Wii Game Review: “Nintendo Selects: Animal Crossing: City Folk”

Nintendo Selects: Animal Crossing: City Folk

Developer:  Nintendo

Released: May 15, 2011

ABOUT:

Customization, Characters and Community

If you were given the keys to your own community, what would you do?  Go fishing, collect shells or watch fireworks with friends? Take a trip to the city, go on a shopping spree or visit friends from all over the globe? In the Animal Crossing: City Folk game, life moves at a relaxed pace, but the world brims with endless possibilities. Animal Crossing: City Folk is now available as a part of the Nintendo Selects collection of Wii games.  Nintendo Selects are a set of fun, family-friendly games that millions of people have already experienced and are a great value at a suggested retail price of $19.99.

FEATURES:

• In the living, breathing world of Animal Crossing: City Folk, days and seasons pass in real time, so there’s always something to discover. Catch fireflies in the summer, go trick-or-treating on Halloween or hunt for eggs on Bunny Day. If you’re in the mood for something a little faster-paced, take a bus to a new urban city area that’s unique to Animal Crossing: City Folk. There you can catch a show at the theater or check out the sales at Gracie’s boutique.

• Up to four people from your household can live and work together to build the perfect town. Design clothes and patterns, write letters and post messages on the bulletin board for each other, or play online using your broadband Internet connection and invite up to three friends to visit your town using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection.

• The heart of Animal Crossing: City Folk is building relationships with the animals in your town as well as with other players. Befriend your animal neighbors by exchanging letters, gifts and favors. Animals can also move from town to town, bringing their memories and stories from their old towns with them.

MY THOUGHTS:

I had never played or heard of Animal Crossing (its also available on the Nintendo DS) before I played it “Animal Crossing:  City Folk” on the Wii.  It is a game that is Wi-Fi compatible and can be played with the Microphone, but it doesn’t have to be.  I played this game by myself, without the microphone or transferring any game data from the DS version, and found it fun.  It reminds me of a Sim game for kids, like The Sims but a younger and brighter version!

You basically build, buy, and design items.  I let my sister start off the game and get the town started and then I jumped in and played.  When I first started I decided to live in her town and after a lot of dialogue with the game character (you can’t skip it either) I finally started the game. I picked a house and then from there I was assigned tasks, such as go talk to this person or visit this location.  You have to be nice to the different characters or they won’t be nice back and you even have to recycle! Oh and you even have to work to make money to pay your house, upgrades, and other items.

The game has a lot of different interesting sounds to it through music and animal talk (not quite English but a made up language.  I found exploring the city quite easy and you just point and your character walks.

This game is not an action packed game or one where you have to really bad guys, but rather it is a game of exploring and interacting.  My boys love to watch me play and see the different animal characters as well as the makeovers I do.  I think it would be really fun playing with someone else of the WiFi / microphone connection but I don’t know anyone else on it.  Even without it though the game is fun and I am constantly finding something I hadn’t found before!  It is easy and simple but yet different and family-friendly.

BUY IT: Look for “Nintendo Selects: Animal Crossing: City Folk” wherever video games are sold or check it out online.

Mom and More Disclosure: I was sent this game to review in exchange for my honest opinion. Please see my Disclosure Policy.