Originally Minecraft – Pocket Edition was set to debut on September 29th, but a bug in the code caused a delay. Earlier today, Daniel Kaplan of Team Mojang, tweeted that the game would be released today. As the title suggests, Kaplan and team came through. Both a paid and demo version are available for download in the Android Market. Admittedly I’ve already begun playing it, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it thus far. I will say, however, that on my Incredible the game runs a bit slow, but on my Xoom it runs smooth as silk. You may want to play this on a higher end device. If that’s not an option for you, the game does have an option to play without “fancy graphics.” Whether your unsure or not, I suggest downloading the demo version before plunking down $6.99. Mojang, has done quite a bit of testing, but they can’t gurantee it will work on every device.
If you’ve played Minecraft on the computer before, I can tell you the Pocket Edition is reminiscent of Minecraft Classic. You start with all the blocks (in this case 36), there are no Creepers, no health, and certainly none of the newer elements from the latest “Adventure update.” No, Minecraft – Pocket Edition is purely a game of creativity, but a great one. For the hardcore miners, you may feel the game to be a bit lacking. If so, just consider it ‘your fix’ while away from your computer. As time goes along, I imagine the Pocket Edition of Minecraft will likely follow in the footsteps of it’s PC cousin; evolving into a better performing, more fleshed out game as we go along. Perhaps we should consider this Minecraft -Pocket Edition Beta.
Video and downloads after the break
Android Market Link – Full Version
Android Market Link – Demo Version
[via droidlife]