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| Thoughts on Animal Crossing City Folk |
The newest edition to the Animal Crossing series, Animal Crossing City Folk, is unique, interesting, and entertaining. That is something that a lot of games aim for, but fail at. Nintendo and Katsuya Eguchi (aka the creator of Animal Crossing), have hit that target with flying colors. I got the game last November, and have been playing since then. This game does have some cons, however. Even though it is fun to play, there are some awkward moments of, "Now what?"
The Pros:
When you first get into the world of Animal Crossing City Folk, life seems harder than it becomes as you earn more money and pay off your loan. It has something that is very different from other virtual life games; It chooses your "job" for you, and you only have to do this "job" for a little while. I like this difference quite a lot. That way, you not nailed down to having a "job" for a long time, though working for money doesn't stop after that, unless you put the game down all together. After completing the simple jobs a raccoon named Tom Nook requests of you, you are free to live your little happy life as a silent human with talking animals. Ironic, isn't it? Anyway, another feature of this game that makes me very happy, is the way the time system is set up. In the Sims series, days go by in a matter of minutes, and there is no recognition of holidays or events of hardly any kind, whereas in Animal Crossing City Folk, time goes at normal pace, and you are able to time travel. Plus, there are variations on holidays and events that keep you busy. Also, playing with your friends over Nintendo Wi-Fi is most definitely a plus. Not only that, but you can play as if you are in the same room with them, thanks to Wii Speak technology. Not sure if you can go to the city with a friend yet, though.
Now, if your reading this, and you have never played Animal Crossing City Folk, then you are probably wondering, what is this "city" in which you speak of? This city I speak of, is another fabulous feature in the game. I'm going to break the city off into pieces, so you, the reader, can understand it a little better.
Redd's Secret Shop:
Ah, yes. Good 'ol Crazy Redd. In this edition of Animal Crossing, he makes you find someone in your town who is a member, have them send out for an invite to his shop, and then, you have to bring it to him; in the previous two games he would send you a letter letting you know he was in town, and then set up a tent at town hall. Thing is, I'm pretty sure he's a felon, so why he would set up in front of town hall is beyond me. Obviously, Nintendo didn't really think that one through, until now, anyway.
Pros: He sells you items that may be hard to find anywhere else.
Cons: He isn't open a lot, and he sells phony paintings.
The Marque:
This place is fun, depending on how often you'll use what they're selling. They make you pay 800 bells to see a bad comedian, where you are the only one in the theater. When you go to the ticket booth, the shows are names of emotions, and these emotions will be handed off to you, so you can use them while talking to a friend when they visit you (or vice versa).
Pros: You can express cute little dances or funny faces.
Cons: You have to pay 800 bells to get ONE of these and you can only hold up to four at a time.
The Happy Room Academy:
In the original Animal Crossing, people from nowhere would invade your home and rate it based on color coordination, cleanliness, and how closely your furniture matched, and they called themselves the Happy Room Academy. That hasn't changed much. However, Lyle, the annoyingly loud and obnoxious sea otter who sold insurance in Animal Crossing Wild World, returns here to be a business man in the city. Now, instead of just sending you letters every now and again, but you can go to their HQ in the city, and look at the room of who has won "Model Room" of the month.
Pros: These people have impeccable taste in furniture.
Cons: It isn't hugely important to your life in the game.
GracieGrace:
I remember playing the Gamecube version of Animal Crossing and waking up to find a stylish giraffe parked outside town hall. Her name, was Grace, the world renowned fashion designer. In this game, she has opened her own clothing and furniture store. Some of the clothing and furniture is actually rather nice, but others are tacky and weird, from my point of view anyway.
Pros: A lot of the furniture is very nice, and same goes for the clothing.
Cons: Everything is VERY expensive, and some isn't even worth paying the prices that they give you. Plus, some of the items aren't that great anyway.
The Auction House:
I'm gonna make this short and sweet. A gyroid runs this shop in the city, you know, that little wooden guy who looks like he is screaming? Well, anyway, he is the owner of The Auction House: A place where you can put items up for bid for your friends to buy.
Pros: You can find things only your friends would be willing to sell.
Cons: If you don't use Wi-Fi a lot, or don't have many friends, this feature is absolutely worthless.
Kicks, The Shoe Shinin' Skunk:
Kicks sits on the stairs of a closed up building and shines shoes. Really, this is as close as you'll get to shoe shopping in this game. He can match the color of what your wearing, or by the look your going for, but whatever you choose, you usually end up in different colored shoes.
Pros: It's kinda like shoe shopping.
Cons: It's fricking 500 bells.
Shampoodle:
In Animal Crossing Wild World, when you got the biggest upgrade on the store, Tom Nook stuck a hair salon in, just for good measure. Then a dog named Harriet would do your hair. You could expect some ugly or weird style though because you have to answer questions in order to even get your hair done. Even though this hasn't changed to much, minus the fact she has her own shop in the city, you can also get a Mii Makeover, where she rearranges your face to match that of a Mii that you've made.
Pros: You can get some cool hairstyles and changing you face to match your mii is cool too.
Cons: It is 3000 bells to have these things done, and sometimes they don't turn out the way you hope.
Katrina, The Fortune Teller:
A cat named Katrina has a place in the city, where you can go have your fortune told. It's kinda creepy, when you first walk in, and she is kinda creepy looking. It costs you 100 bells, not to much, to hear her screech and yell to the "spirit's" in her crystal ball. The whole thing is sort of a sham.
Pros: It's fun every now and again.
Cons: You have to pay her for a bucket to drop on your head, and for her to close you off with "Bad times are just times that are bad."
Overall, I like the city a lot and think it is a good feature in the game, though there are some places it could be improved. This does add some flair to the game, and it makes it more entertaining to play.
The Cons:
Sorry, but you knew it was coming. This game takes a lot of comparing and contrasting, considering how much there can be going on. One of this game's biggest downfalls is the museum. I believe the coffee shop is for good use, but why would you want to donate when you could earn cash for these things? No one is going to look at them but you. I'm only human people. I'm not super giving, I'll admit. But not many people use the actual museum and it just seems like something isn't very useful. Also, (SPOILER ALERT!!!!!) Tom Nook makes you pay copious amounts of cash every time you have your house redone. At the end of this charade, you finally finish paying off your loan that took a ton of work, and virtual blood, sweat, and tears, and guess what Tom Nook gives you? A fricking flag. Really, Nook? Really? A FLAG? That is most definitely an anti-climactic ending, even the game doesn't ever really end, per say. This was an outrage for me personally, but that's just my opinion. One more thing: the thing about Animal Crossing City Folk or really any of the Animal Crossing games, is that after you accomplish something big, you don't know where to turn. I find myself not playing for large amounts of time before I want to dive back into it again. As much as I love the game, it's rather strange.
All in all, this game is good fun, and it is playable for any gamer of any age.If you want a new game, but don't know what to get, this is a game I would recommend. Even though it has it's flaws, what game doesn't?
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Posted by Peachfreak on 2009-10-13 22:23:29 | Rating: | Views: 11
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