Take me to a happy place! (Animal Crossing - Wild World (DS))

Member Name: GuruOnAMountain

Product:	Animal Crossing - Wild World (DS)
Date:	21/05/07 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheery, feel good game that is initially quite addictive.

Disadvantages: Limited playability for teenagers and adults.

Animal Crossing was one of the first games I bought when I invested in a Nintendo DS and was almost instantly the most addictive. Its a remoulding of the Animal Crossing game for Gamecube (although I've never played that game) and if you're familiar with The Sims then you can expect something similar from Animal Crossing.

When you switch on your game for the first time, you'll be asked a series of questions in order to create a character. Up to four separate characters can be created and saved in this game which adds to the fun (getting family members involved can add an edge of competition to the game), but all created characters will share the same house.

Initially Tom Nook will give you some tasks to do that will help you get orientated with the town and once these are completed the main game begins. The main aim in the game is to pay off your mortgage and of course, to do this you'll need to earn money. Money can be earned by collecting fruit, fishing, catching bugs or selling fossil and artefacts that you dig up or by selling items of clothing and furniture that you might acquire. Once your mortgage is paid off you'll be given a bigger house and bigger mortgage.

You can also plant collected fruit to make fruit trees grow, donate fossils, fish, bugs and paintings to the museum and interact with and send mail to other townsfolk.

There is an incredible level of detail in the game. The game changes with the seasons and so you can catch different fish depending on the time of year and the same applies to bugs. If you send gifts to neighbours, they'll return gifts to you and there are a huge amount of items you can collect to decorate your house with or to dress yourself in. You can even design your own clothes patterns or town flag or take a wander round the museum to see all the creatures and items you've donated.

Due to the design of the Nintendo DS you can navigate around the town with the stylus on the touch-screen which could make it more easily playable for those who are unused to using games consoles or for young children.

The game is both fun and cute and initially is very addictive, but it does wear thin after time. It can become repetitive as the main tasks in it are fishing and bug catching. The fact that the fish and bugs change with the seasons makes it slightly more interesting, but it is not enough to make the game have lasting playability. Your house will grow and Tom Nook's shop will expand over time and depending on the season, the weather might change, but other than that everything is predictably similar everytime you turn the game on. You can also connect with other gamers over Wi-Fi, but I've not done this myself and I can't imagine it would bring a great deal more to the game.

The game is aimed for ages 3+ although I think younger children would struggle with much of it. There is a nack to fishing and bug catching that young kids would find difficult to master and there is a fair amount of reading and writing in the game that would be beyond a small child. However, for an older child the game could be both fun and educational. It could help children learn about the value of money and could help them with reading and writing.

However for teenager and adults it might not have a great deal to offer. My 25 year old sister has been addicted to it ever since she first put stylus to touch-screen, but the novelty has worn off for me and I only go back to it now and again. It is undoubtedly fun and strangely relaxing to play, however, and would make a worthy addition to every Nintendo DS owner's collection. I would argue that unless you're buying it for a kid, it probably isn't worth the RRP of £29.99, but if you see it second hand or reduced, it is certainly worth snapping up.

Summary: Live, make friends and earn money in a cheery town.