Animal Crossing: City Folk

So, here is my mini review on the Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Wii.

It's Animal Crossing... nuff said.

Ok, ok. There are a few differences with this game from the other two, AC for GC and ACWW. They kept many of the same features from both games and put them together, adding a few new elements as well.

Similarities to ACWW:
1. We still have the flowers browning and needing to be watered, but I've noticed that if you don't water them the day they go brown, that doesn't mean they'll be dead the next day... which is nice. Means you can maybe go a couple of days without playing and not worry about half your flowers being dead... like in acww.
2. The Town Hall is back, and very much the same as in ACWW, except now there is a ABD machine for your house payments and savings. You can also donate money to your own town... and I'm told that by doing so you can get another bridge (you choose the location), a town well (yippee! I loved the well in acgc), and eventually your choice of a lighthouse or windmill (which shows up by the ocean).
3. The scrolling is similar to acww. Which is good.
4. You still get points from Nooks shop... not tickets that need to be stored. Nice. And now they added visitor points, so if you visit his shop daily, even if you buy nothing, you can still get some points! I'm really happy about this. Apparently, I've heard that you can turn in some of these points later on for rare items... note the two point balances when you ask for your balance... more on this later (when I discover more of course).
5. August has fireworks week (this time on Sundays)
6. The flea market still happens (now on the fourth Sunday of the month)
7. The museum is the same. You still have Brewster and Celeste! And this is where you'll find K.K. as well.
8. You can save by going to sleep in your attic... the phone is there too. However, there is another save option by clicking in the top right corner of your screen... no matter WHERE you are!
9. The balloons still float above, and you need the slingshot to get them. Oh, and the timer is still around too.
10. Katie is back

Similarities to ACGC
1. Jingle is back! As are Jack and Franklin.
2. You can get the fountain if you pay enough to the town fund.
3. Each person gets their own house... only this time they are located in various places around the town.
4. Town is bigger! There are cliffs again!
5. The house upgrades are the same... main floor can get real big, and then you get an upstairs and a basement... unfortunately no side/back rooms.
6. Nook's no longer has Harriet's Salon in the back.
7. Remember collecting mushrooms? They're back!
8. Remember Don? He's back too, but only at the Roost.

Old
1. Wendal and Sahara still come... but Sahara is into carpets or wallpaper (a bit different from both games... you'll see what I mean) and Wendal still does the patterns.
2. You still upgrade Nook's the same ways.
3. Turnips are back, and Joan still visits Sunday afternoons.
4. KK is still singing his tunes on Saturday evenings... now at The Roost
5. Fishing Tourney's are back, same with Bug-Offs... but now I've heard Tortimer isn't hosting... instead look for some other character...
6. Pascal is back, but now he waits on your bridges and you need to give him a scallop to get an item with his words of wisdom.
7. You still fish, hunt bugs, dig fossils, fill the museum, decorate your home, create patterns, make snowmen, and so on.
8. Resetti... whenever you reset.

New!
1. The city... the most obvious of course. Most of your special guests are there... including the old gyroid that used to be outside the acgc houses. He's in charge of the auction house.
2. Harriet's offers you to have a Mii makeover.
3. You now need an invitation before you can enter Redd's shop... no more passwords. There are still fake paintings though. And you can visit him at the city too.
4. Silver tools...
5. I've heard a rumor that you can store a collection of your gyroids with a certain pigeon...
6. Sometimes a townie will lose a key... unfortunately I haven't seen the ball from acgc... sigh.
7. Wisp is back... but now he needs his lamp.
8. There are a variety of new celebrations and holidays... and each region has some specific to their region! (now is the time to visit your friends!)
9. Now you can play hide and seek with your townies!
10. As usual (but still new) there are more furniture collections for you to seek out.
11. You can now take pics and send them to friends... either by mail, or to their phones, email, or wii message board. You can save them to an SD card as well.
12. One button pressing to switch between tools. And you can push the 'up' arrow to view the sky. The Aurora Borealis is nice this time of year...

One new feature that many a person is complaining about is called "animal tracks". Wherever you walk, you will eventually wear away at the grass/snow. The problem is that it doesn't regenerate the grass fast enough, leaving the towns looking much like a desert... especially for people with multiple players and those that have many visitors. They say it's only supposed to happen if you run, but people who don't run at all have noticed their grass disappearing... at an alarming rate.

This aside, the game is great fun! I will continue to 'add' to these lists as I remember more... right now I feel they are long enough. Post a comment if you feel I missed something.

2D, or not 2D

Ok ok... corny title.

In case you haven't guessed (not sure if you could), I've started playing Super Paper Mario Wii. The story in the beginning is a bit long (but I love a good story, so I'm not complaining), and the graphic idea is strange at first (but now I'm used to it... after only 1/2 hour), and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of swapping 2D into 3D and back! Who came up with this?!? It's AWESOME!

Ok, so I just barely started playing, so I don't have a whole lot to say about this game yet, but I do like that there is no longer the turn based fighting system of the Paper Mario RPG's of the past, and more similar to the old games in fighting style. It still has attack power, and you can level up, which is awesome. In my opinion, it's great!

I hope to defeat this game and then maybe eventually start writing guides on some of the games that I have. Maybe not complete guides, but something.

Oh, I've also been into Animal Crossing City Folk... more on that later.

Keep Playin!

How 'Fit' Are You?

So... yeah, still on the Wii Fit... still losing pounds (although I'm at the right BMI now), and still discovering new things, even though I've unlocked everything there is to unlock... even the 'platinum' piggy bank.

I wonder what happens when you log 50 hours of credits?

Anyway, I noticed something new in the jogging sections of the game. I knew that with the short run you could follow the dog sometime in the middle of the jog... when you hear the dog bark, just start running faster and you'll be told to follow the dog instead. I didn't know you could do this with the others... I discovered the long run doggie a couple of weeks ago. It was great... you even jump off a wall chasing this dog! The dog shows up right near the beginning of the run, so you have to start out fast. You'll hear him shortly after you cross the start line. The island lap also has a dog near the beginning. Then you can go to a second dog who is moving faster later on, while in some caves. You take a completely different path while following the dogs, and it means a more interesting run, especially if youve been doing the running a lot. Also, look for more of those little Mario stickers along the path... hint, there's a star in a tree, Mario on some buildings, and I saw Luigi on a fountain...

I think I want to map out all those things yet... something to keep it interesting as I've already logged almost 40 hours! Maybe I'll put in those last 11 minutes today... (wink wink).

Keep on playin!