22nd February 2003, 7:58 PM
Hey there, friend. You say your cars broken down, parents and teachers driving you up the wall, things ain't going too good with your girl, and your shoelace just busted? Days like these, don't you just wish you could get up and go to a place where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came? Well, forget "Cheers", now there's <i>Animal Crossing</i>.
First of all, right off the bat I should warn readers that <i>Animal Crossing</i> is NOT for everyone. You'll either love this game, or you'll hate this game, it's as simple as that. It won't appeal to some gamers, while others may be hopelessly addicted for months. I'm happy to say I believe I am the latter. <i>Animal Crossing</i> is an open-ended game, meaning there is no real set goals. You can set personal goals and do errands for other villagers, but basically, in <I>Animal Crossing</i>, it's do what you want, when you want, and there is plenty to do!
You've just moved to a new village, and you have little more than the clothes on your back and a handful of money in your pocket. Fortunately for you, a friendly passenger on the train you are on offers to call his friend Tom Nook and help get you a place to stay. As you pull into your town, Tom runs up to you and points out the houses he has for sale, you pick one (they're identical) and you find you find you don't have nearly enough to pay for it all, so he offers to let you work part-time in his shop to help you work off your debt. While not working you can do any number of things! You can dig for fossils to donate to the museum, you can fish, catch bugs, collect seashells, design clothing, buy furniture and stuff for your house, cut down and plant trees, or just chill with your new animal friends.
Gameplay is smooth, you press the control stick in the direction you want to go, and press A to do most important tasks, like talking or shaking trees to get fruit. Sound is alright, the music is not much since you really don't pay attention to it, and the animals all talk in a "Animalese" as it appears in a tetx box on the bottom of the screen. Listen really close, and you can tell what they're saying, because they are saying it, just quickly and distorted. Graphics are a disappointment, it's quite obvious this game started out as an N64 game, as graphics can be blurry, blocky, and the GameCube is capable of so much more, but you need to look past the flaws to see the creamy center of <i>Animal Crossing</I>.
Got a GBA? If you do, then the game gets even more fun. Hook your GC to your GBA and you can now access a special island where you can do even more cool stuff! Don't have a GBA? Hmm...well do you know someone else with a GameCube? If so, talk them into buying <i>Animal Crossing</i> too, and you can visit each others villages, where you can get stuff you normally can't in your village, and Tom Nook pays big for rarities.
It gets cooler! <i>Animal Crossing</i> utilizes the GameCube's internal clock, so it's set in real time, so when it's 6:30 P.M. where you are, it's 6:30 P.M. in your village. Seasons change, it rains, its snows, it turns from day to night. And stuff happens even when you're not playing! If you're fighting a battle royale in <i>Melee</i>, slaying zombies in <i>Resident Evil</i>, or collecting Shines in <i>Mario Sunshine</i>, there could be a festival happening in your village, or something else you wouldn't want to miss, so make sure to check back often. Also make time on holidays, because they're celebrated in your village too, they'll even celebrate your birthday!
I could go on about how much this game has to offer, because there is much more to say, but I think I'll cut this review off at this point. I don't want to spoil it for you, after all. As much as I praise this game, I encourage you to rent before you buy, since you may not like it. However there are many who will play this game and not want to stop, I rate <I>Animal Crossing</I> an impressive 9.8, docking points only for graphics. If they'd spruced it up a bit, this game might have gotten a perfect 10, but still, it's a great game, and anyone with a GameCube should check it out!
First of all, right off the bat I should warn readers that <i>Animal Crossing</i> is NOT for everyone. You'll either love this game, or you'll hate this game, it's as simple as that. It won't appeal to some gamers, while others may be hopelessly addicted for months. I'm happy to say I believe I am the latter. <i>Animal Crossing</i> is an open-ended game, meaning there is no real set goals. You can set personal goals and do errands for other villagers, but basically, in <I>Animal Crossing</i>, it's do what you want, when you want, and there is plenty to do!
You've just moved to a new village, and you have little more than the clothes on your back and a handful of money in your pocket. Fortunately for you, a friendly passenger on the train you are on offers to call his friend Tom Nook and help get you a place to stay. As you pull into your town, Tom runs up to you and points out the houses he has for sale, you pick one (they're identical) and you find you find you don't have nearly enough to pay for it all, so he offers to let you work part-time in his shop to help you work off your debt. While not working you can do any number of things! You can dig for fossils to donate to the museum, you can fish, catch bugs, collect seashells, design clothing, buy furniture and stuff for your house, cut down and plant trees, or just chill with your new animal friends.
Gameplay is smooth, you press the control stick in the direction you want to go, and press A to do most important tasks, like talking or shaking trees to get fruit. Sound is alright, the music is not much since you really don't pay attention to it, and the animals all talk in a "Animalese" as it appears in a tetx box on the bottom of the screen. Listen really close, and you can tell what they're saying, because they are saying it, just quickly and distorted. Graphics are a disappointment, it's quite obvious this game started out as an N64 game, as graphics can be blurry, blocky, and the GameCube is capable of so much more, but you need to look past the flaws to see the creamy center of <i>Animal Crossing</I>.
Got a GBA? If you do, then the game gets even more fun. Hook your GC to your GBA and you can now access a special island where you can do even more cool stuff! Don't have a GBA? Hmm...well do you know someone else with a GameCube? If so, talk them into buying <i>Animal Crossing</i> too, and you can visit each others villages, where you can get stuff you normally can't in your village, and Tom Nook pays big for rarities.
It gets cooler! <i>Animal Crossing</i> utilizes the GameCube's internal clock, so it's set in real time, so when it's 6:30 P.M. where you are, it's 6:30 P.M. in your village. Seasons change, it rains, its snows, it turns from day to night. And stuff happens even when you're not playing! If you're fighting a battle royale in <i>Melee</i>, slaying zombies in <i>Resident Evil</i>, or collecting Shines in <i>Mario Sunshine</i>, there could be a festival happening in your village, or something else you wouldn't want to miss, so make sure to check back often. Also make time on holidays, because they're celebrated in your village too, they'll even celebrate your birthday!
I could go on about how much this game has to offer, because there is much more to say, but I think I'll cut this review off at this point. I don't want to spoil it for you, after all. As much as I praise this game, I encourage you to rent before you buy, since you may not like it. However there are many who will play this game and not want to stop, I rate <I>Animal Crossing</I> an impressive 9.8, docking points only for graphics. If they'd spruced it up a bit, this game might have gotten a perfect 10, but still, it's a great game, and anyone with a GameCube should check it out!