| This game has to be
played to be believed as it is quite frankly one of the most addictive yet
innovative titles I have seen in some time. Animal Crossing by rights
shouldn't be as interesting as you will find it due to the sometimes mundane
activities that it asks you to do, however you will find yourself doing them
quite happily as you seek to see just what happens in this title. Nintendo has succeeded
with this title to create a real time sim quite unlike any I have played
before. Syncing itself with the GameCube clock and calendar, Animal Crossing
allows you to control your avatar during the time of the day that you are
actually playing in. For example if you are playing during the evening as most
of you most likely will be, the game will only show night scenes and you'll
find that not all the shops are open. Play during the day and there is a fair
bit more activity going on. The only problem is that you get so engrossed in
the game that you will find yourself turning it on at times that you normally
wouldn't just so your character can experience those hours of the day! I even
(to my disgust) phoned my wife and asked her to give my character a run whilst
I was out of the house as I hadn't switched the game on at that time before.
The funny thing was that the things that she did in my absence were remembered
and referred to when I turned it back on that evening. You get to choose the
character's name and town and the game goes from there. Townsfolk approach and
talk to you along with odd jobs that they might want to get done. Currency is
Bells and you have to get a lot of them to pay off your house and other items.
As you proceeed through the game you will find that you can buy things for
your shack of a house and even upgrade the size of the dwelling. Players who stay with
the game will find that calendar events will occur in the game as well which
should keep you busy for at least a year as you discover what is being
celebrated in the game and what might have been overlooked. For example this
review is being written in December and there is snow and the trees are
decorated with Christmas lights. I just wish that it was aware that it doesn't
snow in Australia at this time of year, as it takes a bit away from the
gameplay. Possibly they should have reversed the clock for the Australasian
edition. The game has a cel
shaded look that is appealing although not over the top. Animations are simple
but good and the characters all get about the screen nimbly enough and don't
get stuck on things. You can make them walk or if you need to go faster, by
holding down the B button you can speed that up to a jog. | 
