Animal Crossing for GameCube

Animal Crossing is one of Nintendo's latest games for the GameCube. I rented it recently, which gave me a chance to try it out. I really enjoyed playing it, but the first conclusion that I came to is not to rent it because it is addicting and it is not possible to discover everything about the game in less than a week. However, the short time I did get to play the game was very fun. Now I will tell you about the game!

In Animal Crossing, you get to pick your own name and then name your town. The beginning follows a set scenario- you are moving to a new town, but you didn't plan ahead by finding a place to live! However, there are no worries because you meet a friend on the train to the new town who sets you up with a new (and very humble) home when you arrive.

At first, you have to perform certain tasks in order to pay off your first home. However, after that you are pretty much on your own. You can collect artifacts for the museum, send and receive letters, help out your neighbors in exchange for gifts, add on to your house, and many other things. And all of it is in real time, so when it is a cold and snowy December outside in real life, it is pretty much the same in your Animal Crossing town! (However, if you set the game clock to a different time, you can "go to the future," which may or may not be a good thing.)

This game is very addicting to me. It is sort of like the computer game, "The Sims," except much slower pace. Also, unlike The Sims, in Animal Crossing you don't have to worry about bathing, eating, or sleeping. Your character is very low maintenance, which makes it easier and more fun to play if you are not good with timing and strategy games.

The graphics are so-so, they are much like those of older Nintendo-64 games. Also, with the camera angle set from diagonally overhead (and no way to change it), it can be hard to see some parts of town (you can't look behind buildings or trees- if you see the front, that is all you can see.)

This game requires a memory card to save it on, and it takes up pretty much the entire card, which can be annoying. When I rented it, it didn't have a memory card, so I had to do some shuffling with the cards I had in order to start a town. However, when you buy the game, it comes with a card so that you can start playing right away. And with the memory card, you can save up to four characters in your town so your family or friends can play too.

I think the most negative part about the game is that it is one player. Even though you can save multiple characters in a town, when you are playing with one character, you don't even see the other characters. Sure, you can send them letters and gifts, but it is just not the same as being able to see them. It would be lots more fun if more than one player could play at once, or at the very least have their characters wandering around the town while you play.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the game. There is always something new to discover. It is a long term game- you have to play for days or weeks to discover little details about the game, such as how to work the radio or when you can buy turnips). However, if you are willing to put in the time to learn all those things (and it will take playing for a few minutes- not hours- every day to learn new things), then I highly recommend it. It is a very fun game that is fun for all ages to play and a good family game.