The Spiritual sequel to Nintendo's hit Animal Crossing is another success.
The game progressed in real world time, and really hit home the appearance that the town folk we're out and about doing their daily tasks weither you were playing or not; a very good imersion technique. Another great thing Nintendo did was added holidays and events through out the year for you to take part in and each holiday offered special furniture and items unique to that holiday. It made you want to keep comming back to see what was next on the calendar.
So instead of collecting guns and ammunition, you were given the task of collecting furniture and clothes and other little knick-knacks for your town and home. Oh yeah, you've given a home as well, to deck out anyway you see fit.
Already you must be getting the picture that this was no ordinary game. This simple fact turned a lot of people off, dismissing it as a "kiddie" game or childish; they were wrong plain and simple. This game was fun, and rewarding no matter how long you decided to sit down and play it for.
This game is back people; and very much like the original.
Now is this a good thing or a bad thing? mmm, a little of both.
Gameplay:
Its all here..The same great stuff from the original is back. new fish, bugs, songs, and holidays have been added to keep it fresh and seem new.
There's been an addition of a whopping 600 new items to the game (which boasted an even larger number in the original to begin with) which opens up a whole new can of worms for the people that this game addicted the first time around.
I guess the main addition to the game though, is the wifi capabilities. Now this is cool. reviews seem to be brushing it off as "no big deal" but when you think about it in terms of the original game, this is huge. Gone are the days of those clunky 20 character codes from the GC version. Now trading is simple as "Let me visit your town and we'll trade". A Truly great addition to the game.
Great thing two about wifi: The viral capabilities of this game are huge. By sending letters to animals in other people's town, theres a chance they will keep those letters and show them off to the people in the town. One way of leaving your impression on the town. The real thing I see being truly viral is the constellations.
After my first visit into another town I had picked up a constellation (they sometimes follow you back to your town). Now its not hard seeing this take off as more and more people go to your town and vise-versa. My constellations may end of un kansas by the end of the week.
Aside from the new elements (a lot of which I havent listed here) The game just feels better on a hand-held. One of my big problems with the GC version was the big production you had to gothrough to play some GC animal crossing. It didnt feel like a game that you should sit down in front of a TV to play. This game was made for handheld. I'll just leave it at that.
Visuals:
Hmm, There has been a little sacrificing here. But not too much. The textures are a little more blocky, but thats to be expected no? This is something I'm willing to over-look because of the fact that I can play the game anywhere. Its an acceptable sacrifice.
The games 100+ characters (I'm just threw out a number) all look unique and have very well written dialogue to converse with you about.
The town itself seems to be a giant log. It seems like you're literally log rolling around town. This is different from the GC version and I like it.
Sound:
The music is all good. The DS' sound isnt as great as the GC's version's of course, but again, small sacrifices had to be made. This one I dont have as much as a problem with because the sound is actually pretty good overall.
Should I Get this game:
You know..It's hard to say. I've done my best to describe a game to you that's very hard to describe. You're either going to love this game, or pretty much hate it.
I'm almost 18, I'm a male and I truly dig this game.
Nintendo is now known for trying new things and I commend them on this new thing.
Give Animal crossing a try, it's the only way you'll know if this game is for you.