Everybody knows Minecraft by now, it's become a legend in and of itself in the world of video games. Created by Markus "Notch" Persson, it's the original indie success story. A simple sandbox creation game that goes on to sell half a bazillion copies and damn near revolutionize the whole game industry. Before now, the Minecraft experience was limited to the PC (and to a lesser extent, phones) or those terrible knockoff mining games that continuously sit firmly on top of the Xbox Indie Games top seller list. Now though, 4J Studios have ported Mojang's classic over to Xbox 360-- but is anything lost in translation?
Well, yes and no. Some things are gained, while others are lost, but all in all it's a great Minecraft experience, more or less the same as the one that you (may or may not of) fallen in love with several PC versions of the game ago. The missing features are pretty glaring (just about anything from the Adventure Update on isn't in this version), but they've stated that the Xbox version will one day catch up with PC via free updates. Unfortunately, the worlds generated by the 360 edition aren't endless like the PC version. This means that unlike the original Minecraft where terrain is continuously generated as you move through it, your world is of a fixed size. It's kind of a buzz kill to hit an invisible wall and to play in what is basically a giant Minecraft fishbowl, but worlds are big enough that it's not too big an issue. That's what you'll be missing out on-- but there's stuff that is new and different (and better!) than it's PC big brother.
Firstly, this version of Minecraft has a really great tutorial. Now, tutorials are not usually something that gets high praise in the world of video games, but Minecraft is a game that desperately needed one. For a new player, getting into Minecraft can be a daunting experience since the PC version just drops you in to Minecraft's blocky world with no real instruction. To get anywhere in the game as a first timer, you're probably going to have to keep the Minecraft Wiki open in another window at all times. The Xbox 360 addition fixes this. It runs you through your first day, helps you build your first structure, explains crafting, smelting and all that great Minecraft jazz. New players will be hanging with the pros in a good twenty minutes. Another change for the better (and the more accessible) is the crafting system-- this version has a brand spanking new one! Instead of having to experiment with clicking and dragging different ingredients onto a grid to find out what can and can't be crafted (or looking it up on the Minecraft Wiki) the developers just lay it all out in front of you in tabbed windows, letting you see what you can and can't build and what stuff you need to build it. It makes the game infinitely more playable than the PC version is. Another handy feature: if you move your crosshairs over anything you haven't yet seen before, a pop-up window will tell you what it is and what you can do with it! Some veteran PC players might find this annoying, but if you aren't used to ignoring annoying game tutorial pop-ups, you probably haven't been playing video games for very long.
Graphically the game looks sharp as hell. Minecraft's retro textures are all intact, the resolution is sharp and the game is smooth-- which is something some Minecraft players with lower end PCs (like myself) can't say they have. The controls are expertly mapped onto the 360 controller. I made the transition from mouse and keyboard to controller with no problems whatsoever. Punching trees was second nature.
Also, it being Minecraft and all, there's multiplayer! You can play with up to 8 other people over Xbox Live, which is considerably less than the PC version, but 360 Edition has something it doesn't: 4 player splitscreen! You can play Minecraft with 4 of your best pals in the same room on the same couch, even! It's a pretty cool feature even if it is kind of a callback to those N64 days of 4 person splitscreen. Actually in this day and age of laptops, it isn't that hard to get a multi-person game of Minecraft going in the same room, but it's a cool feature nonetheless.
Overall, Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition is a great game that is only going to get better has time goes on. If you've never played Minecraft before, thanks to the in-game tutorials, this is the version to get. If you are an avid PC player, there's not much here for you besides the streamlined crafting system and Xbox Live integration (if you're into that sort of thing) so I'd say stick to your PC version of Minecraft you've probably had for years at this point. It really is though, even with its few shortcomings, a fantastic port of a fantastically imaginative game.
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