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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Simulator Developer: Nintendo Publisher: Nintendo |
Ever since the debut of the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo has been hinting towards bringing an Animal Crossing game to the new system.
With the time between the original release of the game and the new release on the Wii console, Nintendo could have created a game
that would have knocked the socks off of every person who played the game, adding a new element to the game. Sadly, it is very clear
that Nintendo converted the Nintendo DS game into a Wii game.
From the very beginning of “Animal Crossing: City Folk,” players are put to work as a laborer for Tom Nook to pay for their new house.
He gets players started learning the ropes by sending players all over town performing jobs like planting flowers, delivering packages,
advertising and writing letters. Even though these jobs feel like indentured servitude, it is really a tutorial walkthrough. Once players
have finished this tutorial, they are able to do whatever they want. However, players won’t want to pay off their mortgage. Tom Nook
was nice enough to get players set up in their new town, players will need to pay him back in the game’s monetary system of Bells.
Bells are earned by selling fish that are caught, selling fruit that has been harvested and selling items that have been collected. There
is always a way to gain Bells every day, whether it is simply shaking trees and find money in the branches are harvesting from the land.
When players start to learn more about their village, things start to open up and players will want to visit their village more than a few
times every day. Each town operates on a real time clock and calendar and events happen on an hourly and daily basis. Villagers will
send players on a task that must be done before a certain time. Climates change and as such shift the environments. Bugs and fish
that were able to be caught in the summer will not be available in the winter. It also isn’t just seasons that cause these changes, but
also the weather. Also, while players can sell their native fruit to Tom Nook, he pays even more money for fruit that doesn’t normally
show up in the village.
The Wii version of the game features the same online experience as introduced on the Nintendo DS in “Animal Crossing: Wild World.”
Before players can venture out to a friend’s village, they will need to get their friend’s specific 12 digit code and they give theirs to their
friend. Even after these codes have been traded, players still need to coordinate with each other which player will be the one visiting.
After the link has been established, it is then a seamless experience.
If all of this sounds familiar, that would be because most of these elements have been in past Animal Crossing games. Redd, for
example, would pop up in the players village on specific days of the week, but now players can just wander over at their own leisure to
his shop in the city. The city might make portions of “Animal Crossing: City Folk” more accessible to players who don’t want to put in
the time or effort to dedicate regular play time sessions, but wasn’t the point of the game to have players continually check in on the
game to see all of the new events that happen? The city also constantly populates the center with a random assortment of animal
villagers every time players enter and leave a building which ruins the surprise of seeing these characters appear in their village for the
first time. If anything, the city portion of “Animal Crossing: City Folk” wrecks a great part of the Animal Crossing experience.
Of course there are a few slight enhancements that are worth noting about the game, such as widescreen support, Wii remote motion
control for casting the fishing line or digging holes and an upgrades art program that allows players to create shirt textiles with a front,
back and two sleeves. Also, the villages ground will now show wear and tear as players beat down a continuous path every day.
Though these may sound insignificant, it is still noticeable and adds to the overall game play. Players will also enjoy the fact that they
are able to bring their Nintendo DS character over, but beyond the benefit of keeping the character’s name and unlocking a catalog of
items to buy, there is no real reward in doing this.
After players put in literal weeks and months of game play on both the GameCube original and the Nintendo DS sequel, it is a little
disappointing to see that very little effort went into the overall design of “Animal Crossing: City Folk.” However, for those who are
entering the game with a fresh take on the game, this is a great, casual game with a lot of things to see and do. Of the three Animal
Crossing games on the market, the Wii version is the best of the series with its great visuals and voice enabled online play. For those
what are ready to do the same thing over again, “Animal Crossing: City Folk” keeps up the tradition of making minor tasks a lot of fun.
With the time between the original release of the game and the new release on the Wii console, Nintendo could have created a game
that would have knocked the socks off of every person who played the game, adding a new element to the game. Sadly, it is very clear
that Nintendo converted the Nintendo DS game into a Wii game.
From the very beginning of “Animal Crossing: City Folk,” players are put to work as a laborer for Tom Nook to pay for their new house.
He gets players started learning the ropes by sending players all over town performing jobs like planting flowers, delivering packages,
advertising and writing letters. Even though these jobs feel like indentured servitude, it is really a tutorial walkthrough. Once players
have finished this tutorial, they are able to do whatever they want. However, players won’t want to pay off their mortgage. Tom Nook
was nice enough to get players set up in their new town, players will need to pay him back in the game’s monetary system of Bells.
Bells are earned by selling fish that are caught, selling fruit that has been harvested and selling items that have been collected. There
is always a way to gain Bells every day, whether it is simply shaking trees and find money in the branches are harvesting from the land.
When players start to learn more about their village, things start to open up and players will want to visit their village more than a few
times every day. Each town operates on a real time clock and calendar and events happen on an hourly and daily basis. Villagers will
send players on a task that must be done before a certain time. Climates change and as such shift the environments. Bugs and fish
that were able to be caught in the summer will not be available in the winter. It also isn’t just seasons that cause these changes, but
also the weather. Also, while players can sell their native fruit to Tom Nook, he pays even more money for fruit that doesn’t normally
show up in the village.
The Wii version of the game features the same online experience as introduced on the Nintendo DS in “Animal Crossing: Wild World.”
Before players can venture out to a friend’s village, they will need to get their friend’s specific 12 digit code and they give theirs to their
friend. Even after these codes have been traded, players still need to coordinate with each other which player will be the one visiting.
After the link has been established, it is then a seamless experience.
If all of this sounds familiar, that would be because most of these elements have been in past Animal Crossing games. Redd, for
example, would pop up in the players village on specific days of the week, but now players can just wander over at their own leisure to
his shop in the city. The city might make portions of “Animal Crossing: City Folk” more accessible to players who don’t want to put in
the time or effort to dedicate regular play time sessions, but wasn’t the point of the game to have players continually check in on the
game to see all of the new events that happen? The city also constantly populates the center with a random assortment of animal
villagers every time players enter and leave a building which ruins the surprise of seeing these characters appear in their village for the
first time. If anything, the city portion of “Animal Crossing: City Folk” wrecks a great part of the Animal Crossing experience.
Of course there are a few slight enhancements that are worth noting about the game, such as widescreen support, Wii remote motion
control for casting the fishing line or digging holes and an upgrades art program that allows players to create shirt textiles with a front,
back and two sleeves. Also, the villages ground will now show wear and tear as players beat down a continuous path every day.
Though these may sound insignificant, it is still noticeable and adds to the overall game play. Players will also enjoy the fact that they
are able to bring their Nintendo DS character over, but beyond the benefit of keeping the character’s name and unlocking a catalog of
items to buy, there is no real reward in doing this.
After players put in literal weeks and months of game play on both the GameCube original and the Nintendo DS sequel, it is a little
disappointing to see that very little effort went into the overall design of “Animal Crossing: City Folk.” However, for those who are
entering the game with a fresh take on the game, this is a great, casual game with a lot of things to see and do. Of the three Animal
Crossing games on the market, the Wii version is the best of the series with its great visuals and voice enabled online play. For those
what are ready to do the same thing over again, “Animal Crossing: City Folk” keeps up the tradition of making minor tasks a lot of fun.
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