Animal Crossing

The Good
There are so many things that continue to surprise me about this game. First of all it is one of the only games my wife and kids and I have ever been able to compete in. For a month now I come home from work to hear about what new piece of furniture or other item she has collected for her house. We have started a second town and some of our friends now come over just to play this game. I can see us all playing this game off and on for the next year. Just to see the seasons change. Instead of watching a New Years Eve celebration on TV our family was watching the countdown and fireworks.

The Bad
Sometimes my dinner is late because someone is playing this game :)

The Bottom Line
It is a real time life sim. There are no set goals. You basically develop your own. You move into a new town. Get a loan to buy a house. Work to buy a bigger house and collect lots of cool stuff for it. If you want the "Full Effect" be prepared to spend money. If you have a gameboy advance you can connect it to your gamecube and get a special Island location to travel to. And you can trade islands with your friends. And you can keep an eye on your island residents using the GBA. Also you can collect Animal Crossing trading cards. These card have special codes to give you special items in the game. With an E-Reader you can scan the cards directly into your gamecube. You can also get secret codes and information directly from Nintendo's website. What a major marketing marvel. I have never spent this much money just to play one game. But compared to the amount of time my family has played it then it is a bargain.