ic-games Review - Animal Crossing - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

ic-games Review - Animal Crossing - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii ic-games Review - Home - Review, Preview and Interview for PC, Xbox,Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

Animal Crossing

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Reviewed: GameCube
Genre: life simulator
UK Release: 24th Sep 2004
Article Date: 28th Sep 2004
Difficulty: N/A
Retail Price: £39.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 90%

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Pros

WARNING: Very Addictive!

Clever use of internal clock

Includes free memory card

Utilises GBA Linkup cable

Cons

Not for everyone.

Not online

Screenshots

10 of 11

Even though this title was released over two years ago with much acclaim, us Europeans have had to wait some time before we could sample some of the craze that took the Nintendo world by storm over in the USA. Over these two years many rumours have surfaced about possible PAL release dates until finally Nintendo announced the long awaited release date of September 24th 2004, and it wasn’t a moment too soon.

If you are new to the Gamecube or don’t really take a vested interest in every possible release then you can be excused for missing out on this one entirely. The premise (like the gameplay) is simple enough. Imagine if you would a game without “life bars” or end of level “bosses” where your ultimate goal is to earn enough money to decorate your house and move into a bigger place. Ahh! “The Sims” you say, well yes, Animal Crossing is a little like the blockbuster from EA except Animal Crossing also features a real living and breathing town, full day and night cycles (and we mean full) and the ability to roam around the whole town and visit other houses at your leisure and not just be tied to a specific area like you are in “The Sims” or even "Sims 2" for that matter.

The idea behind this strange little title is much like life just before you move out of your parents home. You hop onto a train towards freedom after rules and regulations all your life, ready to take on the world. The game actually begins with you riding on that train with nothing but the clothes on your back and a few bells (the currency used in Animal Crossing). However you soon meet your first friendly animal who helps you locate your first tiny house in a local town. However you soon get to learn that the local shop keeper in that town also doubles as a property tycoon and demands that you work in his shop and run errands to pay off your “mortgage”. You soon get to learn though that working in the shop is not the only way to earn money as you begin to freelance running all sorts of errands for the townsfolk. In return you’ll earn even more “bells” or on occasions, some clothing or cool furniture for your new nest.

So as you run around the 3d world running errands you soon get to meet the other inhabitants of your town. The way you interact with these characters is also remembered so friends will be made and perhaps enemies too if you chop down one too many trees in someone’s vicinity. If another player enters the game (up to four are allowed) you’ll often hear all the latest rumours about what they got up to during their game time the next time you log in. It sometimes makes for some pretty compulsive game playing. Add all four into the fray and you’ve almost got an episode of “Big Brother” on the books as stories fly about the town about everyone’s antics, hobbies and secrets. Not everyone can play at once, and since there are no online functions (perhaps the games only fault) you are restricted to one log in at any time. With the full twenty four hour cycle in effect though, that shouldnt be a problem.

Yes we have mentioned the "real time" element more than once already but never before has the passage of time in a game been so accurately portrayed as it has been in Animal Crossing, and never before has the internal clock of our latest consoles been utilised as much. In fact you end up being completely at the mercy of your Gamecube’s internal clock. Animal Crossing is extremely hard to explain at times but every single day you will find new items for sale at the local shop. Trees and flowers will grow and die as seasons take effect (all in 100% real time). Even events are tied down to certain days and times and if you miss these events you’ll have to wait for them to come around again (upto a year for some special events). Start up the game a little late one night and you may find you missed the chance to spend some of your hard earned money in the local shop as it shuts the door for the night. And it’s exactly this sort of gameplay, the expected and unexpected randomness of it all that keeps Animal Crossing from becoming stale and helps this game to be as engrossing as it is.

As with most of the recent games Nintendo have published, Animal Crossing makes full use of the GBA/Gamecube link cable. Once connected you are transported to “Paradise Island” which is an extension to the town you play in the Gamecube version. With the GBA linked up you can set up a little bungalow and fill it with some of the items only to be found using the GBA. You can also transfer items from the Gamecube version to your GBA home. This extra island is also saved alongside the actual main town when you do your end of session save. With all this data flowing about it becomes apparent that a whole memory card is needed to save everything, knowing this Nintendo have thoughtfully bundled the game with an official Memory Card 59. The rule of thumb is that for every “town” you wish to create you’ll need a completely free memory card as Animal Crossing does take up every slot. Also hidden away in the world of Animal Crossing are old classic NES games that can be found (and played) and even downloaded onto your GBA. We are not going to spoil the surprise as some sites have done but suffice to say that hidden in this little gem are multiple bonus games and features that will certainly raise a smile for older gamers everywhere.

And once you manage to lure three more players into Animal Crossing then things can start to get interesting. Players can write to each other or even to some of the NPCs (Non playable characters). If any of the letters that the players send around contain any juicy gossip then you can expect that everyone around town will start spreading the facts like wildfire. For example you could log into the game and find out that your friends have been talking about you, you know this because the damn NPCs approach you and just plainly know a little too much about your “real life“ daily business! Retribution of course is always another letter away. And its moments like these that convince you that Animal Crossing is something special and very different from the stack of games already out there.

But Animal Crossing is not for everyone, it’s a love or hate title that really demands your time. If you are only prepared to give the title a few minutes of your life at a time then you should look elsewhere. To the game’s credit though, that is largely down to the fact that every moment you are away from the game you could be actually missing something. That’s right, even as I write this review someone could be throwing something desirable away on the towns rubbish tip or the town could be holding the monthly fishing competition. These events are not repeated once you load, you miss the day you miss the event until next time. Animal Crossing is real time folks! (made even more incredible since its also offline).

When you are a big player like Nintendo its easy to get sloppy, or just chuck out relentless games and hope they stick against the wall. Either way you’ll probably end up raking it in by your name alone. Instead this giant only seems to release a select few games with every attempt to make each one as playable as the next. Animal Crossing is one of those classic games that could only have come from Nintendo, addictive, compulsive and good old fashioned fun rolled into one, and we love every bit of it. However next time we’d better not have to wait two years longer for it than anyone else. (pleeease)

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