Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS, 2005)

Animal Crossing: Wild World
A review by baohua2006

The orignal Animal Crossing was a fun game. You had lots of freedom and wasn't limited by gameplay time - you set your own pace. It had such a great replay value that it lasted years for some people.

Wild World is true to the original. All the concepts are intact, but it adds many more. The most signifigant is the excellent multiplayer features. Connecting to friends is very easy, simply a few taps of the stylus will allow you to visit a town on the other side of the world. You can now get together with a few friends and visit each other's towns through wireless LAN.

The gameplay is also very polished. There are more items to collect than in the original, and it feels like a whole new experience. The animal neighbors are extremely funny at times, although they aren't too smart. Multiplayer is where this game really shines. The real time play is great - you can hold fishing competitions, you can hold a scavenger hunt. You can even make up a game like tag - it plays flawlessly. A problem here is that only 4 people can be in one town at the same time, and only two people are allowed in a building at the same time. Also, be careful of who you give out your friend codes to. Vandals can come to your town and chop down all your trees.

Stylus driven gameplay makes this game really innovative. It's finally a game that you can play with just the stylus - no buttons needed. Some may find the buttons more comfortable, but for the rest of us, this is heaven. The on screen keyboards type very fast, and control is much better than what it was on the Gamecube.

The graphics are on par for a DS game. There aren't any special effects, but the graphics are just right for this type of game - the outdoor environments are excellent and the water looks great. The numerous items in the game are simply awesome inside your house. Your animal neighbors have the effect that the developers intended them to have. They're cartoonish and cute. The graphics look almost like what they did on the Gamecube. They're just limited by the small screen of the DS.

Animal Crossing Wild World has decent sound and music. The sound is just right - there's a sound effect for almost everything. You can even hear your own footsteps. The music gets repetitive, though - the same track repeats over and over again just like it did in the Gamecube version. But overall, the developers did a nice job.

Overall Breakdown:

Gameplay - 4.5/5
The single player is very similar to the original. Multiplayer is where this game shines. It's just so dang fun to chat with your friends and hold contests.

Control - 5/5
Stylus driven controls make for some smooth gameplay. Animal Crossing Wild World deserves a perfect score for controls.

Graphics - 4/5
The graphics aren't anything great, but they're pretty good for a DS game. Animal Crossing Wild World is okay graphically, but don't expect to be staring at the screen because of graphics.

Sound and Music - 4/5
The music is just a bit repetitive, but the sound is great. ACWW deserves a 4/5 in this field.

Lasting Appeal - 5/5
This game will last you months. You'll obsess over collecting items, expanding your house, and making your town perfect. Animal Crossing Wild World will be in your DS for a very long time.

Overall - 5/5