"Be careful -- it's a Wild World out there!"

Is life getting you down? Feeling a little blue? Maybe you wish you could be whisked off to some happy, whimsical place where nothing ever goes wrong? Well, I have good news for you: now you can! In Animal Crossing: Wild World, the Nintendo DS follow-up to the incredibly popular GCN game Animal Crossing, you play as a human resident in a small town full of animals. Sound fun? You bet!

The story begins in the most unusual of places: In the back of a taxi cab driven by some sort of animal that looks like just got out of jail, on a dark, rainy night. Here, you're given the opportunity to enter some information about yourself and your town, as well as answer some random questions, which determine the location of your home and, nonsensically, your hair-do. Honestly, while it may not seem like it at the time, this cab ride sets the mood for the entire game to come. The crazy, out-there sort of interaction that you sustain with this would-be frog is indicative of what the entire game has to offer.

After this harrowing cab ride, your life really begins. What makes Animal Crossing such a true joy to play is that it is entirely player-motivated. Play as much (or as little) as you want, and do whatever you durn well please. Want to try your hand with the rod and reel? Go for it. Into treasure hunting? Fossils and other buried items are placed abundantly around your town. Or perhaps interior decorating is your thing? The shop found in your town carries a huge, ever-changing variety of furniture and accessories to make your house really your house. Other activities in Animal Crossing include gardening, shooting down random stuff in the sky, catching bugs, planting trees, participating in contests, and, of course, making some moo-lah!

As much as we may disapprove (or not), you gotta have money! And fortunately, in Animal Crossing there are numerous ways to do so. Picking fruit from trees yields profits, especially if you can import some foreign fruit from a friend‘s village. Beyond fruit, though, you can make money by selling just about anything. Yes, anything. Bugs, fish, fossils, clothes, furniture, and flowers are all money-making items. And to really have fun in Animal Crossing, you're probably going to want to make as much money as you possibly can. The house that you receive is easily paid off, but you can continue to expand it, adding more floor space and eventually ending up with a veritable mansion. Of course, to get there, you're going to need to make a LOT of cash.

Another motivator to earn some money is the fact that there are absolutely tons of different types of furniture to buy. Part of the fun of this game lies in customizing your home and equipping it with whatever you see fit -- be it with classy, distinguished furniture in the Classic set or with random Nintendo relics, such as the Master Sword or Triforce. Furniture is arranged in sets; the more pieces in a set you have, the more organized-looking your house is and the more the Happy Room Academy, a house-rating organization, will appreciate your room. In addition to furniture, there are tons of different clothes and accessories for you to use yourself -- why leave all the fun to your house? Whether you want to dress up like a king, an explorer, or Mario himself, Animal Crossing: Wild World has got you covered.

Along with purchasing clothing and accessories, you have the ability to create your own designs. If you want to do something as simple as “[Your name here] rocks!”, then that's perfectly acceptable. And the more artistically inclined of us will surely have fun creating intricate, complex designs. But what's the point? Well, once you've created a design, it'll go on display at the clothing shop, for everybody to see. Who knows, your newest style may become the next new rage in your village! Additionally, you can use a design for a variety of purposes, ranging from creating a shirt, an umbrella, or hat, all the way to becoming your town flag.

Once you get past your greed, the main focus of play in Animal Crossing is character interaction. There are a maximum of eight animal occupants in your town, and where the true fun lies is in making friends with them. Have a junky old chair that you don't want any more? Rather than selling it, why not give it to a friend as a present? Not only will your neighbors reciprocate your gifts and letters, but they'll also grow more fond of you. Eventually, if you become very close to your friends, they'll impart to you a picture of themselves.

While it may seem pathetic to get a sense of satisfaction from becoming close friends with a computer-programmed animal with a high polygon count, it's actually pretty rewarding when you finally capture some grumpy, elusive friend's picture. Each character has a fairly distinct personality (although everybody is grouped in categories such as Preppy, Grumpy, or Lazy), and it's a lot of fun just talking with them and seeing what's going to make you laugh next.

What makes Animal Crossing a true necessity in any DS-owner's collection is that it has tremendous replay value. Admittedly, the activities mentioned in this review may not seem to make up the most gripping of games. However, Animal Crossing more than makes up for that with the fact that it truly never ends. You can play, in theory, forever, constantly making progress. You can use your hard-earned cash to upgrade your house, then busy yourself filling up your enlarged living quarters with top-of-the-line furniture. Residents will be constantly leaving and moving your town, so as soon as that little mouse starts to get on your nerves, perhaps he'll leave, replaced by a new (and more manageable) animal.

Graphically, Animal Crossing does not fail to impress. The GameCube precursor was noted for it's surreal, animated-looking graphics, and Wild World continues with that art style. Amazingly, this game looks nearly as good as the GameCube one; environments are lifelike (or rather, as lifelike as they were meant to be), town members look great, everything is crisp, colorful, and vibrant. Animal Crossing easily stands out with such titles and Final Fantasy III and Metroid Prime Hunters as among the best-looking games on the DS.

There's also a hearty multiplayer offering, including well-executed online play thanks to the Nintendo WiFi Connection. Locally, you can visit the town of anybody who has a DS and their own copy of Wild World. Trade furniture, leave designs, play tag, or have a fishing competition. It's a lot of laid-back fun, and the game definitely benefits from the inclusion -- after all, it is a game largely about human interaction. The online aspect is essentially the same, allowing you to visit the town of friends that you've exchanged Friend Codes with. A word to the wise, however: don't go handing out your Friend Code to every Joe Schmoe you come across, because a lot of people out there are hackers who will lay incorrigible waste to your town.

Admittedly, Animal Crossing is not a perfect game. Easily its most noticeable problem is that it's hard to play for any huge length of time. Because events in the game occur in real time, there's really only so much you can do in a day. Also, many townspeople go off to bed and shops close once night falls, so for people like me who play the majority of my games after hours, it's sort of annoying. Still, it's great for playing in short, periodic spurts, but if you're looking for a heavy-duty game, you may be disappointed by Animal Crossing.

Overall, though, Animal Crossing really is an awesome gaming experience. It may not be perfect for that ten-hour car-ride you have coming up, but what is so great is that you can get an awesome feeling of satisfaction just playing for twenty minutes a day. It ensures that you'll never ever sell your DS, and that you'll always have something to do, even during those long, boring summer days when all your friends are on vacation. So pick up a copy of Animal Crossing, keep your DS near-to-hand, and then kick back and enjoy life. You'll be glad you did.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/08

Game Release: Animal Crossing: Wild World (US, 12/05/05)