_________________________________________
Pros: Great concept and near flawless execution, lack of story only significantly adds to the game, various difficulties and game options make Minecraft a fun and playable game for everyone, amazing multiplayer that integrates everything a fun multiplayer should have, brand new idea that leaves you begging for more, amazing and sometimes terrifying soundtrack.
_________________________________________
Cons: No in-game load times often leave entire chunks of land in limbo, leaving the player staring into a bottomless abyss only to have the landscape reappear seconds later, Single player can become lonesome and one must constantly look for new ways to occupy your time(not really a con though, believe me) possibility of giving a player a heart attack when they're deep beneath the surface mining and a large ominous sound blares through the silence making your heart skip a few dozen beats.
_________________________________________
After purchasing and downloading Minecraft I open up and start my new adventure in what promised to be the "biggest sandbox ever imagined." To my surprised I was greeted with none of the familiar video game courtesies like a tutorial or first quest. Instead I faced a jungle full of animals and flora in the appropriate block format that any "crafter" has come to know and love. With no other instruction but to "read the achievement list" for an idea on how to start out my adventure I do just that and see my first two achievements: one to open the inventory and the second called "Getting wood." After a slight immature giggle at the title of the achievement I proceed to open and familiarize myself with the inventory layout, a task not to hard at all, composed of a small 2x2 crafting section a larger what I'll call "bag of holding" inventory and the "in-game" inventory which is where the items the player wants to use while playing can scroll through to use ( mostly I use this section to keep my tools and weaponry, and always a supply of torches and cobblestone)
I set out to complete the second achievement that I've already mentioned and proceed to the nearest tree and using my god-like un-breaking fist I punch that sucker down only to collect each destroyed block and have it placed in my inventory. Now I wasn't at the "crating" part of Minecraft ( or particularly the mining part either) but I was already excited, I had my first inventory item! I equip the wood to slot 1 and use it to chop down other trees, dig up dirt, and create new rivers. Before I knew it two hours had passed and I had a ton of wood in my inventory learning my second valuable lesson: you can only hold 64 pieces of any one item in an inventory slot. But I was ready to start the next step: building a home for my avatar ( who I later learned is commonly referred to as "Steve"). I was already to take my game from easy to normal and face the undead and arachnid hordes. But hearing some horror stories of players and the undead at night I decided to build up....way up. SO I found the tallest tree I could and chopped a little stairway all the way up to the top, and then the construction of the first small room in what has now (after an insane amount of hours) has become my floating sky fortress.
Many weeks, days, and hours later I've finally started accomplishing some of the more advanced crafting techniques, have multiple houses and fortresses and a mine system so immense that I'm starting to think that I may have to abandon the area all together in search of new lands. The game is undoubtedly addicting and it's hard not to sacrifice precious hours of time in real life to the adventures of Steve and the world of minecraft.
Between the ever growing list of items that can be crafted, the new discoveries that lie behind every "secret" or adventure keep you begging for more and going farther, and even deeper than at first seems possible. Between the Two temples, the nether and the end...and even the occasional search for Herobrine (I'll find him one day!) I just can't stop playing. Just when I'm 60 blocks down and digging my way through a massive natural cavern starting to lose all hope of finding some diamonds and dozing off in front of the computer screen the game never fails to give me the loudest, creepiest, most evil noise ever made to make me jump out of my seat and have a mini heart attack. Even the noise of a pickax breaking in the silence is enough to freak out this Crafter. The noise usually signals an interesting discovery or at least a dark empty space nearby, but it never fails to give the game an edge of eeriness that I find more intense than some of the spooks and chills of the horror game genre. Not to mention the constant feel that someone...or something... is watching over you in the darkness of the tunnel. While playing alone can often be monotonous I much prefer it than feeling like there is someone else there when I am supposed to be "all alone."
Spooks and chills aside, Minecraft is one of the most amazing ideas in video games in recent memory and is most definitely one of the most addicting games I've ever played. Other than the occasional terrain loading glitch the game is beautifully designed and simple, anyone can pick it up and quickly learn how to master the realm they are given, and if the undead and other spooks are to much, just tone down the difficulty into easy or peaceful. Or maybe you just want to create and not go through the long process of mining, well there's an option for that too. Playing online with a group of friends couldn't be much funner, looking at each others creations, establishing a city, or coming together to build a massive and amazing colossus is one of the most rewarding videogame experiences available today.
Plain and Simple: Minecraft is amazing and there is no reason, anyone of any belief shouldn't have this game.
