Animal Crossing: City Folk

"Same old song and dance, my friend."

~THE INTRODUCTION OF THE REVIEW OF THE GAME~

Animal Crossing. There have been few games that have such an essentially dull central concept that hook us in with the same relaxed charm as Animal Crossing, and most of those were Harvest Moon. The central formula, as most know, takes your character and deposits them in a nightmarish world of catchphrase-riddled talking animals, seemingly ruled by a despotic raccoon with a pet hate for carousing. You must work your way to freedom in the manner of Ancient Greek slaves, paying ever more ludicrous mortgages to Tom Nook, proprietor of the local shop and apparent real estate agent/construction firm/dark master of all he surveys. Along the way, you'll write obscene letters to the townsfolk, dig up what seems like the entire fossilised population of the eras Triassic to Cretaceous, lose all your money by buying turnips and force a local dog to play music for your own ghoulish amusement. You might even have some fun.

~THE PLAYING OF THE GAME: A REVIEW~

Let's Go To The City is very similar to its DS predecessor, Wild World. It keeps the 'rolling log' world, uses many of the same rules and gameplay mechanics, and all in all acts very like a port. If you're new to Animal Crossing, go and read reviews for the older games first. This is primarily a review of the improvements and changes made for this Wii edition. Now, this game is effectively a port with a couple of features tacked on. The first major one is the titular city, which acts as a dumping ground for all those pesky 'special visitors'. You can buy inordinately expensive furniture, partake in auctions, get haircuts and makeovers (including donning a mask of your Mii, which is a neat touch), visit underground shops, learn new facial expressions and... very little else. It's a nice feature, but it adds little to gameplay. The other 'new' feature, which is more a return, is the implementing of real holidays. Wild World eschewed such frivolities for fear of political incorrectness, but Christmas, Easter and other such pagan festivals make their comeback. Wii controls are of course in play, but they merely get in the way. I find it far better to control the game by buttons rather than irritating point-and-click. There's also the much-touted Wii-Speak system, which seems to work fine for communication during online play; quality is exemplary. All in all, it just feels like a slightly upgraded version of Wild World, which is by no means bad. It just would have been nice to see some more new stuff, or *gasp* A BIGGER INVENTORY, or at least a size-relevant one. This sofa does not take up as much room as this apple. Learn, Nintendo. Learn.

~THE ARTISTRY AND VISUAL STYLINGS OF THE GAME: A REVIEW~

Uh... Wild World rendered on the Wii. Pretty much. Few jaggies, smooth animation, nice-looking character models, and all that Animal Crossing charm. No issues at all here.

~THE MUSIC AND OTHER SONIC FACETS OF THE GAME: A REVIEW~

The town music is still the traditional 'do-doo, do-doo, do-doo' that drones on and on, pleasant and generally unnoticed. Nintendo know their music, and here is as good an example as any of nice, soothing, appropriate music. The custom town theme makes its return, utterly unchanged, and everyone's favourite... indie rock dog, K.K. Slider, is back, playing his bodacious music every Saturday night in the museum basement and giving out free CDs. I'd prefer K.K. Downing, but there you go. Townspeople also keep their little sound effects, whistling when happy and conjuring thunderclouds when you trick them into a pitfall, but I very much miss the loud piano chord that accompanied surprise in the original N64/GC game. However, in total, it all adds up to some nice sounds. No complaints, nothing serious needs addressing.


~THE LONGEVITY AND LIKELINESS OF THE GAME MAKING YOU LOSE YOUR JOB: A REVIEW~

High. High high high. This game is addictive in the extreme, having come up with the viciously clever idea of real-time events, basically shouting at you 'KEEP PLAYING OR YOU'LL MISS SOMETHING AWESOME', and, much like Brockian Ultra-Cricket, little happens to justify that. But there are fish to collect! Moustaches to buy! Fossils to unearth! Insects to catch! Furniture to fastidiously arrange! Fruits to grow! Raccoons to appease! The game has several activities that'll keep you coming back for more, terrified of missing your chance to catch that fish you can only get in the second half of August. Once again, those bastards at Nintendo have chained us to the game, and there's no point fighting to escape. Accept your fate.

~THE REVIEW: A REVIEW~

Own Animal Crossing: Wild World? Don't bother with this game. It doesn't offer enough new to justify a purchase, but, like its predecessors, it will not let you go once you start playing. Judged on its own merits it's an excellent game, but it feels like a lazy sequel that Nintendo just knocked out in a few wet afternoons after they'd finished playing Scrabble. if, however, this would be your first Animal Crossing or first since the original, by all means get it. You won't regret it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/08

Game Release: Animal Crossing: Let's Go to the City (EU, 12/05/08)