Minecraft ...

[soera]

What is the appeal of this? I went to one of our local malls on Sunday to try to get a skylander sidekick figure for my kids. While waiting for them to open, the Hot topic store opened up first so I walked in. I asked the girl working there if they have any gaming shirts and she took me to this area that was nothing but Minecraft and she was just going on and on about it. Ive heard of it but never paid attention to it. I got home and looked at a video of the game and omg its stupid looking. Its like virtual lego building or video game version of an etch-a-sketch. Is this just another one of those time waster games?

[varkias]

We usually have similar taste in games, but I have to disagree with you here.  It IS basically digital legos, and it's AWESOME.  It's more of a tool than a game and it's very addicting.  Check youtube if you dare, people put thousands of hours into building things.

[foxhack]

The game is not for everyone. I didn't like it much because the game made me feel sick (some first person games do that to me) but I liked the idea behind it.

[darko]

It's absolutely Legos. It's appealing because you can basically do whatever you want. You want a treehouse on top of a 300 story mushroom surrounded by lava? You can do that.

[pacpix]

I thought it looked dumb at first too, but when I tried it that was all I played for a couple of months.  I do not play it much anymore though.

[slothingXPIG]

I like it pretty good... call me weird but the views in that game look ridiculously awesome. There's a lot to do also so you font get bored of it quick.. I would try it out man. I hate when games get over praised and that one is overrated but it is good.

[mchaso]

I got home and looked at a video of the game and omg its stupid looking.

That's what I thought when I first heard about it. Then I tried it and actually liked it. Especially when you can play it co-op with a friend.

Is this just another one of those time waster games?

In short: yes. This game doesn't really have a goal (except maybe in the survival mode where your only goal is to survive). There are no missions, levels or quests. You just wander around, mine for resources, build shelter, armor and weapons to defend yourself againts monsters, or you can get creative and build stuff. There are people who actually have recreated the Game of Thrones map in minecraft! (link: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/01/30/game-of-thrones-kings-landing-recreated-in-minecraft/)

[scott]

I thought it would be fun to make the dragon warrior 1 world map in minecraft. But I don't have the patience.

[pacpix]

I thought it would be fun to make the dragon warrior 1 world map in minecraft. But I don't have the patience.

I do not know if the project is still going, but a group of people were recreating the entire Ocarina of Time map, dungeons and everything.

[scott]

Ha, speaking of Minecraft. I've been on a Zero Punctuation kick lately and I just saw this review:

[thomascozine]

I'd say the Minecraft Hardcore series from Peanut Butter Gamer is one of the best things to really show off Minecraft.

Season 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si_3MCt0bAU&feature=share&list=SP96A812F2AAC7758F

Season 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IWRLODeEhQ&feature=share&list=SPr6uCN6eqr1--0eLJCCnocGCsMZUH-Vri

[tpugmire]

The Minecraft appeal is something that I have never been able to figure out either.  My cousins son (who is 13) stayed with us for a day or two a while back, and he is huge into it.  I let him download it on our old computer and he spent most of the weekend showing it to me.  I suppose it's intriguing enough, if you have a lot of time on your hands, but I just don't get it.  I have enough MS points saved up to get it on XBLA, maybe I'll check it out.  If nothing else, it will get him off the computer next time he's here.

[tpugmire]

So this morning before work, I checked to see again how many MS points it costs to purchase Minecraft when I notice that there is a free demo on XBLA. I played through the timed demo (I didn't know it was timed, otherwise I would have not spent so much time screwing around.) and I'm not much closer to understanding what makes this game so popular. I get the feeling that if I can figure out the control scheme better, I'll have a much more enjoyable experience. I think that I'm going to go ahead and purchase it and see what happens. Overall, my first impression is that while this is not really my kind of game, it might be something I could mess around with occasionally. Plus I have a bunch of MS points that I got for free from Bing rewards, so why not?

[ffxik]

My wife picked up Minecraft couple of days ago.  Even I'll admit that it gets pretty carried away.  If I'm not watching the clock time seems to slip right on by.  Literally told myself that i was just going to play for about 30 min to an hour last night.  5 hours later.   

[Seikenfreak]

Ahh glorious Minecraft. I haven't had one of my Minecraft phases in awhile but when I do man oh man. The Lego comparison works well in the sense that you've got a giant bucket of random Legos and (in this case lets assume you don't have instructions for a kit) you need to come up with your own idea.. There is no ultimate goal other then the one you make for yourself so if you can't do that then the game isn't for you.

Also the Xbox 360 version is inferior to the original PC version so I would not advise in getting that. Not only is it a few versions (and features) behind, but you can't mod it which is a huge part of the game. Texture packs and mods that are essentially expansions adding systems equivalent to electricity, steam power, all manner of machines, magic, RPG elements, nuclear power, computer programming, solar energy, alternate dimensions, oil and fuel processing.. the list goes on and on. The game is pretty basic without these additions.

And playing it online with a friend or two makes a huge difference.