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http://forum.blackintel.org/index.php/topic,1300.0.htmlSo, after a long wait, here is another review. Holidays, getting a computer repaired (I hope that I'll get it tomorrow) and being sick did not help. Sorry about that.
Minecraft is an indie game, that saw release a couple years or so back. Actually, it was "officially" released in November 2011, but people have been playing it for much longer than that. It is a sandbox game, where the sky is the limit in terms of what you can do (the sky really does have a limit), and everything is made out of blocks. You build, explore, fight, and mine. Also, this is being developed by the small company Mojang, primarily by it's owner and Minecraft creator, Notch, although he recently stepped down from being the lead developer. Now, onto the messy review stuff.
Gameplay. You start off in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but your fists of extreme tree-punching power. You literally need to punch a tree, get the wood, and make stuff with it. Then it gets interesting. There is a great crafting system, with a ton of items to find and create, dangerous mobs that appear at night and in caves, and the literally never-ending world to build on. If you don't like building, I strongly suggest you try this game, because it will make you love building. Who new making a home was such an adventure? You create things how you want, where you want, while fearing for your life fending off enemies. It's hard to describe the gameplay, because you create the gameplay you want. Also, the best way to experience the game is with a few friends.
The World. Everything is made out of blocks, and I mean everything. You, the ground, even the water and the clouds. It has a sort of retro feel to it. And I've never seen something blocky look so great. Every world is random, and always different than last time. There are huge cave systems, stunning vistas, wide oceans and awesome mountains. Just looking at the new terrain as you go along is part of the fun. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the world is infinite.
Music. The music is nothing epic or touching, but if I had to describe it, it would be "fun". I love it. It fits the Minecraft feel very well, and it heightens the all around gameplay experience. It doesn't play very often, so it's always welcome. I actually find we don't hear enough of it.
Story. Move along, move along. Nothing to see here. Actually, I will say something: this game needs no story. It's hard to want a story in a game where you shape the world to your liking. It's all about the experience of building and exploring.
Now, a rant. I used to play this game all the time when I got it, until 1.8. There was also a great incentive, things are constantly being added to the game. Minecraft Beta version 1.8, aka, the Adventure Update, partially ruined it for me.
The terrain code was totally rewritten, with a bunch of biomes being removed and existing ones being altered, and a few new ones added. We lost all the wonderful shades of color and got clear cut biomes, just like that. Biomes no longer slowly become another, now it's just like having a clear border, and something totally different next door, like seeing a pine tree right next to a palm. The terrain is no longer interesting or unique, the only one that sometimes looks good is the mountain biome. The rest are quite flat. My old world was changed. The beautiful lagoon I had in the the middle of a rainforest now became half swamp water, and the rainforest around became a cold taiga on one side, and a desert on the other. The terrain stayed the same, but the trees and the grass became totally different. Having clearly defined biomes makes everything look the same now.
I also do not like the armor and food stacking changes. You never run out of food now, so you usually are at full health, and regain it easily, and armor now seems to last forever. Hard to die now.
The rest of the changes are welcome I guess. Lesson; changes are welcome, but not when you destroy what made it good.
If you haven't guessed it, most of the review was how I felt about pre-1.8 Minecraft. Before, I would have recommended it strongly, for any price. But now, with all the changes, I'm not entirely certain it's worth 20 Euros. Still worth a shot. As a newcomer you will probably think very highly of it, closer to the pre-1.8 score.
Score pre-1.8: 95%
Score, after 1.8: 68%
So, sound away in the comments. I want your opinions of the game, just talk really.
