A change of pace with a geniune atmosphere of relaxation.
Imagine moving into a forest town with a kooky raccoon as a storeowner, who gives you a house the size of a warehouse. You have to pay him back for it over time, and eventually you can upgrade your house into a mansion. Along with doing so you will come across villagers (other animals) who will give you errands to run for them, paint your house the most ugly shade of yellow without your consent, and gossip about the other townsfolk. Animal Crossing is a change of pace from first-person shooters, and gives a genuine atmospheric feel of relaxation.
The formula of Animal Crossing is pretty simple. The main objective is to pay off your loan from Tom Nook (the storeowner), but have fun doing so in the process. In your town, there is a museum which accepts donations of fossils, paintings, insects, and fish. Some of these can only be obtained at certain times of the year, the time in the game equates with the time set to your GameCube clock. In February, it will snow wildly and you can roll snowballs up into a snowman. On Christmas, a reindeer named Jingle comes and gives everybody presents. And if that wasn't enough, you can even get letters from your virtual mom telling you how much she loves you.
Animal Crossing comes with a standard memory card for the GameCube, because of the amount of memory it takes up. You can swap memory cards with a friend and visit each others towns. This a great way to play with your friends and makes up for the lack of online compatibility with the GameCube. However, whenever you do so, one of your villagers will move out of your town and into theirs, so don't get too attached! If you want to play in the same town, you can have up to four people on the same memory card, but only one can play at a time.
The gameplay is truly unique. Sending letters to villagers, desiging in-game clothing, and going on a bug-hunt (damn mosquitos) don't sound like things that would be typically included in a game. However, this game will keep you coming back for more, whether it's checking the daily items in Nook's shop, feeling the virtual love from my e-mom, or laughing at my friends terrible interior design skills, Animal Crossing is a change of pace from first person shooters, with a genuine atmosphere of relaxation. 9.2/10
