PREVIEWS
21
From what we’ve seen, the city area seems to be a very natural step forwards for the series. On a quiet day in your home village you can catch Kapn’s bus to the city and receive a makeover from Harriet, maybe put a rare item or two you’ve acquired up for auction and then catch a show at the theatre before heading home. Nintendo hasn’t mentioned whether this area will play any further role (perhaps as a hub world for online play), but so far it sounds like a promising addition. Another big new feature for LGTTC is the addition of voice chat, which comes into play during the four player online mode via the new Wii Speak peripheral. Though it’s hard to get excited about a feature that we all knew must be coming, it’s nice to have it confirmed all the same. Taking your town online in Wild World was severely hampered by the clumsy text communication system, so the freedom to chat and organise fun and games, with friends, in one another’s villages is most welcome. Curiously, the Wii Speak device will not be bundled with LGTTC, and rather than being a traditional headset, it will sit atop the Wii’s sensor bar allowing everyone in the room to communicate online. Questions of how well this will work, and its cost, will have to remain unanswered until we can go hands on with the device. Elsewhere in the quiet world of Animal Crossing, the basis of the series remains unchanged. You’ll be plonked into a randomly generated village with randomly generated inhabitants. There will be a town hall/post office, allowing you to send letters to friends via WiFi (now with the helpful support of USB Keyboards), a local store for all your furnishing needs,
a museum and an improved clothes designer. Your new house, to decorate with new and old furniture lines, will be in one of four locations dotted around the town. Happily you’ll no longer have to share accommodation with friends or family choosing to move in, as they will be provided with their own quarters. When you choose to leave your house, all the activities from Wild World return, leaving you with plenty to fill your day. The final thing to say about Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City is that it’s had a real graphical touch up. While it retains the same basic style, everything from the landscape to the houses and menus looks a whole lot more colourful and vibrant. It provides the game with a lovely lightness, that’s extremely refreshing considering the dark greys and browns which seem to be colouring this generation. Let’s Go To The City is currently targeting a Christmas 2008 release, and hopefully Nintendo will deliver the kind of cross-market appeal to ensure a season of joy for all Wii owners.