Video Game Review: Minecraft Beta

At first look, indie-game Minecraft seems fairly simple.  It’s blocky, outdated graphics have drawn people away on occasion in an era where gamers expect an increase in graphical quality with every year that passes in the video game industry.  But Minecraft is by no means simple – and while it’s graphics are definitely worse than other games (at least as far as realism goes), the gameplay is top notch.  It’s a must-buy (especially now, in it’s discounted beta state) for the sheer amount of possibilities the game has.  It is truly one of the most open-ended experiences you’ll find with a game, and the goal is…well, there is no goal.  It’s literally that open-ended.  You can do whatever you want to do for fun.  And it’s what makes Minecraft one of the most unique gaming experiences released in a long time.

In Minecraft, you play as a blocky little dude who spawns into a randomly generated world.  Every world is different, and every world has multiple biomes (different environments) where things like the main tree type and the amount of water differs.  Literally everything is interactable; you “punch” parts of trees to get blocks of wood, the ground to get blocks of dirt, and so on.  With these blocks, you can literally build whatever you would like.  Eventually, you can build a “crafting bench” and turn these blocks of wood into pickaxes, axes, shovels, and swords.  Why the weaponry?  Because at night, groups of enemies called “mobs” – spiders, skeletons, and “Creepers” – green, bouncing things that explode if you get to close – come out.  And if they’ll spot you, you’ll be attacked.

an example of a Minecraft world.

With no way to complete the game, why play Minecraft?  For starters, it’s a great outlet for creativity.  I’ve seen some of the most insane things created in the game- giant houses made of every material under Minecraft’s square sun, recreations of things from popular culture (like Star Destroyers from Star Wars or the battlestar from Battlestar Galactica).  It’s a lot of fun to mine deep into the earth, gather materials, craft tools and other objects, and build whatever you choose to build.  Even in its current beta state, the game is very playable and feels like a full experience.  The lack of a clear goal and open-endedness might draw some people away, however – and it would be cool to have some sort of objective system in the game.  Thankfully, Mojang (the game’s developer) is adding some sort of game type that involves objectives; they’ll also be releasing an update that adds stats and achievements to make the game even more addictive.

The wealth of options with the crafting system is immense.  If you combine some mushrooms and a bowl, you’ll make mushroom soup.  Combining coal and a stick creates a torch.  Combining a piece of diamond with wood blocks creates a record player.  It obviously doesn’t make real life sense, but it’s definitely a fun part of the game.  Aside from the crafting, the worlds (apparently the size of the earth) are huge and full of places to explore and things to do.  You can find wolves in the wild of certain biomes, tame them, and have them follow you around.  You can find giant cave systems and huge mountains.  You can build a boat and travel across giant seas.  And the fact that each world is completely random gives it infinite replayability.  You can literally have a different experience each time you play the game.

Minecraft is currently in beta and a release date for the full version isn’t set – but hopefully it will come out soon.  The game is definitely worth the 20$ price tag, and the fact that you’ll get the full version at no charge when it’s released is definitely a plus.  Download it on it’s website here.