More than just a game, Minecraft is a blank canvas for creators and adventurers alike.
The possibilities are literally endless in Minecraft. Worlds are not pre-made. They are created using a complex terrain generating algorithm when the player begins a new game. As the player ventures near the edge of the generated world, the game simply generates more of the world. The worlds are effectively infinite in size.
There are currently three game modes: Survival, Creative and Adventure.
Survival mode is where you get to play Minecraft like a game. You start with nothing, and must gather resources by breaking blocks, crafting tools and weapons, killing animals for food, and more. Eventually you begin mining deep underground for precious metals and gems in the form of ores to progress through the game. Along the way you'll build a home, create farms, railway systems for mining, and tons more. Nothing out there truly meets the description of an "open-world" game like Minecraft does. Eventually you can build portals to alternate dimensions and fight a final boss- but Minecraft is never over.
Creative mode is very, very different. This mode treats the Minecraft world like a canvas for you to create whatever you want- even other games. In Creative mode the player does not take damage, can float/fly around, can break any block instantly and has a tab-organized inventory with a limitless supply of every block, decoration, tool, weapon, and material in the game to create the virtual building or city of their dreams, create pixel art, or design mini-games.
Adventure mode is really intended to go with Creative. Ever since its inclusion in the game, more features have been added to make Adventure minigames more useful. In Adventure mode, players cannot break blocks, but can interact with buttons and doors. You can go Creative, build an adventure game or obstacle course or arena challenge or whatever you want, then switch to Adventure and have you and your friends play through it.
And multiplayer is a breeze in Minecraft. Once you own the game, the locally hosted server is available to download and run, or you can join one of the many public servers available online. In multiplayer it's possible to have different players in different game modes on the same world, so you can manage your minigames while others explore and play the challenges.
The other key feature of Minecraft that makes the possibilities endless is the easy compatibility with third-party mods and addons that add even more blocks, items and vehicles to the game. Don't like the low-res, old videogame-like textures? Don't worry, Minecraft has built-in compatibility with themes called texture packs. There are a ton of them out there, some of which are "HD"- as large as 256x256 per texture. In addition to texture packs, there are hundreds upon hundreds of mods that can be used in the game client, and quite a few that can also be installed on multiplayer servers. And on top of all that, the game is still receiving updates that add more blocks and features to the game.
Minecraft's unique graphical style is a bit confusing at times. I never quite understood why Mojang chose to use 16x16 reminiscent of 8-bit games, combined with realistic smooth lighting effects. This makes the game's system requirements much higher than anyone would expect. Sure you can turn the graphics down without much difference in appearance, but Minecraft is also an enormous CPU hog. It seems like no matter how powerful of a processor your PC has, Minecraft will find a way to use it 100%. I have a quad-core Intel i7 processor overclocked to 4.6 GHz which is still bogged down by this game.
As a 3D modeling and blueprinting tool, Minecraft is addictive and very useful. As a game, it could use a little work. There are no enemy attack animations, and there are still a few very prominent animation problems with the monsters and vehicles, such as skeletons firing their arrows at the player on sight, before turning to face them, resulting in a deadly accurate arrow appearing to come out of the shooter's back. Players who ride pigs in multiplayer are often seen floating in mid-air while their ride runs off into the distance.
And my one real complaint- I really wish I could give this game a 10, if it weren't for the fact that the game relies on crafting recipes to progress into Survival mode. Crafting recipes as well as some of the build configurations for certain items, appear to not be mentioned or displayed anywhere in the game. You have to look online on the site's wiki to see how to craft anything you don't find by chance. How would anyone ever get to the Nether realm and to the boss unless someone told them to make a 5x4 box out of Obsidian and strike the inside of it with a lighter (Now you know)? I know it's open world, but recipes and builds like this are just too specific and picky to not be mentioned in the game.
Overall, 9.5 out of 10. Minecraft is a game. It's also a 3D art design program. It's also a blank canvas where creative designers can use dozens of tools to create their own games and challenges. If that's not enough, install mods and get even more tools and blocks. Still not enough? Learn Java and make your own mods. The Sky is the limit here (Literally, you can only build up to 192 blocks above sea level). But in terms of distance, the worlds go on forever, and so do the possibilities.