I write this with glee as a fairly amateur crafter. I haven’t built big sexy palaces and I have no desire to recreate Narnia in Minecraft – however every so often I do like to mess about with blocks. It’s that childish instinct in us all to build and create something wonderful out of something very simple. It’s digital Lego.
Now if you’ve not played Minecraft before, it’s probably about time you submitted yourself to Mojang’s megahit. The sales are close to 54 million, but Mojang have went on record stating that they will not stop until they reach their goal of 1,000,000,000 people playing Minecraft. This fact may be entirely made up.
So what’s new in this version? Well, not a lot really. 4J Studios in Dundee are still handling the ports, as they did with the 360 and PS3 versions. It’s pretty much everything you get in the 360 version, but bigger. Thirty-six times bigger in area, apparently. Your Minecraft has just been pimped. You can transfer previous creations over and if you’ve bought the game on the 360 you’re in for a mega discount. It will cost £2.99/$4.99 straight to your shiny big fat Xbox One. If you’re buying it standalone you’re going to be forking out £15.99/$19.99.
Minecraft hits the Xbox One this Friday, available direct from the Store. Microsoft are planning to distribute a boxed version later in the year.
And fret not Sony lovers because whilst Minecraft on the PS4 failed certification the first time around, 4J have resubmitted the game and it’s only a matter of time for it to be approved. If I were a betting man, I’d put money on the game being out next week for the PS4 with all the same features.
