I read a lot of reviews about Animal Crossing before I bought it, and none of them really said anything about what the actual game is like, as it's quite complex to explain every little detail, so I've decided to write a review and tell you simply what playing the game actually consists of.
1. Collecting bugs/fish/fossils/fruit - Although this sounds complex, it's quite basic; you see a bug, you press a button, catch it, and see what it is, for instance. The interest comes from seeing that you've caught a rare or new type of bug/fish/fossil. You can 'collect' these in a museum, or sell them for cash.
2. Interacting with other characters - You can have random conversations with the characters in your town, which sometimes hold nice surprises, such as a gift. You can write letters too, although these too are only really funny as they're so weird eg: "Dear --- You might think this letter is boring, but did you ever think you're the one who's boring? From an interesting person". Once I spoke to a character who gave me a quiz and told me what my personality was like afterwards, it's nothing life-changing, but there are quite a few cute little surprises.
3. Customisation - There are lot's of items to collect for your home and your character, although there are two things that really dissapointed me about this. Firstly, the most interaction you'll get out of these items are that you can lie on a bed, or sit on a chair, they don't change gameplay in any way, and are purely aesthetic. Also, the items you collect are for your home, which is the place in the game you'll spend the least amount of time, so you won't even be able to apreciate them for the most part. Similarly with clothes, a brilliant design will hardly be noticed when it's on such a small character.
4. Events and time - This for me is the most enjoyable part of the game. Turning your ds on on and being reminded of some event that's going on, or seeing a new visitor to the town is great. The whole atmosphere of being involved in a game that changes and grows over time is what makes Animal Crossing so appealing.
Animal Crossing is a game made up of cute little features and nice touches, but not much else. It's fun in a lazy kind of way, but I often find myself running out of things to do, and unless you happen to know many other people with the game, who are online the same time as you, the wi-fi is pretty worthless. It's definitly worth trying, but don't think that because of all the hype it's a deep or large game, it remains casual throughout. |
