Minecraft

Now I know there are a lot of people talking about this game, but I enjoy it so much that I feel like I should write about it too (probably why everyone else writes about it too). Minecraft is one of the most simple and yet most complex games I've ever played, as oxymoronic as that sounds. The entire world is composed of blocks of different materials (such as stone, dirt, water, and even trees are made of blocks of wood and leaves), and is quite ugly at first, I must admit, but if you give the game a chance, you will be surprised at the breathtaking beauty of much of the randomly-generated terrain.

Where Minecraft truly excels is in the freedom it grants to the player. You can walk for hours on the surface, exploring the blocky, yet beautiful terrain, you can build a house or any other structure you could imagine, you can mine for precious minerals, you can create giant caverns, you can fight monsters, and you can even open a portal to another dimension called the Nether! There are no objectives except those you define for yourself and staying alive, which, though easy during the day, is very tough at night unless you are prepared with weapons, armor, and food to fend off the variety of monsters that come out when the sun is down. Even if you die, you will simply respawn (without any of the items you were carrying) and can continue whatever quest you feel is worthy of your time.

Minecraft is a game of paradoxes: simple, yet complex, ugly, yet beautiful, a game with no goals, but at the same time, one of the most fun games you will find. I highly suggest that everyone try it out despite it's seemingly unpolished exterior, because what you find will surprise you.

link: Minecraft.net