5
« on: February 28, 2009, 05:16:11 PM »
This is my video game review of Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii. My review for this game is bittersweet, so don't hate me for trashing it through most of the review. Also, this review contains ***SPOILARS***. You, my friend, have been warned. Let's start.
Starting fresh:
Ok, so when you start off on a new game, you're going to chat-it-up with Rover for about 15 minutes or so...woo. Depending on how you answer Rover will effect how you'll look for the rest of your digital life (I talked to him like trash and came out looking pretty good). Anyway, after you arrive in town, pick the house you want and talk to the so-called big cheese himself, Tom Nook. Oh yeah, and whether you like it or not, you're gonna work for him by planting flowers, trees, meeting the neighbors, the mayor, mailing letters (just one, relax), delivering stuff, posting an advertisement to the message board and then, guess what? You're done! ...Deja vu, I tell you. You do all of that hard work (which eats up about 45 minutes of your precious time) just to get a measly little bit of cash. So, now that you're free from Nook's clutches, now what? Well, you still have to pay off your house *coughFRUIT-TREEScough!* So you'll have to come up with the cash some other way. Good Luck.
DS suitcase:
The only difference between this and starting fresh is that you'll have your old AC:WW item catalog, character's face and name. That's all. The bells, your mansion and drawn patterns will NOT be transfered to AC:CF. Bummer.
The layout and graphics:
Of the entire game? ...Meh. Same old same old, really. If you skipped playing AC:WW then good for you, cause the Wii version LOOKS JUST LIKE IT! Just a bigger town/village and an added on little bubble called the "city". Buuut, there are some new things to this game besides the "city" that you'll probably enjoy. The layout is simple. The entire town/village is no longer on one ground level like in AC:WW. One thing that bothered me about this game was the fact that when you run across the grass, it fades away leaving your town looking pretty ugly. But, there's a small remedy to this: plant lots of flowers. Also, a small invisible patch a grass grows back after 6am. A very ridiculous thing to add to a video game. But it did get a small graphical upgrade that makes it look and run smoother than AC:WW.
Upgrades:
Unfortunately, like the GCN version, you can only upgrade your house 4 times (first expansion, second expansion, adding second floor and adding a basement [and this time you can change the basement's carpet and wallpaper]) unlike the DS version were you can upgrade 6 times (First expansion, second expansion, adding the second floor, adding the north, west and eastern rooms) which a huge let-down and also means that you can only customize 3 rooms instead of 5. And now you can upgrade your town by donating money to the Town Hall. With enough money donated, you can add a wishing well, a windmill, a light house and an additional bridge.This is pretty cool and gives your town more personality. Tom Nook's store has the same upgrade pattern like the GCN version (unlike the DS version where your friend has to buy an item in order for you to get Nookingtons).
In-game camera:
The camera sucks, as usual, but this time you can actually look up at the sky. Don't expect to see a SM64-like camera mode anytime soon because it will probably never happen.
Taking pictures:
Hmm, not bad. But not that good, either. There's no zoom-in or zoom-out feature. I was hoping for a picture-taking camera like the one from LoZ:WW, but nooo.
The neighbors:
They're not as redundant as they were in previous installments, but they're still pretty annoying. Some will even try to con you out of half (or all) of your money if you're not careful. They do spout some words of wisdom every now and then, which is nice. If you're really nice to your animal-neighbors, one might even invite you to their house. And one might even ask if he or she can come over to your place (to evaluate your house and give it a 1 to 5 star rating). There are a lot of unexpected surprises in this game. One of my animal-neighbors asked me if I wanted to play hide and seek. I choose "yes" and found all three of my neighbors in less than 10 minutes. it was pretty fun. After the game ended they gave me a gift, a gyroid. I have to say, it was something I didn't expect in AC:CF at all.
About Kapp'n:
I always find it interesting to read what Kapp'n has to say as I venture to and from the city. They really gave him some amusing, real-life stuff to mutter about. So read it every now and then. It's pretty funny.
The so-called city:
Well, folks, this is our new city. Pretty neat, huh? Uhh -- no. Looks more like a lobby. As a matter of fact, it looks like it's cut off FROM the real city. This is NOT a city. A city has cars, restaurants, more buildings, an underground sewer (where you'll find Mr.Resetti), a bank, a police station, a mall, a city park and much, much more. Not a ghost town with some pathetically-useless shops and a haircut parlor that is also rendered useless after you find a decent haircut or hairstyle. Another problem is that only YOU can visit the "city". What's the point in adding a city if you can't go there with friends and family? Geez. Anyway, I consider this "city' a work in progress just like the AC series.
New and returning cast:
I'm not going to go over the entire list of the new and old characters, but I will name only a few. K.K. Slider is back and he has some new music, along with some old, familiar tunes like Go K.K. Rider and the Rockin' K.K. song. Brewster is back and now acts as a talking storage bin, keeping the gyroids you dig up just in case you don't have room for them at home. Pave is a newcomer to the AC series. He is a dancer who loves candy. He appears on Festivale, which is pretty much a "get-rich-FAST-day" for some players. Another newcomer is Harriet, a hair-stylist. Jingle, the gullible reindeer is back and this time, the "naughty/nice" feature is gone. So go ahead, shake some trees, get stung by bees and rummage through your neighbors stuff. Gulliver is back. I spotted the UFO but failed to shoot it down. And Wisp will be making his ghostly return as well. It's a pretty big cast of new and old characters. So there's a lot of stuff to look forward to.
Replay value:
This game constantly has you coming back for more since every day holds something new, different and exciting. The game really shines if you have friends or family members to play with. If you're playing it alone...you may still enjoy it...maybe. There's a lot to keep you busy in this game like finding and selling foreign fruit, completing the museum, obtaining your favorite music from K.K. Slider, fishing, bug hunting, adding new stuff to your town, upgrading your house and visiting Tom Nook's shop.
Wii-Speak feature:
The Wii-Speak feature will also keep you playing because it kind of acts as a virtual telephone. If you don't like talking, you can turn this feature off and use the "cellphone style" (not an actual cellphone) and type in words by using the Wii Remote. There are also some pre-installed words to choose from. And if you don't like using the Wii Remote, you can install a wireless USB keyboard.
Final words:
The game has improved, believe it or not. Just not enough to shell out $50 (like I did) to buy it. It's also a real time-eater too, so make sure that you don't overdo it. They could have added A LOT more to this game, but I guess they were being careful and decided not to. Maybe they're holding back until the next installment? Who knows. I am not satisfied with this game and will be trading it in soon. *Sigh*, Nintendo, you could have done a much better job than this...
I give this game a 3 out of 10.
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