It has been almost a week since UI 2.0 and I attended the launch event for Animal Crossing: New Leaf at Nintendo World in NYC. Having now spent a week with the game on and off, I'd like to give my impressions of it, if I may. It's here you may expect to read lengthy stories about pitfalls, shady dock dealings, Hide and Go Seek, shark fishing jealousy, the music and my dwindling fear of Mutliplayer. Consider yourself warned and turn back now while you still can. Otherwise, Welcome to Flashback Friday Fun Times!
The truth of it all is that I have not been logging as much time into New Leaf
as many of my fellow TAY'ers. I am amazed when I may wander into the
occasional town and find that hundreds of flowers are in bloom and
Public Works Projects for a second and third bridge have been initiated
as with ToxicBunnies' town.
There have
been tales of endless Shark Fishing at night and stories of bell bank
accounts so large that it has been nothing short of staggering to me.
My Gameplay
I've been
slowly fulfilling my duties as the Mayor of Tennant. I've actually been
handling my game play as I would for a previous installment in the
series, and by that I mean I have just been strolling around being a
gopher for the animals, catching a bug that flies by, cursing at the
catch of yet another sea bass and digging up fossils every morning while
looking for that money rock (are there no more shining spots on the
ground?).
Living this
easy going life style while subsequently trying to keep up with
everyone else's stories has made me realize that I really have not been
focusing on what this game really has to offer.
On the surface, this is your typical Animal Crossing
game. Yes, all the aforementioned duties are there and act as the core
game play that is vital to your survival in the town. However, being
Mayor offers the prospect of something even more grand - the promise of a
town that has endless possibilities for expansion and grandeur. I have
just scratched that surface. The way down into the heart of all that
can be attained looks awfully deep, and I cannot even begin to fathom
the extent of it all. ToxicBunnies made a great post about this, which
you can find here.
On Music
One of the
most important aspects of any game for me is its soundtrack. I
mentioned before that my favourite rainy day tune is none other than the
Game Cube's version of the song played on Rainy Days in AC. I've not
yet had the opportunity to experience a rainy day in New Leaf
personally. However, I did hear a bit of it yesterday when H1 was
playing. It's not nearly as charming and hum worthy as its
predecessor's.
In fact, I am finding that I am not really enjoying the hourly music that plays for New Leaf.
I'm not connecting and I've yet to find that one piece that really
grabs me. Though, I believe the 1 a.m. song is probably the best I've
had the pleasure of listening to thus far.
Unfortunately,
I was sorely disappointed by the 1 p.m. song. I'm used to hearing a
lot of cats mewing at 1 p.m. as per my memories from the GC version.
That soundtrack was daring, whimsical, and fitting.
For now, my thoughts on New Leaf's
soundtrack is that it's somewhat on the dull side and perhaps even
forgettable during certain hours. For a game that's mostly about
walking around all day, I do not want to spend an entire hour listening
to background noise. I need my music to be front and center, I need it
to be engaging while invoking a sense of adventure, or appropriately
calming when need be because strolling demands that I have incredible
music keeping me company.
I'm hoping
my views change as I spend more time in town. Also note that I've not
yet had the pleasure of meeting K.K. Slider but the two pieces I've
heard from visiting my Animal Neighbours made me very excited.
Kapp'n, though? His songs and quips manage to entertain every single time.
My Animal Neighbros
As luck
would have it, of which I have none, I've been stuck with animals I
don't give a hoot about (not you, Blathers. I still love you).
My
favourite animal thus far is a leopard that goes by the name, Leonardo.
He's the muscle head type - my favourite in any installment - so I am
thankful that he's there. When he hit me with his signature phrase, I
was in hysterics.
I cannot
say anything negative about the designs of some of these animals though
after visiting UI's town two nights ago. He insisted I come visiting if
just to meet his new neighbour.
Do you SEE how scarily, fantastic that animal is? Look at the colours! The clown face!UI is less than thrilled.
On Multiplayer
I mentioned a couple of days ago that I have a fear of Multiplayer games.
Not being a competitive person, and not being generally interested in
genres that require multiplayer activity, I've largely stayed away from
that setting.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf's
multiplayer features have changed my mind. Of course, I still won't
venture into a fire fight in a shooter game but dipping my toes into the
zaniness of visiting others' towns has been nothing but a barrel of
fun, laughs and adventure.
It's the mischievous nights spent with fellow TAY'ers that have had me giddy with anticipation to see what we can do next.
The in-game
messaging system made for an amazing game of Hide and Go Seek (as
thought up by TheUnfathomableTruth) and Marco Polo (a game played with
Dyram). When you get to someone's town, you can message them in town
and your little text messages show just how near or far you are from
someone's location. For Hide and Go Seek, the Best Friends Messaging
system allows you to message any of your friends playing online. It's a
good way to see where everyone is by sending a text and works wonders
for Hide and Go Seek as it does not give away your location.
That night,
Sylverfyst, UI, TUT and I were playing Hide and Go Seek. Apparently
Tennant is a good place for hiding (I think that means my trees are out
of control and I need to do some serious maintenance). Unfortunately,
Fyst was the first to go. I was told later on that it was not pretty
and that it was actually the Ghost of Fyst that spoke to me the day
after.
It was late and TUT came out of no where after we called it quits for the night. Yes, TUT, you won.
It's Duck Season, and I say "Fire!"
The next
night, Dyram and Kat visited. H1 the Swan was in my town as well and
what happened next was complete insanity. Dyram decided to build a
fortress on the beach by digging up holes around him. His plan failed
as I quickly covered up the holes as fast as he dug them. At one point,
I Bugs Bunnied him i.e. I dug a hole and he was so confused that he
covered it back up.
Dance
Parties with H1 and Dyram were in full swing at the Train Station, and
Kat and H1 both fell into pitfall traps that were cleverly laid out by
myself and Dyram respectively and meant for each other. Apologies to H1
and Kat for getting caught up in the crossfire...
After Dyram and Kat bid us farewell, UI and TUT headed back into my town.
There were shady dock dealings. UI was standing next to me on the dock asking if I had the merch.Just as we were about to make the exchange, The Chief showed up. UI ran leaving me bewildered and alone and shouted from a safe distance that the cops couldn't prove jack.Look at me, I'm still in shock even after The Heat was gone. I think I netted myself an extra 25 years of community service in the Dungeon for the crack down.
Those are
just some of the stories that I wanted to share that happened in the
short time I've spent with the game. I'm sure those of us who have been
playing have many more fun nights to talk about and I'd be happy to
hear them!
In the
meanwhile, I've been enjoying my foray into the late night banter and
adventuring with you lot, so thank you for that. You could say I'm
turning over a new leaf on my Multiplayer thoughts (no? Too lame? Okay).
Though, I may be blaming you for Tennant's progress being slow to take
off. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I cannot wait for our U.K. and European friends to join into the fray, and those U.S. based friends to get their copies as well.
I'm looking forward to continued nights and days of Animal Crossing fun. We'll see you soon!
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