| Handheld Game Reviews |
| Game Review: DS's 'Animal Crossing Wild World' a WIld Ride |
| by Sean Rhodes |
Animal Crossing on the Gamecube was a fun game. The setback was not being able to carry it with you. Well, with Wild World is on your DS, and it's safe to say that Animal Crossing was a game fit to be on a handheld console right from the get go.
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On the Gamecube, Animal Crossing was a hit. It was addictive, different, and a game that anyone could get into. Despite how grand it was on the Gamecube, you just couldn't help but admit the console was not a place for a game like Animal Crossing. Well, Nintendo obviously knew it because they released it on the DS. This isn't a port. It's more of a revamp of what Animal Crossing really is. And with it being taken on the go, it's just all out better that way.
You begin the game as a human talking with Kapp'n. He'll ask you a series of questions and depending on how you answer them determines what you'll look like. When the game starts, you've just moved to this new little town. Kapp'n has helped you find a place of your own, and now you have to do what you can to repay him. You'll be given several job tasks that you can do for this, and they'll all earn you lots of money in the long run.
The task you can do are simple little tasks. You're able to catch fish, run errands for townfolk and dig up fossils. No different than what you did in the Gamecube version. In these task there aren't very many changes. The only noteable change is how much easier it is to identify fossils. Other than that, the only other difference is the abundance of these items.
The new tasks in Wild World aren't much. You now you can maintain a garden and shoot floating presents out of the sky with a slingshot. They're not very satisfying, and just don't make you feel like you're getting much of anything done like the other task do.
Of course, no one plays Animal Crossing just to do those mundane tasks for nothing. Aside from paying back your debt to Kapp'n and other debts that'll come along, you can go to the shop and buy items to pimp out your house! This is, believe it or not, the most exciting feature in Animal Crossing. It's fun to show your friends what your house is sporting. It gives you bragging rights, and the items sold in the shops change daily, meaning you'll check in constantly.
There's more to its complexity. The game uses the DS's internal clock to move about in real time. And yes, it does recognize holidays, and therefore a theme comes from them. Every Saturday there is also a flea market where you can pick up lots of goodies for your house. Again, this is what makes Animal Crossing work.
One disappointment I did have with the game... no NES goodness. one of the most enjoyable parts of the original on Gamecube was buying an NES and playing classic games right on the spot. You can't do that here and that's pretty sad.
Like any simulator type of game, Animal Crossing has an array of characters to talk with. It's nice to see that when you talk to other characters they don't say the same old mundane and boring things over and over. They always have something else to say, and at times it's funny. And just like real life, people will move in and out of town constantly. This adds a lot to the game's value as far as being a different experience each and every time. The game, for the most part, never gets old.
(review continues on next page below) |
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