-NOW REVIEWING-
-INTRODUCTION-
It's hard to just sit down and analyze the game Animal Crossing: Wild World. Therefore, I have taken a little different approach with this review than I have with any other review that I have ever written. Instead of breaking down this quirky game piece by piece, I'm going to take you through a review that I refer to as:
Animal Crossing: A Day In The Life
-GAMEPLAY-
I had just woke up out of my bed to start a new day. I stepped out of my house to start a new day. I had not gotten a few feet from the front door of my house before I noticed the new roof color that I had had the local shopkeeper, Tom Nook, paint. It was a fine shade of blue, though I could not help but think he had overcharged me.
As I stepped out a few more steps, I noticed that I had new mail. I checked it. New message from Nintendo! I had just gotten a free present for playing online yesterday. The present? A military hat, that reminds me of Advance Wars. What was that other message? A note from Pinky, telling me she had moved to my sister's town. Oh well, it will be good to bring someone else into my town. For too long, I had had the same roster of characters.
I checked my town's message board. Bug catching event? Sweet! I enter in the contest, and win. Soon after, I drop by the town hall and make a payment on my house after I caught and sold some fish. The season had just changed, so all new fish and insects were out in full force. Tom Nook had some nice furniture today, and I purchased it for my house. I also had a sale at my house, and many of the animals came and bought some items. It was a nice cash pickup.
This is an average day in Animal Crossing. Some days are more exciting, and some are less. Overall, the gameplay is a great experience, and is the center of this game.
Rating: 9/10
-GRAPHICS-
One of the best 3D efforts on the Nintendo DS. Everything is very sharp. The game is especially awe inspiring when played on the Nintendo DS revision, the Nintendo DS Lite.
As I said earlier, a big part of the Animal Crossing series revolves around the changing of the seasons. Therefore, it is only fitting that the graphics would take this into account, as well. The leaves change colors. The different fish of different times of the year are different sizes. The grass will even change in tint. All in all, I think that the most important part of a game's graphics is that they are fitting of the game.
Animal Crossing hits right on target.
Rating: 9/10
-SOUND-
The sound is sickeningly cute in most cases. I actually found myself enjoying it. As your town's bell rings (to the tune that you have set it to be. This game is so customizable) on the hour, you'll find that with a new hour comes a new background sound. I can still hum the music in the back of my head, despite not having played this game for awhile. Catchy? Yes. However, I think most gamers will suffer from a bad case of “I'm too cool for this game because of the cutesy music” syndrome. Overall, the key to enjoying this game is to appreciate and dive right into the experience.
The sound effects are great. I still know the sounds played when you catch a fish, open a door, or shoot a slingshot. It's just good sound, that's all there is to it.
Rating: 8/10
-REPLAY VALUE-
If there's one DS game you're going to buy for pure replayability, look no further.
First of all, it's the game with literally no end. You play. And you play. And you play. And guess what? You still don't win or finish it. I know people that this drives mad, but I enjoy not having pressure just to finish a game. It's a great game to pick up any day of the week, if for no more than 30 minutes.
What are the goals, then? Pay off your house is the only one that comes to mind. Other than that, you're main objective is to make friends with the townsfolk, and get all the furniture you want. Besides paying off your house debt, they turn you loose.
Plus, there's incredible online. Need I say more? Replay value is flawless.
Rating: 10/10
-WRAPPING UP-
The gameplay is deep, the graphics are strong, and the replay aspect of the game is non-ending. Is there really a lot more to ask for? However, the quirkiness of the game will not appeal to everyone as much as it did me. If you enjoyed the Gamecube version of the game, it's definitely worth picking it up, and I suggest that anyone that even thinks that they might like it should rent it.
Final Mathematical Score: 90/100
Mathematical explanation:
Each category is given a mathematical weight, so that each category matters more than others. Obviously, gameplay is more important than sound. Also, I plan on eventually revising the weights, but here goes the current scale:
Gameplay: Weight of 4 (times score)
Graphics: Weight of 2 (times score)
Sound: Weight of 2 (times score)
Replay Value: Weight of 2 (times score)
So, the score for this game is like this:
Gameplay: 4x(9)
Graphics: 2x(9)
Sound: 2x(8)
Replay Value: 2x(10)
Add them all up, and you get... 90/100
This has been a Volsfan91 review of Share your thoughts, comments, or opinions through private message if you so choose!
