E3: Animal Crossing DS Hands-On

Could this be DS's real killer app?

Animal Crossing worked amazingly well on the GameCube, but is it really was made for a handheld? It's the the type of game more likely to become part of your daily ritual, 30 minutes of play each day for months and months. This becomes a lot more attractive and enjoyable when those 30 minutes in your Animal Crossing town can take place while you're on the train or on your lunch break.

The usual Nintendo DS optimisations are here - you can control the whole game with just the stylus: move around, fish and chat without going anywhere near the face buttons. The menus are now much more easily navigated, you can now drag items of clothing to your character using the stylus and see how the new shirt or accessory looks on your character on the second screen. You can use the new chat menus just like a keyboard and quickly type your messages -- this would be much harder with a joypad.

However, it's in the game design where the DS becomes the perfect partner for Animal Crossing. The fact that anyone can now pick up this game and immediately be at ease with the controls and menus totally suites the whole design of the game. Animal Crossing was meant to appeal to everyone and be played together by friends and family, and now that just became a whole lot more appealing. And the fact that the game is now fully online helps tremendously to widen its appeal. Animal Crossing was one of those games you knew would be perfect for online play, but would never happen. Except it has happened.

The top screen now helps to create a lower camera view showing the horizon, this way you can now see other players fishing in the background, running around planting trees or whatever they're up to. I got to play the game on the show floor with Charles Martinet - the voice of Mario - who was playing the game over wi-fi from New York. Chatting with Charles using the game's built in chat menu was as easy as well, typing with a keyboard. Fishing alongside him was also completely possible with no lag whatsoever.

Along with all the new DS functions and wi-fi modes, the game also features tons of new characters and items. My character in the E3 demo had a boat captain's hat, a bandana, a clown nose and a nice pair of sunglasses. The DS's stylus also opens up literally thousands of possibilities for customisable clothing and designs - let's just hope Nintendo finds a way to implement a filter so we can get our designs online.

Animal Crossing DS is sure to be the DS's crowning title, it's guaranteed to be devilishly addictive and demonstrates the system's wi-fi capabilities perfectly. Animal Crossing DS is shaping into the perfect sequel to the original GameCube and N64 games.

Andy Robinson
Staff Writer, Kikizo Games