Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto first spoke of Animal Crossing at Nintendo's SpaceWorld 2000 event in Japan where he revealed a few interesting details about the game that would land on North American retail shelves under the name Animal Crossing. Miyamoto spoke of a game that played using a real-world 24 hour clock system, offered interaction between players in the game world and offered a lot of long-term gameplay mechanics that were important to the longevity of the title. What they delivered was surely an innovative game concept that could be played by the entire family. Animal Crossing comes close to the vision that Miyamoto laid out back in 2000, with a few caveats. We'll detail what the game is all about now, and why it could have been a richer gameplay experience than it turned out to be.

In Animal Crossing, players take on the role of an odd looking male or female character that has moved into a new town populated fully by various -- and often random -- animal characters. The game starts out with you buying a new house from the local merchant, Tom Nook, and eventually takes you on a path to do whatever you must to expand your domicile, make friends, keep friends and do stuff that is both entertaining and fun.

Animal Crossing has been compared to The Sims, which isn't exactly an accurate description. Sure, a large portion of the game is spent engaging in social interaction with cute and kooky neighbors, but for the most part, it's a game about collecting things and making money. Money, or bells as they are called in Animal Crossing, is used to pay off your debt to Tom Nook for your house and subsequent improvements, as well as expanding your collection of house wares. A bulk of your time will be spent in acquiring money to pay off your debt to Nook as well as to buy the latest and greatest decorations, furniture and neat odds and ends to make your house look great. The social interaction is used to (obviously) befriend your neighbors and also to run errands for them about town. Running errands can improve your friendship, gain you bells and get you rewards like furniture, clothing, and other cool stuff. Animal Crossing also lets you cut down trees, dig up fossils, catch bugs, pick and sell fruit, catch fish and buy & sell all your useless junk. The game also offers a mail system that you can use to have your fossils identified for inclusion into the local museum, send emails to your neighbors, receive and give presents and a whole lot more.

There are a number of events that you can participate in on certain days of the year and at certain times during the day & night like fishing tournaments, festivals, special sales at Nooks (or visiting merchants) and occasional appearances by characters willing to reward with you if you do requested tasks. All of these elements by themselves would be tedious, but Animal Crossing pulls them all together to make it a complete experience for everyone. The game also allows you to get "codes" from friends that can be used to get gifts and a number of mini-games (including actual NES classic games) that you can play at your leisure. Up to four players can move into town and the chracters in the game world will often speak of these other players to you when you are not around. The last highlight worth mentioning is the fact that you can use other player's games saves to visit their towns, which can be fun if you're looking for some unique baubles from Tom Nook's "other stores" or if you're seeking exotic fruits. There are obviously a number of other activates you can partake in, but you get the general idea of what the game is all about.

It is important to note that players can use their Game Boy Advance via a link cable to open up a tropical island and the game also heavily supports Nintendo's Game Boy Advance e-Card reader to add extra goodies in the game that would not be available otherwise.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph, Animal Crossing uses a 24 hour real-world clock. Basically, that means that when you spend an hour playing the game, an actual hour passes in the game. If players set the time and date when they start the game then it should be the same time and date in the game as you play. The game also supports the four seasons and offers visual effects and special events associated with each time of year like Christmas, Spring, Thanksgiving, etc. The game does require a lot of gameplay time for maintenance and for retaining relationships - stay away too long and weeds will grow, friends will move away and remaining friends will complain because you haven't said "hi" in quite awhile.

The graphics and sound are probably the biggest detractor in Animal Crossing. While both are adequate enough, the game obviously doesn't push the envelope at all or even utilize the graphical prowess for the GameCube console system. Luckily, players will be too busy running amok in town to notice. Characters in the game are very cute and when they talk it's like listening to the teacher or an adult talk in a Charlie Brown TV special. There's no denying that the game is charming and fun enough for just about everyone.

Animal Crossing does offer a lot of gameplay that players will enjoy steadily for awhile, but after a few months you'll be content to pop in only on special occasions or once in a blue moon to see if anything exciting has happened. Frankly, the game could have used some more activities than it currently offers. The other main problem with Animal Crossing is that you can cheat in the game. At certain times of year you get gifts - by adjusting the day and time stamps to that date you can easily gain enough money to expand your house to its fullest with a couple of hours worth' of time traveling. It is highly recommended that you don't do this, as it will ruin the game for you and cut down the amount of time you'll want to play the game because you'll no longer have a major motivation for earning money.

Animal Crossing is a great game that offers at least a few months worth of gameplay - not too shabby for around $50. Some players may get tired of having to invest time into the game on a daily or weekly basis, but for those that like what the game offers and have the patience to play it regularly, it's a great experience. Having an e-card reader and a Game Boy Advance will also add some extra features to AC, so having those devices are an important and enjoyable addition to the overall enjoyment of the game.