Minecraft is one of those games that seems like it has been around forever due to the popularity and success across all platforms it has been released on, and the huge YouTube presence it has, along with the retro graphics it is known for. For me, it has always been a bit of an enigma. I’ve never really wanted to play it, partly through confusion as to what the attraction of the game is, and partly through concern that if I did like it, I’d become hooked and lose hours of my life. With the Xbox One version of the game released recently, I was given the chance to review the game. My curiosities and questions about the game were about to be answered.
I can wholeheartedly say that this game is really not for me. And it really does surprise me that it has gotten the popularity it has. Having said that, I do understand the draw of the game, it’s just surprising it draws the numbers it does. The amount of coverage the game has online doesn’t warrant me to do a full in depth analysis of what the game is, so we’ll look at it, in a more ‘tip of the iceberg’ manner.
Minecraft as I’m sure you will know is a game that lets you do and create what you want with square blocks within the sandboxes it provides. You can have free reign in creative mode with unlimited resources your only limited in your imagination. Other aspects include resource gathering, crafting, combat and exploration, which are visited more in the survival mode, where, as the title suggests the aim of the game is to survive. You do this by building safehouses, crafting weapons, exploring to discover new areas to prolong your life. The other mode available is adventure mode where you can play maps that are created by other players.
The tutorial mode is something I would recommend anyone is new to the game. It goes through all the fundamentals, from gathering resources and placing your first block, to crafting weapons and tools, enchanting and combat. Without this I wouldn’t have known what was going on, but it was thanks to this mode that I knew I wouldn’t be seeing out my fear of gaming addiction. There was a time in my life that I may have had enough time to dedicate to getting the most out of this game, but I have never been one to display many creative juices to make full use of the tools on offer.
While the game looks very simplistic with the visuals it displays and the graphical choices the developer has made, the gameplay functions are actually quite in depth. My impressions of the game before playing it were you just gather and build. But a lot of thought needs to be put into things. To get glass for example, you first need the resources to build a furnace and then acquire fuel for the furnace and sand to create the glass blocks. It really isn’t as simple as the visuals make out.
For what it’s worth I can see the attraction of Minecraft, to the people who have the time to invest and the imagination to make the most of it. Did I enjoy the game? No. Would I recommend the game? No. Will I be returning to the game? Highly unlikely. It is in parts genius, but for me, a complete waste of time. I would much prefer to play through a game with a pre-determined story, characters, and world, rather than having to create my own.
**Thank you to XCN for the opportunity to review this game**