Platform: PlayStation 4
Developer: 4J Studios
Publisher: Mojang
Release Date: September 4, 2014
Genre: Open World, Sandbox
Nerd Rating: 8 out of 10
Minecraft is truly one of a kind when it comes to the gaming world. With a world larger than seven times the size of our own Earth, Minecraft has nearly unlimited resources, all yours for the taking! Just as long as you don’t mind Skeletons, Spiders, Zombies, Creepers, Witches, and Endermen trying to kill you the whole time!
Welcome to the world of Minecraft! This is a world where you can make whatever you want however you want, out of whatever you want! It’s the ultimate block-like sandbox world that provides the right amount of challenge and provides enough drive and motivation for gaining enough power to fight the toughest baddie in the game: The Ender Dragon!
The first thing you must do in the game (if you are to survive, that is) is to punch the shit out of some trees until their trunk falls off the leaves. I know that sounds silly, but if you manage to break the tree, the tree doesn’t fall down. Only the part of the tree that you broke will come off. The rest stays right where it was. You got to break the rest to make the leaves disappear. But give back to the environment, and plant any saplings that may drop from the tree.
Next, craft a table to build tools to help better harvest the materials for a suitable home. Don’t forget to keep track of your needs, like hunger. There are animals and veggies to be had as sustenance. You just got to go and find it.
It is best that you do as much of this establishment of a home before the sun reaches the horizon to the west. That means, the shadows are at their largest, where monsters come from. You are safe in the safety of torches at night and the light of day. The last thing you want is to die before you have a chance to play. That’s never any fun now, is it? You’ll know a zombie is nearby when you hear a moan or gurgling sound. Skeletons tend to sneak up on you and shoot arrows. Creepers hiss and explode!
Spiders attack the second they see you, and witches throw their evil potions at you. Endermen are the scariest sons of bitches I could ever come across! They are peaceful… until you look them in the eye.
If you are familiar with the PC or XBox versions of this game, the PlayStation 4 version is almost exactly the same. Note, that I said “almost.” There are a few differences that I feel should be pointed out.
First is that everything feels bigger in the game. The blocky structures already make the game seem big, but on the PlayStation version, it feels as if the first person point-of-view is zoomed in a little bit. Making the world appear bigger.
The second thing I noticed is that the map only covers a small segment of the world. That means that if you wanted to explore even more of the world, you’re going to have to make a new map. Too bad you can’t piece several maps together to make an even bigger map. That would be cool, wouldn’t it? Personally, I thought that the smaller map was a dumb update in the game in general.
Some really neat points for the PlayStation version of Minecraft is that there are some really neat skins to be had in the game. If you don’t want to be the default character, Steve, you can play as Nathan Drake from Uncharted, the Red Knight from Castle Crashers, Shepard from Mass Effect, and so much more! I like playing as M’aiq the Liar from Skyrim.
There are also some neat world skins in this version as well. There is the land of Skyrim in near exact detail. There is a Mass Effect skin as well. You can turn the land into candy land, plastic land, or turn every aspect of the world into the sweet serenity of city life, where even the zombies where ties. My favorite is where everything runs on steam. I’m talking about a Steampunk world.
I would recommend getting Minecraft in every single version you can. If I were to choose a version in particular, I’d say to get the PlayStation 4 Edition. Why? I’ll give you one more reason. I play on the Playstation 4, of course! All kidding aside, I do feel that using a PlayStation DualShock 4 controller is much easier to use versus an XBox controller or a mouse and keyboard. It feels smooth and easy to get used to. Not to mention there’s little to no lag when playing! This allows for a much more enjoyable experience.