Control:  
The controls are simple and straightforward. You move your character with the analog stick, perform all actions and talk to people with the [A] button, and run and pick up items with the [B] button. The [X] button opens up your town map, for easy reference to all your town's important localities. The [Start] and [Y] buttons open up your "Pockets" which tells you what items you're currently holding, the amount of money you currently have, and what letters you have on you.

However, there are a few drawbacks to this simplified control scheme. For one, when you are outside, the game is a little large, and it is impossible for you to zoom out. Also, you have no control over the camera, which makes the game even more frustrating, as items such as trees, buildings and other structures can block the view, forcing you to either cut the tree down just to see what's behind it, or simply giving up. However, these are more nuisances than they are major problems, but seeing as how the insides of buildings have a type of zoom and adjustable camera, I don't understand why Nintendo didn't implement it to the outside as well.

Aesthetics:  
Visually speaking, the game has minor GameCube enhancements, but nothing that distinguishes it from the Nintendo 64 version. The game never drops below 60 frames per second, but seeing as there's nothing overly graphical being displayed at anytime, I would be extremely disappointed if it did. The game does utilize the GameCube's internal clock to keep track of time, and therefore slowly changes the amount of and direction of the sun, but this is more of a neat effect than it is a major visual accomplishment.

The characters themselves seem like they haven't been upgraded from the N64 version, as many are blocky with fuzzy and pixilated textures. The menu system is novel, if not a little cumbersome and simplistic, and your character's "Pockets" menu is simple, yet plain. Overall, Animal Crossing does not push the GameCube hardware much farther than the N64.

Sound:
The sound and music in Animal Crossing are nothing extraordinary, but it suits the relaxing nature of the game. The songs are simple, catchy, and, fortunately, change every hour, I think (I haven't played the game around the clock, so I'm not sure of this). The sound effects are neat and clear, but are also simple in nature.

However, a very intriguing feature I found in Animal Crossing is the use of the language "Animalise." Using a type of speech program, the characters of Animal Crossing speak a type of language that reads each letter of a word extremely fast, and when sentences and phrases are spoken, this sometimes actually creates a comprehendible word or phrase. Of course, depending on the type and gender of animal, the pitch of the voice is either deep, mellow, squeaky or somewhere in between..

Multiplayer:
Animal Crossing has a great multiplayer option, but what's unusual is that only one person can play in a town at a time. One of the major features of Animal Crossing is traveling to another player's town via a memory card. You can find many items in their town that are all but nonexistent in your town. Traveling to another town also affects that town as well, so if you go there to hoard up all the fruit you can or buy out Tom Nook for that day, the effects will carry over when the town's owner starts to play.

Also, it is possible to trade items with anyone in the world using Tom Nook's Code. By simply talking to Tom Nook and asking to hear a code, you can give an item to Tom Nook, which he then turns into a two-line code. After giving the code to your friend, he can say the code to his town's version of Tom Nook and pick up his present. This is a neat little feature Nintendo stuck in, as there's so many items in the game it would be impossible for someone to find all the items by themselves.

OVERALL:
Unless you're doing something that's very time-intensive, you only need to play Animal Crossing for thirty minutes to an hour a day, which frees up more gaming time for past and upcoming titles.

I don't know how to rate a game like this. You're going to either love it or hate it, and nothing will be able to change that. So, I'm going to have to go on my gut instinct and rate the game the way I feel about it. In my opinion, this is as great and innovative as Pikmin without the constraining 30-day game. In fact, this is one of the few games that many will be actively playing in five or even ten years from now. I know I'll be playing this for a while to come. It's just so addicting trying to get everything, making the town exactly how you want it, and doing everything else in this game. All in all, Animal Crossing is an enjoyable game that is best described as a game you play instead of a game you beat.

 

The Lowdown on  Animal Crossing Aesthetics: Average Control: Above Average Gameplay: Very Good Multiplayer: Very Good Sound: Average Innovation: 6/6 Lasting Appeal: 6/6 Rating Explanation Overall: Very Good! "A Must-Buy"