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Animal Crossing: City Folk
January 29, 2009
Paying off debts can be a stressful experience, especially nowadays with the worldwide economic problems. Animal Crossing: City Folk has come to make it fun once again as you take the role of a lovable creature who works to pay off your money lender in order to improve your own personal surroundings.
Almost five years ago Animal Crossing first appeared in front of us on the Nintendo Gamecube and at the time was considered a bit inadequate, and it did not really seem to fit in within the hordes of popular video games around at the time. However it did establish a new niche for itself because of the unique concept the games antics are based upon - which ultimately was to pay off your debts, then improve your property, lifestyle and relationships.
In some ways it could be considered a cartoon styled clone of the best selling games series of all time, The Sims, but the comparison is rarely made because of the way you go about your goals in the Animal Crossing world, and because of the focus being on paying off your debts first before building on what you already have.
Animal Crossing: City Folk you are given the opportunity to begin a new life in Animal Crossing, but there is no wide range of new features to City Folk that were not present in previous titles, and instead Animal Crossing: City Folk is pretty much a brushed up version of the older games in the series, given a bit of new life then thrown onto the Wii for your enjoyment all over again - and despite the lack of new features this time around, enjoy it all over again you will!
You start your life in Animal Crossing with a tiny little place that you call your home and you will have debts owed to Tom Nook. Your ultimate goal is to become debt free, and off the hook from Nook, but whenever you have cash in your hand to pay part of your debts off with, Tom Nook insists that your home is modified even more, making it bigger and better as you progress through the game whilst remaining indebted to him. Tom Nook also owns the local store and whatever you take in to him, he will buy for a relatively fair price.
From the very beginning you have money making skills at your disposal, though they all involve performing simple tasks which can become repetitive if you play for hours on end. Gathering fruit, collecting sea shells or even mushrooms are three of many ways that you can earn cash early on, as Tom Nook will always buy these from you. Though you will find yourself going back and forth time and time again, as you are not able to hold a huge amount of items at a time - which again can become repetitive (obviously) but it is essential to your success in the early stages of the game, and it does somehow remain fun for quite a while.
Before long you will be able to purchase items from Nook’s store which will open up new money making opportunities to you - such as the ability to catch fish by buying a rod, or butterflies by buying a net - though rods, nets and other items like shovels will take up some of that precious inventory space of yours. You can of course leave some items at home, but be warned, Animal Crossing: City Folk has a nasty habbit of throwing valuable items at you when you have left the things you need to catch it at home!
You are able to give yourself a break from your hard work whenever you see fit, as there are other activities for you to get involved with such as collecting items for the town’s museum. The museum has insect, fish, fossil and art exhibits and they are very grateful when you stroll in with something they can use and show off to the town’s residents - though getting hold of such things is not always easy, and some in particular will only be found at certain times of the year as they are seasonal.
You can also take a work-free wander around the town of Animal Crossing, either to take in the beautifully created environments around you or to mingle with some of your neighbours, who more often than not are some kind of unique furry creature. Your neighbours are randomly generated when you begin the game ensuring your experience of Animal Crossing: City Folk is unique to you, which is a nice touch and something that is rarely seen in video games these days. All of the characters you come across in the town of Animal Crossing will have much to say for themselves, and it’s usually very entertaining to listen as the dialogue is brilliantly written throughout, to the point of being funny almost every time you bump into someone new - but be warned, some neighbours will ask for favors which is the last thing you need when you just popped out for a peaceful walk around town.
What makes Animal Crossing: City Folk different from it’s predecessors is the online functionality. You are able to take your character online to interact with those created by your real life friends, or of course random friends you have come across online in other games in the past. You can visit their towns, and when doing so will find items not seen in your own, which you can take back to your single player game later on to plant and harvest - and these items often fetch good cash in the local store from Tom Nook. You can even chat to your friends if you both have the Wii Speak microphone, if you have it that is and that is the one feature which makes this game worth buying more than any other.
The colors are vibrant, the gameplay is addictive, the characters are lovable and the whole experience is enjoyable and funny from start to finish - but sharing the experience online with your friends may seem pointless but is a wonderful twist on a game of this type which has not really been seen in any other so far. Yes other games let you chat to your friends via headsets, but Animal Crossing: City Folk gives you a personality on screen whilst you do it - such a simple thing, but so much fun.
If you have not played Animal Crossing in the past, this is a great time to get started with the series as Animal Crossing: City Folk offers everything which made the original title a hit with simulation players, in a more colorful environment, with more creatures and fun to come across than ever before. Certainly worth picking up if you are a simulation fan, or enjoy interacting with friends online.
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