Pure Sandbox Play makes Minecraft a true classic.
9.3
Very Open-Ended Play: With a variety of modes to play in, and a real sandbox-sty*le approach, Minecraft is about what you want to create
Great Exploration: Sure, environments are limited, but there's few games that capture the fear and excitement of exploring a deep winding cave as well as this
Easy to Get into: Though you'll want to spend some time on the Wiki initially, Minecraft is player-friendly and not overly-complex.
Short Limits to varieties of blocks and creatures: unlike Dwarf Fortress, Minecraft has only a small set of discoverable blocks and resources, and therefore a rather limited set of in-game constructs. Few in-game parameters means your construction, though limited in content, is virutally endless in form.
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Though indies have started to gain some notoriety in recent years, few games have exploded onto the scene (indie or otherwise) like Minecraft. Spurred on almost entirley by word of mouth and reviewer critical acclaim, with over 1 Million paying players at BETA stage, it's clearly a phenomena with few peers. What has made Minecraft so successful and just how great a game is it?
First and foremost, Minecraft is one of the most "open" games ever released. Whereas lots of games purport to exhibit "sandbox" play (notably the GTA series) most of those games don't come close to this. Rather than having any quests or game-directed plot devices or scenarios, Minecraft simply randomly generates a "world" whose only limitations are "pure", or in other words, the limitations are due to the elements of the world (like sand in a sandbox) rather than limitations on top of the world (the GTA weak-openness method). What this means is that, if you take the initial elements as given, you can rearrange or create with the given elements in any way you like, as long as it doesn't go against the internal physcial mechanisms (say gravity, life meters, etc). The only limitation, therefore, is elemental. On this front, however, Minecraft is much more limited than contemporary peers like Dwarf Fortress. For instance, whereas Minecraft has 20-30 kinds of "blocks" available for use, DF has closer to three times that many. Furthermore, the variety of in-game combinations (those creatable by the systems in place, to create new elements) is far more limited than in DF, which allows for many hundreds (and perhaps thousands) of in-game creatable items. Of course, Minecraft is certainly more "open" than Drawf Fortress, which means that you aren't bound by as many narratives, but it is a clear limitation to the game. This openness works especially well for creating large 3D objects (like statues, towers, or machines) in very much a constructor-type fashion, which is where most of the player effort has gone to date.
Those focused soley on constructing huge moments, however, are only experiencing one portion of the superb play of Minecraft. That's because an equally superb experience of the game is that of exploration. Simply traversing the 3D world on foot is often privy to visual wonders. Similar to taking a hike in the natural world, just pulling up stakes and going to see what's on the other side of the mountian is immensely gratifying here. Sharp and steep cliffs with raining waterfalls, immense honeycombed caverns that stretch on and on seemingly forever down to magma, these experiences are really one of a kind. Though revelations occur more often through unique geometry (interesting structural forms) than aesthetics (color, etc) there is a very strong sense of place in Minecraft, which makes the unveiling of new locations so exciting. Of course, equally exciting is the danger inherent in spelunking. Closing off pitch black gaping holes to limit the monster encounter until you're ready to explore that specific sector, stringing torches from wall to wall as you map out gigantic open spaces deep below the surface, exploring the natural caves of Minecraft can be both exhilerating, frightening, and nerve-wracking, as well as deeply satisfying, especially when you discover an especially precious material like diamond ore. Few games could every approach the sense of wonder that Minecraft grants in it's exploratory play, and this part of the game is certainly one of the very best game experiences out there.
But ultimately what has helped to make Minecraft so popular is it's relative easy entryway. Unlike other highly technical games of similar nature (Dwarf Fortress in particular), Minecraft looks inviting, has relatively few mandatory executions (mostly, hiding from monsters), and it's relative minimal elemental design means that you don't need an encyclopedia to experience some profoundly moving moments within the first hour of play. Clean, relatively simple, and yet packed with a sense of discovery, Minecraft is easy to love. Sure, that ease may mean that it lacks some of the necessary depth that more highly complex games offer. The bright side is that almost anyone can jump in with relative inexperience and start making their way in the world. Of course, having adorably cute barnyard animals running amuck doesn't hurt either (darn you cute pigs!!).
The only downside to this fantastic game is the gameplay limitations that come with relatively few primary elements available for composition. If you're in it solely to create huge statues, you can do it, but you'll only have a small number of materials at your disposal. If you're looking to build a gigantic complex castle, you can do it, but you'll lack the variety of in-game tools to do whatever you want. Largely, Minecraft is about the pure experience of play rather than that of infinite complexity of design. For what it is, it's astounding, but mostly to the extent that it brings open-world sandbox play to the public in a manner that is relatively digestible. Those who look to pour 100 hours or more into the game will likely find themselves bored if they can't find an object to motivate them. There are no narrative forces at work: this is it's light and it's darkenss. And players will understand that the thing that makes Minecraft golden is also that which requires you to set your own frame to the play. However, some players will ulimately find Minecraft to be overly simple with a lack of depth and complexity. If that's you, there's nothing to do for you but look elsewhere after you've had your fun in the sand.
Few games can match the vision of Minecraft. It's pure openning of play without a hint of narrative pressure means that you can create in limitless fashion and explore a virtual world in any manner you choose. Such freedom can be overwhelming to some, which means that players in need of a strong guiding hand won't enjoy Minecraft much. It requires pioneers: players who have strong compulsions, and a desire to discover, build, and encounter the unexpected. So if you've strong internal vision and a wish to go toe to toe with a huge virutal natural world, then Minecraft just might be your perfect game. Regarless, it's clearly an exceptional work that deserves it's many accolades.
9.3/10