Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Review

Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition
Developed By: Mojang
Ported By: 4J Studios
Published By: Microsoft Studios
Date of Release: May 9, 2012
Price: 1600 MSP

Minecraft. What was once heralded as the greatest indie title ever made has gone far beyond its original status to become a commercial hit, riding its own momentum on a nonstop rocket ride to the top. Having firmly planted creator Markus 'Notch' Perrson and his group at Mojang on the map, Minecraft continues to amaze day in and day out. With endless user created worlds to explore and fantastic creative options that harness the sheer joy of playing with Legos or building a sandcastle, Minecraft only limits players by their imagination. And now this wonderful dimension of fun (albeit slightly scaled down) is available for the Xbox 360.



The first thing you will notice about Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition is that the interface has been completely streamlined of use with the Xbox 360 controller. The crafting interface has been completely revamped, and contains all available recipes, all you need to do is select the item you want to craft, and press a button. No need to go hunting for FAQs or wiki entries, just make sure you have the required items and have at it! Another handy addition are tips that pop up the first time you see a block of each type, explaining it's use and how to harvest it. There is also a very helpful tutorial built into the game, which will certainly help players who are new to the Minecraft experience.



Now for those who are already accustomed to the Minecraft universe, the transition to the Xbox 360 Edition may be a bit jarring at first. As it is built on the 1.6 codebase, there are numerous items and features absent from the Xbox 360 Edition, though quite frankly the changes are nothing drastic, and easy to get used to. Mojang has however promised to bring the Xbox 360 Edition up to speed with the pc release, though it is unknown how long it will take before it actually happens. Again though, the missing features are quite easy to live without, and the excellent 8-player live multiplayer and 4-player splitscreen make up for it. It should be noted that the splitscreen modes are only available on HDTVs, as SD resolutions would render the crafting interface unreadable.



So if you have never played Minecraft before in any form, the question remains then: is Minecraft the right game for you? All you have to do is ask yourself: do you enjoy creating worlds in your own image? Do you enjoy working with friends to build an online utopia? Do you enjoy exploring vast untamed worlds? If so, Minecraft is definitely right for you. The only limit to your experience is how far you are willing to let your imagination soar. Of course if you are unsure, you can always try out the amazing demo on the Xbox live Marketplace, which includes the full tutorial. You won't regret it!