Animal Crossing: City Folk Review

March 21st, 2009 by carmen · No Comments

I have to admit that despite all the excitement surrounding Animal Crossing: City Folk, I had no interest in purchasing it. I was never a huge fan of Sims type games and I prefer games with defined tasks and goals like Super Mario Galaxy. Thanks to liquidation at a certain electronics store, I bought Animal Crossing for $35. What changed my mind? Two things, the price and to be honest…I was curious to see what all the fuss was about.

If someone told me to describe Animal Crossing using one word, I would say “customization”. Almost everything in the game is the result of your action or non-action. From the moment you turn on the game your experience is up to you. You name your town, purchase a house of your choosing (financed by the local shop’s owner) and meet your neighbors. From that point on, it’s up to you to figure out what to do next. What makes this interesting is that while the basic elements in the game are the same for everyone, your overall experience will be totally different than anyone else, this makes sharing friend codes and visiting other towns through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection worthwhile.

The first couple of days, having never played the DS or GameCube version of Animal Crossing, I was clueless. I had no idea what to do with my time in Luna Bay (my town’s name). Although the game never explicitly tells you how to make bells (money), fish, or find bugs and fossils, the characters in the game do give hints. This was very helpful to an Animal Crossing newbie like myself.

Once I learned the basics, I became quickly obsessed with all that I could do, I would fish not only to earn bells but to fill up the very empty museum in my ‘hood. I would plant trees like crazy hoping more animals would move into not out of my town. If I was bored, I’d play hide and seek with my neighbors or make deliveries for them for gifts and extra bells. I am also doing quite a bit of shopping - buying furniture at Nooks for my home and new clothes at the clothing store in my town.

The great thing about Animal Crossing: City Folk is that if I wanted to fish all day or dig a bunch of holes in the ground for no particular reason, I could do just that - it really is up to me. The free-play nature of the game makes playing extremely engaging. I love defining how I play and it’s the reason why Animal Crossing is one of the few games that I play everyday.

It is worth mentioning that Animal Crossing is played in real time. If you are playing during the day or at night, the game reflects the same thing. The seasons change as well. Not too long ago in Luna Bay, the snow melted and now the days have gotten just a little bit longer. It’s a minor feature, but it does add a little more liveliness to the game. Since the game follows the calendar year, you can check the Animal Crossing: City Folk website to find out when events like fishing tournaments and flea markets are occurring. Also, Nintendo occasionally sends gifts through the Wi-Fi Connection. I received a huge green hat on St. Patrick’s Day which was a nice surprise.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, you can exchange friend codes and visit the towns of your friends. The set-up process is pretty painless, but I would recommend getting Wii Speak. Typing using the Wii Remote is anything but user friendly not to mention time consuming. There are some downsides to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection features. First, there are no opportunities to randomly visit other towns, you must have the town’s friend code and vice versa. Also that friend must be online at the same time, so there is a certain amount of coordinating that must take place to play with a friend. I understand Nintendo’s reasoning for this, safety being number one, but I find it frustrating that there is no way to meet other Animal Crossing players during the game. I hope Nintendo comes up with enhancements to their Friend Code process that satisfies older users but keeps the younger ones safe. With that said, if anyone wants to exchange codes, send me a direct message on Twitter.

If you are looking for a nontraditional game, this is definitely the one to get. The variety of customization features and its unique game play make for an exciting and addicting game. Despite the minor annoyances with the Friend Code exchange, it doesn’t keep me from enjoying Animal Crossing. Nintendo, once again, has created a great game for all ages and abilities.