Animal Crossing

Take the basic elements of 'The Sims', add to it a bucket load of Nintendo sparkle, change the people to animals and take away those nasty add on pack, and what have you got? Animal Crossing, the Big N's newest self - genre game!

What is it all about I hear you cry? You take control of the life of a little character and guide him around a new town that he has just come to live in. You get to build relationships with other towns people (whether they be good or bad, it's up to you), design wallpaper or clothes, run errands, search the scrap heap, Sell on stuff you don't want - the possibilities are endless! It's like being yourself in a computer game!

Yes, comparisons will 'The Sims' will be drawn, just as I have done above, but once you think about it, there is only a slight similarity between the 2. Where as The Sims only lets you suggest what your character can do (as they can refuse to do it), AC is free roaming and wild. The Sims doesn't let you fully interact with people, and you only REALLY get to have relationships with people who live with you. One final point about 'The Sims' and Crossing being nothing alike is this - AC is fully customisable, and you can design your house how you want it, and The Sims forces you to buy Add on packs each month to keep up with the trend.

What makes it even more enticing is that every town is randomly made, so that your friends town will be totally different to yours - which is handy when you can visit each others towns by putting both memory cards in the Gamecube at the same time

The game also allows you to play NES games on it. To be able to play on these pieces of gaming perfection, you have to buy a NES console on the game, and also have the money to buy games, like Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong 3 and Ice Climber, for it. In theory this means that for the price of £40, you're getting over 15full games, a definite pull for full blooded Nintendo fans like myself. Add on the fact that game is endless due to it having no ending and you have a games that has months of possible play time and a VERY high value for your money.

An EU realease now looks increasingly unlikely, but an australian version, which is a PAL territory, has been released, meaning importing is quick and painless, without the excess freeloader - times.

Nintendo need to put a lot of advertising behind this, as its 'childish' graphical style may put off people looking at the case in shops. AC has the power to be a world beater. Let's hope that it conquers it.

ANTICIPATION

4 out of 5 Pacs