Animal Crossing City Folk Review

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Genre: Simulation

Published By: Nintendo

Developed By: Nintendo EAD

ESRB Rating: E

Overview: Animal Crossing City Folk is the third installment in the Animal Crossing Series. Like the previous games, the game takes place in a town which the player gets to name. Each town looks slightly different then other ones. The player then answers several other questions, which determine what their character will look like. This all happens on a school bus headed to the town. After you get there, you head to the Town Hall to get a map of the town, which helps you locate one of the few houses in the town. Once you find the house for you, a raccoon like animal name Tom Nook will appear and tell you how much how the house cost. He will then say that he will hire you part time to help you learn about living in this town. This "tutorial" has been used in all of the Animal Crossing games. After you finally finish the part time job, you are released to do basically anything you want in the game. There is no real main object, but several small things that you can try to accomplish, such as catching all the fish and bugs in a town. The main thing that makes this game different from the previous games was the addition to a city. In the city, there are unique shops and characters that only appear there. You can take the school bus there anytime. Also, like the games before it, the games' clock is based on real life time (or the time set on your wii system), and has the four seasons that last for about 3 months each. This helps because some insects and fish can only be captured in different times of the day and different seasons. What happens in the game is completely up to you as the player.

Single or Multiplayer: The game can be played with just a single player. Up to four players can live in one Animal Crossing Town, but those four players are unable to see each other at any time. However, if you register somebody's Animal Crossing friend code, you can visit their town (or vice versa) when both you and your friend is on using Nintendo WFC. The game originally came bundled with the Wii Speak accessory, which is used specifically through Nintendo WFC. This is used to talk to the player as if they were in the same room as you.

Difficulty: Animal Crossing City Folk, like the other Animal Crossing games, are fairly easy to play. Since there is no main objection in the game, you can choose any path you want to, some being easier then others. The thing you mostly need is the ability to read. Other then that, you do not need any other skill to play this game.

Age: The game is rated E for Everyone having only comic mischief. The game can be played by young children and as long as they have a basic reading level, they can 'master' this game like everyone else.

Game Length: The game has no real ending. The game continues for several years, whether you are playing it or not. Due to this, there is no way to actually beat the game. The game is complete when you say. So you can choose whether the game is going to be long or short.

Replay: Animal Crossing City Folk is not really the type of game that you replay. Since there is no way to complete the game, it is not necessary to start a new game. You do have the option however.

Effects/Graphics: The graphics are very childlike. The player looks nothing realistic to a normal human being, and the neighbors are all talking animals looking nothing like a real animal as well. The effects, like the graphics, are also non realistic, but the ability to decide what your character says or acts does make the game feel more lifelike.

Stars 1 through 5: *** = 3 stars

Final Thoughts: Animal Crossing City Folk is a good game for those who have never played any Animal Crossing game before. It is different from other games, focusing more on life situations then fiction themes. However, for people who have played any other Animal Crossing, the game seems like a repeat of the previous games, just adding some new details here and there. Also, if you are the type of person who likes games more fictional, then this game is not for you. Even if you are a fan of Animal Crossing, the game could get boring at times due to the same elements playing in each game of the series. But if you are ready to repeat the Animal Crossing life, then by all means go and grab this game for it is a little more advanced then the average Animal Crossing world, but not so much different then then the others.