Minecraft.....Someone please explain what is so special.

Ok Minecraft the PC game gets released on the xbox live service today but im struggling as to why this game is getting brilliant reviews and looks like something from a spectrum 128k 25 years ago.

Dont get me wrong i have heard about this game many times over the years but when i am seeing all the news and hype regarding this game and watching the videos im kind of in the dark here.

Am i missing something or does this game really look this bad but plays like a dream and is highly addictive or something...........Why did they not give the graphics a major overhaul or something and what is it about this game that has most gaming sites drooling at the prospect of this finally getting on the xbox live service.

May be only a PC gamer can explain because i would not download this even if it was free ...........

MINECRAFT

CHECK OUT THE 360 VERSION..OH MY GOD

Edited by time2die (Wed 09-May-12 00:19:25)

I would suggest playing the game, its basically a giant sandbox that you can build what ever you want- hence the low graphics.

Should see the demand minecraft places on servers.

Build whatever you want ? and whats the point of that,the game has to have some sort of structure.

Basically i dont play games that look like there 25 years old when i have things like Uncharted 3 and look like a dogs dinner regardless of how much strain they put on servers........

If you get your kicks playing stuff like this then in my opinion your a retro gamer that is stuck in the past,why would anyone with a powerful pc,a playstation 3 or Xbox 360 be interested in playing a game that looks this bad regardless of addiction or not.

Seriously i have loaded games on a spectrum 128k that look better than this.........

Dont get me wrong everyone has there chosen choice but i just don't get it ?, are you telling me that you have played it then.........Whats your thoughts and why do you think its a good game and has this really got a place in todays gaming when the majority of us want to see outstanding graphics and gameplay with stunning visuals and amazing stories.

Edited by time2die (Wed 09-May-12 00:32:07)

The Minecraft tutorial might help a little but it still looks totally boring to me. And a multiplayer tutorial for those who wanna gain an insight into playing the game competively.

Graphics are a bit better than Speccy. Better than Megadrive maybe? Nintendo 64 level? Kinda [censored] but hey, it's all about the gameplay. Guess the developers are laughing all the way to the bank, again and again. At least they're brits. Hopefully they'll spend their megabucks over here.

People don't play it for the graphics, they play it purely for the addictive gameplay. It doesn't appeal to me at all, but I think what does appeal to most people is they can design absolutely anything. I have seen people who have created replica Disneyland's and famous landmarks from around the world. It allows people who are a lot more creative than me means to design something intricate that they can show off to friends and other likeminded individuals online.

I guess the other aspect is the creatures that come out at night and attack you, I don't know if people level up for killing them or get exp or some kind of points? Any kind of exp / levelling up system is always guaranteed to get people hooked!

I don't think just because they are playing a game with dated graphics means they are a retro gamer. I still play some games that don't have great graphics because I love the gameplay, classic example is Age of Empires, I still go back to it now! But I love my modern games as well. Being a gamer is about enjoying playing them, not how shiney they look. Though don't get me wrong it is nice to have all these gorgeous looking games, you just shouldn't ignore a game just because of the graphics otherwise you may miss out on some real treasures.

Nice explanation and i guess its horses for courses and its just something that i have not got the patience with.

No probs mate! Yea I am the same, it doesn't appeal to me at all. I tried the track editor on Trials Evolution over the weekend and after about an hour of messing around and not getting far I knew Minecraft wouldn't be for me either haha.

I have noticed in quite a lot of your posts that you seem to need a game to look good and will definitely mark it down if it doesn't. I like a game to look nice as much as the next guy (I spent £300 on a graphics card to get the most out of BF3!) but nice graphics and enjoying a game are not the same thing. It seems to me that you accept that a game should be either good graphics and bad gameplay or good graphics and good gameplay. If it is bad graphically then it automatically is a bad game.

You say that the majority of people want outstanding graphics and visuals and as I said above I love games to look nice but I don't think the majority of people require them as an integral part of a game being good. The good reviews and popularity of games like Minecraft give proof to this.

Onto the game itself - I don't think I can sell it as being good to anyone (certainly not T2D ) but it is a really good game. My clan mates spent months playing it and enjoying it and telling me to come and join them and I wouldn't because like I couldn't understand 'the point' to it. I can't even remember what made me eventually buy it - I guess it was either uber boredom or the fact it was about to leave beta and double in price. But either way, I did buy it and I love it - maybe every 3-4 months I of crazy with it for a month or so and then get bored again and leave it alone but when I start a project it is so much fun.

Yes it looks horrible - and I mean truly horrible - on the PC you can add skins (texture packs) that improve how it looks but I don't know if this will be possible for Xbox but that been said it still does not look great with them on! The phrase you can't polish a.... springs to mind.

As to what you do in the game - it is largely up to your imagination. You gather resources and do with them as you will. You have to do things like make tools and weapons and armor to deal with mobs that attack you. I always seem to end up making a castle but towers, nice bungalows and giant penises always seem popular. A lot of the resources you need are in caves (or at least underground - you can dig out a cave rather than find/explore one) and so you dig out/explore caves and build stuff with the things you find. You have to get food be it from animals or planting crops or making cake. You can make minecarts and various other things - as I say it really is up to your imagination. With the circuits you can build you can automate and make some really complex things. (see I told you I couldn't sell it!).

One thing I would say is that it is better playing with friends. I always tend to want my own space but you then can go and look at what each other is doing and you can all go together into the netherworld (basically hell) and stuff like that.

I think my clan's minecraft server is still running so I might login tonight and screenshot my the castle that was my most recent project (that I gave up on about 2 months ago when I found World of Tanks)

Edited by deleted (Wed 09-May-12 10:43:59)

You in for Max Payne 3 next week Jaxx or what,i have to say i am extremely hyped for this game and everytime i watch another video it excites me even more.

Not that often we get a game coming out that really gets me excited lately.

I downloaded the trials demo last week and again i can see why people rave about it but i found the controls of the bike not very good and found the game to be not to my liking even though it looked very nice graphically.

Edited by time2die (Wed 09-May-12 13:36:14)

It was created when voxel technology made a comeback a few years ago and rode of the wave of that. I must admit I dont see much point to the game either, but then I avoid sandboxed games too - just no point too them...

The graphics have a certain limited charm to them, especially from a distance... And with the monitor switched off...

Edited by deleted (Wed 09-May-12 13:27:21)