Minecraft, one of the up and coming games of 2011/2012, already has a large following. This review will rate some of the aspects of the game to determine why.
Customization : 10
You can customize just about every aspect of Minecraft that you wish. You can get a multitude of mods from the Minecraft community (see http://www.minecraftforum.net), and the majority of them are free. You can change anything you’d like: the textures, items, monsters, your character, functionality, sound, etc.
Graphics : 4-8
Minecraft, by default, has very pixelated and blocky graphics. There are texture packs that emulate the look of other games (such as the Zelda series), or others that simply make Minecraft look photo-realistic. This is the upper scale of the graphics score for Minecraft: if you apply a decent texture pack, the graphics score increases appropriately.
Ambiance : 7
The ambiance of Minecraft is actually pretty surprising. Often I find myself working in my mines, gathering stone and ore for my next big build, when out of nowhere some ominous music will begin to play, indicating a cavern nearby. The monsters themselves create some nice ambiance for Minecraft. The moaning of the zombies, the chirping of the spiders; these are sounds that will teach you to stay on your toes while playing Minecraft.
Game Play : 9
There are two modes available for Minecraft; Creative and Survival. Creative mode allows you to build to your heart’s content, using an unending supply of all available building blocks. You don’t have to worry about any monsters that spawn, as they cannot hurt you. Creative mode is nice if you’re just wanting to build structures and not have to worry about anything else.
Survival mode is where much of the magic of Minecraft happens. The only resources you can use for building are ones that you gather yourself. Survival mode is also where all the creatures of the world can put a swift end to your plans (or at least slow them down considerably). Gathering your resources while avoiding the baddies is simply exciting.
Fun Factor : 10
Minecraft can be insanely fun, making you giggle like a school girl. Imagine this: you are gathering resources in your mine, and digging a nice shaft looking for ore. All of the sudden you break through into a huge cavern. Off to one side you can see lava flowing at the bottom of the cavern, and off to the other you hear the moaning of zombies. This huge unexplored cavern is now yours to conquer.
Replay Value : 9
The replay value of Minecraft is enhanced by two major factors; randomized maps and nearly endless structures and items. When you start a new game, a new map is generated for you. This new land is yours to do with as you please (exploring, harvesting, etc). As if that weren’t enough, there are so many things you can build (tools, automations, buildings, etc), that you will likely never have built them all.