, anything before nightfall, when the zombies, skeletons and creepers come out. If the player survives until dawn, he or she can go out, find better materials and make better shelters or weapons. That’s all there is to the game. It is what the player makes it to be. Depending on how you play games, it could be your heaven or your hell.
There are three “areas” to play in: the basic map, the Nether region, and the End. The basic map contains different, randomly generated biomes, such as deserts, tundras, grasslands, forests and oceans. The Nether region is an underworld-type realm, covered in lava, fire and zombie-pigmen. The End will be available when the full game comes out tomorrow. Each biome/area has its own advantages, unique landscapes and items.
There is a minor, incomplete leveling system that should become more elaborate as the game is updated. Also fairly new is the hunger system: Instead of eating food to gain health, the player only regenerates health when the hunger bar is mostly full. This can sometimes be annoying, but it is an interesting addition to the game.
Along with the normal survival mode is a creative mode. The character becomes a god: immortal, able to fly and create an infinite supply of whatever materials he/she wants. This is mainly used to create epic structures and the pixel art available for viewing on the internet. There is also a multiplayer function, which is more fun than playing alone. When organized, players can create elaborate villages, or compete in user-moderated games. However, these are all organized by the player, as all Minecraft does is provide the medium through which these games are played. The benefit is that there is no limit on how many people can play; with a good enough server, thousands of people can play at once. The Minecraft Forums have many servers available for joining, if you lack the friends or tech to create your own.
I love Minecraft, but I realize that this game is not for everyone. Whether it is worth its 30-ish dollar price tag is up to you. Regardless of how well the player enjoys the game, it is still creative, and more original than most games on the market. I firmly believe that Minecraft is a good game, even if it lacks a story. So, as I continue to ignore the Redhead Review’s rating rubric, I leave you with a final quote. (The internet tells me that A. Einstein said it, but this is the internet I’m talking about....)
“Everybody is a genius. But, if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~A.Einstein
I give Minecraft a 7.5/10, on the grounds that it’s cool, and has a free, legit, 90 minute demo so you can play it to see if you’ll like it or not.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to Emily's complete and utter avoidance of our scoring system, she has been sent to the naughty corner to think about what she has done. However, very, very soon, Kyle will be using it for Skyrim and Assassin's Creed: Revelations reviews, for which he gets a gold star. Take that, Ms. I-love-cubes-so-much.
