Writers Note: The timing and release of this review are intentional, Animal Crossing was a game that is really tested by time, so this review is written based on three months of play. This won't be you're normal review, instead of going over what you already know from other reviews, this will concentrate more on its lifespan, how it measures up after so long and of course the other usuals,
bignds
Animals are fun, lets not kid ourselfs, but the sound of Animal Crossing on the Gamcube didnt really appeal to me, simulation games in genral don't really, the idea of sitting down for hours on end wasn't something i was prepared to do unless i was phisically restrained (which i was for a few days while i sprained my ankle and played nothing but The Sims on PS2 for those days) so i wasn't neccesserily counting down the days to Animal Crossing Wild Wolrd (ACWW).
So how did I end up with the game you ask? Well, out of pure boredom, i read IGNs hands on with ACWW one night, I actually found out alot about the series/game, stuff i didnt know, and it seemed a ton more apealing than The Sims, it did actually sound like The Sims with all the boring parts taken out i.e feeding them, bathing, sleep etc. But after reading it, i went from one extreme to the other, and imported it a week after, i received it on Christmas Eve, and to this day i still play it religiously so to speak.
The game involves you right from the beginning, it starts off with a first person view of someone sitting from the back seat of a taxi, which is followed by the driver making typical cabi conversation, i.e where are you from, your name, what's your destination, all of which plays a part, as the answers to these question will result in the name of your town, the name of your character, your gender, what the weather will be once you arive. When you arive, it's a matter of getting settled, You'll be greeted by resident tycoon Tom Nook, who'll show you the ropes, give you a house, but which youve got to pay a mortgage on, and to get you started on that payment he'll send you on simple errands. After that, its up to you, when and how you pay it off, by selling fruit, fishing, bug catching, the list goes on, but the majority of the money you will receive is by selling goods at Tom Nooks shop.
The user interface is very friendly, never over complicated things, nor shoving anything in your face, instead, it's up to you how you tackle the obstacles the game throws at you, creating the illusion that it really is your world. Rather spend your hard earned money on pimpin' up your house than paying off your mortgage? Go ahead, You won't be penalised, but sooner or later you will feel inclined, because all the items you buy, you'll soon need more space to house all of them.
Controls are as easy as they could be, and as you could imagine, feels right at home with the DS. You can either use the control pad to move, and x to pull up the map, Y to pull up your inventory, B as the action button and A mainly as a back button, or alternatively, and easier in some cases, use the stylus to to do pretty much everything.
And of course, the Nintendo Wi-fi connection. This game, which will probably be the only, is the only current DS online game that requires you to have another players friend code, so the element of playing someone random is not here. Which can work in your favour, as you would only really want someone you trust to be walking through your beloved town with out worry that all your trees will be gone. Multi-player in essence, is ultimately just you and a few friends hanging around, catching bugs together, see who can catch the most fish in a set amount of time, inspect each others towns etc. Getting online is nicely intergrated in the game, and in a fun way also. You don't get out just by clicking a few buttons on the inventory, no, instead, you go through the town gates, and ask the gates keepers (dogs naturally) to go out/ open gates, depending on weather you're going out to visit or expecting visitors.
The games online/local multi player capabilities can pretty much make you in ACWW. Thanks to it, I've now got a full fruit collection, which in hand, makes me alot more money, as foriegn fruits sell for 500 bells compared to your native fruits at 100. It's pretty near impossible to get a full collection off all six fruits with out the aid of a friend, same rules apply to getting the final upgrade of Tom Nooks store.
Little fun side affects can also happen even after you disconnect from the service. You'll receive letters from Nintendo from time to time which comes with rare gifts attached, a kitten may stroll into your town, saying its lost her mother, it'll also mention a town, which could be the last town you've visited, it's then your mission to return the kitten, back to said town, once you do, you'll receive a rare item the following day.
I would personally say the graphics in this title are somewhere in the N64-Gamecube nether lands. With that said, this game is very nice on the eyes. Textures are all detailed, frame rate is steady, and over all, it's pleasently presenated, except for the odd bit of blocky polygons.
In game music could never have been a better choice. Out door, is perfect soothing and calmed down chill out music to put it frankly, which suits the atmosphere the developers were cleary trying to create. Only real problem is when you're listening through head phones, music can come out, well weird, is the best way to put it.
This game is possibly one of the only games that can't be finished within a few days without cheating. It's impossible and i'm not saying impossible as a figure of speach. Two reasons why I say impossible; first being there is no real end to this game, the nearest being to an end, and which brings me to number two is paying off your mortgage. Because the game works in real time, and upgrades to your house take a day each, you're looking at ten days to get to the last upgrade and you would of had to make in the access of two million bells to fund all of that, so yeah, to even reach the nearest thing to an ending in the game will take you a good month if you are insanely good at making bells.
The beauty of ACWW is the fact that it can be as simple or as deep as you want it to be. You can play a quick five minutes, just checking the flow of your town, buying a few items, or play hard core for an hour, making alot of money, doing some gardening, digging for fossils, fishing, decorating your house etc. It really is up to you.
A good way of describing ACWW is like a hard hitting song which you think is good upon hearing at first but grows on you up and till the point you cant stop singing it, yep this game is a real grower, and it really flourishes in time.
It's over three months on, and I still play nearly every day, the longest i have gone without playing is about two weeks, or inconsistantly dipping in and out off it, but to be honest, ACWW, really does stand the test of time, there is something new everyday to be discovered, and if there really is only one DS game you're going to buy, this should really be a serious option.
Graphics: 8/10- Does it's job, and im not knocking the engine, but these arnt the best the DS will see im sure off, it just seems to me the graphics in ACWW are a solid 8.
Sound: 8/10- Again, fairly solid in that department.
Gameplay 10/10- For what it sets out to do, it does. It's quite hard to judge its gameplay, mainly because there is nothing out there that is like AC, which proves what a unique experience Nintendo have created here.
Lifespan 10/10- Fairly obvious, but its three months (or 108 days to be exact) since I tore through the plastic, and it's still got me hooked, if thats not lengthy life span, then what is?
In conclusion, 9.5/10
Written by
bignds