Minecraft: Legos Online!

Minecraft was developed primarily by Markus Persson. Currently it is an ongoing development which has now gathered a team of respectable people that are working on it.

Here since 2009, Minecraft started out as just a world you could explore, then a world that you could build and explore. Since then Minecraft has expanded (and continues to expand) as a video game with millions of different things that you can do. The possibilities are only limited by ones imagination.

Maps

The maps are basically infinite. To reach the end (or the beginning if they loop around the Minecraft universe) would take you lifetime after lifetime. You'd most likely die of old age or run out of hard drive space before you even got close. These worlds have biomes in them. Meaning that you can go from a desert with cacti to a snowy part of the map, and on to a sandy beach with squid swimming in the waters.

Mine

Mining is (obviously) a big part of the game. There are several different types of ore that you can mine to craft (no pun intended) a plethora of different items. From weapons to tools, glass to iron ingots. All of these help you to survival better and to mine more quickly. Not to mention helping you build a shelter worthy of showing off.

Craft

Crafting is the single biggest part of the game (aside from surviving). You can craft swords out of different types of ores for better durability. Got your weapons already? Let's build some armor to help you fight off the different monsters (also called mobs for mobiles. Much the same as NPC.) How about some glass so that skeleton can't shoot arrows at you while you wait out the night in your den? If you're just passing time you can craft a jukebox to listen to music. There's a bow you can create, along with the arrows to fire. Chests to stash your inventory, furnaces to turn sand into glass, or workbenches to begin your crafting experience.

Mobs

Mobs are often considered just the baddie NPCs; however this also includes the non-hostile creatures. The pigs that you can kill for pork chops (and cook to restore more health), the chickens that lay eggs to help you create cakes (or throw for the fun of it), even the new water mobs- the squids that drop ink (that can be used in dye for wool).

The mobs are easily the most lively part of the game aside from playing with other humans on Survival Multiplayer (also called SMP). The chickens now nest, the squids are a new addition from the January 13Th Beta update not to mention being the only water mob, and the hostile mobs seem more hostile. You have skeletons which burn by sunlight but spawn at night or in dark caves and shoot arrows at you, there are spiders that are docile by day but climb walls and attack viciously by night, zombies that run up on you and brutally attack at night and also burn by day, or the dreaded Creeper. Creepers make no sounds until they are but a few blocks away from you, at which point you hear a "SSSSSsssssssssssssss" meaning that you should probably run as fast as you can before they explode blowing up themselves, you, and whatever lies in the path.

The update on Halloween added a new realm (currently not working in SMP) called The Nether. It's a parallel universe that would remind many people of "Hell". There are also new mobs in The Nether: Zombie Pigmen - Which are non-hostile unless provoked and Ghasts - Easily the scariest looking mob in the game thus far. Ghast's shoot fireballs at you which can blow up blocks that shelter you or that you are standing on. They can also be batted back to the Ghast to damage it.

Building

There are several different blocks that are used to build. You have anything from dirt and sand to cobblestone (think medieval castle) and colored wool. Gold is one along with Diamonds, Iron, and smooth stone. The possibilities are literally limitless, especially with a game that is still in Beta and constantly adding more types of ore, blocks, and abilities.

Day/Night Cycles

The latest update has expanded the amount of time between day and night cycles. So instead of 10 minutes of real time play before the sun rises or sets, it's more like 15 to 20 minutes. This has, personally, made the game even more addictive to me. The amount of time you have to set up a starter base is longer making survival of your first day a little easier and the night cycle being longer gives you more time to decorate your home/expand/mine deeper. This also means that night is even more terrifying, as mobs seem to spawn in higher quantities and come after the player with greater vengeance.

Conclusion

The game is a brilliant indie, and by far one of the most unique games that has been created in a long, long time. Going from a one person team to having around 5-6 people in the team helps advance the game that much quicker and gets updates to the players with the least amount of bugs and the most added features in a faster span.

The excitement of being able to modify your own server and play with friends or new acquaintances over the Internet gives the game an unlimited amount of replayability. Also watching and being a part of the game as it begins to add a story and grow into a more completed project is well worth it.

Did I mention the price of the game? 25% off during it's beta stage, Minecraft is tons cheaper then most retail games you find with much more sandbox play. The only thing that really lacks with Minecraft are the 8-bit graphics; unless you're a graphics fanatic then this will not be a big deal for you. Actually for most people the old school style of graphics and play help to bring back a little nostalgia in the world of gaming and gives Minecraft the ability to play on older systems without the need to be a resource hog.

All in all the game may look 'blah' by the first glance but spending the $15 or so US dollars for it and giving it a few hours of your time can easily hook a person with a big imagination and an even bigger appetite for what the future holds.

Sources: Minecraft.net