First and foremost, thank you for taking the time to visit my gaming blog which I hope will prove both informative and insightful while sparking some friendly debate of which I am always pleased to engage in with friends.
2006 proved to be something of a gaming renaissance for this muser where an otherwise disillusioned game fan had his interest rekindled by the many new phenomenon the industry gave birth to last year. One of the most captivating games I had the pleasure of experiencing was the fantastic Nintendo DS version of “Animal Crossing: Wild World.” The title was devised by the same innovative minds that brought us “Nintendogs” and spearheaded the Touch Generations range which includes other great software such as “Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?”
I feel that “Animal Crossing: Wild World” proves a perfect example of why Nintendo remain the leaders in innovation, not only in game design but for concepts. Microsoft were able to shift 511,00 Xbox360 consoles in the November 2006 run-up to Christmas in North America alone (1) and this speaks volumes about the profile of people who are buying into the industry. The core range of triple-A titles to be found on Microsoft’s lumbering powerhouse consist largely of software bearing mature audience age restrictions such as “Gears of War” and “Rainbow Six: Vegas“ (Both titles and their ilk relying heavily on gun-fighting and heavy violence). There is simply not enough appeal to the parent who wishes that their child’s first foray into gaming is a wholesome and colourful one via the 360. Although still fantastic games, “Gears of War” and “Rainbow Six” titles and their kind are ten-a-penny. You need only look as far as the internet hype surrounding Bungie’s highly anticipated “Halo 3” to see the kind of games 360 fans want to play.
There is of course nothing wrong with this and it all boils down ultimately, to a difference in personal opinion. We did however see a title that could upset the balance and turn the tides of innovation for developers working on software for the 360. That title was of course Rare’s “Viva Pinata” which swapped guns for gardens and saw the player engaging in an almost Black and White situation where you essentially reigned as god over a flourishing and often believable world (save for the zany character sets). The game is bright, lush and highly playable and is almost a bastard son of “The Sims” which places cultivation and breeding of the many Pinata animals ahead of getting a job and living an everyday human existence (think “Pokémon” meets Gardener’s World). Escapism is rarely this fun and breathtaking.
Going back to “Animal Crossing: Wild World” there are vast similarities between the two. While some critics may attribute the birth of the cultivation title or farm-em-up (whichever suits you best) to “Harvest Moon“, first released for the SNES in 1997 (2) there is no doubt that Animal Crossing made it popular in the mainstream and continues to do so as the DS Lite success story rolls on. This is a game that encourages you to create a world and give birth to elements within rather than destroy it with a swift machine gun burst or kick to the head. The game has no goal and will run for as long as you wish. It begins with your character moving into a relatively small rural community inhabited by a host of charming animal occupants ranging from bears to elephants. Each resident bears independent attitudes, likes, dislikes, desires, fears - the depth goes on and on. This is where your role becomes apparent. Through your own good will and ability you have to help this small community flourish into an attractive place for all to live in be it through donating fossils and rare species of fish to the local museum, planting more trees and flowers and in turn, making your village a more appealing place to settle down or by generally being nice to your neighbours and helping them out with errands. It is a game that requires regular play for an unchecked town will eventually wither and become untidy, causing residents to immigrate elsewhere which is a sad sight to see, especially if you poured a lot of time and effort into your work. “Animal Crossing: Wild World” is a game that makes you genuinely care about what is going on as you forge new friendships and build a fully functioning community (albeit not as complex as it seems on the surface but breathtaking nonetheless). The added bonus of DS connectivity allows the player the opportunity to traverse to another village located on another player’s cartridge via Wi-Fi and expand their virtual horizons beyond their own screen.
This is a game that oozes charm and appeal for everyone and if the most hard-nosed of FPS fans can see beyond the cute veneer they would discover a fun, accessible yet deep gaming experience that I feel should not be missed by anyone, it will perhaps not be embraced by all but it should at least be savoured once because it is this level of innovation and vision that the adult game market so sorely lacks at present. A glance at forthcoming Playstation 2 title "Okami" will prove that it also shares tones with "Animal Crossing’s" venture into the untested and there are still developers in the business willing to try their hand at new ways of play. I applaud Nintendo for their efforts and 2007, thanks in large part to the DS and Wii, the latter being a stunning example of creative design, looks set to become the year gaming becomes fun again and gamers should dare to play different.
(1) Edge #172 January 2007 page 11
(2) Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvest_Moon_(series)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)