Animal Crossing

I first started playing Animal Crossing to appease my friends, who kept telling me how much fun it was to take on alter human egos in a town of weird-looking, strange-talking animals. I signed on as Rikki and quickly became addicted to this other world.

Now, almost a year later, I still play almost weekly and find fun and exciting things to do each time I log on. The goals are fairly simple: Work to earn bells (money) to build and decorate your home; make friends of all the animals in your town; and attend the fun special events held throughout the year. Unlike The Sims, Animal Crossing can be played by kids and adults (without worrying about the parental units not liking what they're seeing), and game play is real-time -- which means a minute is 60 seconds!

I think I most enjoy finding different ways to decorate my Animal Crossing House. I've gone from a Kid's theme to an exotic theme and am now into a ranch theme with a bear-skin rug and mountainous wallpaper.

One of the things I don't like about Animal Crossing is that you can't have multi-player game play. However, you can have up to three of your friends or family play in your town. The three of you can send each other letters, post notices on the town billboard and even leave items in your home's "gyroid" for each other. You can also send presents to the other animals in your town via letters. Don't be surprised when they reciprocate with something, as well.

The controls of Animal Crossing are EZ! Even an adult could handle this one! The graphics are OK -- compared to some of today's games it is downright ancient! However, I think the game was designed to be a little more cartoonish and seems to fit the feel of the game.

Overall, I have truly enjoyed Animal Crossing and highly recommend it to anyway seeking a game that they can play long-term.