Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
I did my taxes early this year, and it was plain that I was getting a little something back from the IRS. Enough to justify a completely frivolous purchase: a Nintendo DS. I've vaguely wanted one for a while, and that extra cash plus a looming trip to San Jose (which would involve long hours in airports waiting for the probulator) pushed me over the edge.
So, after a bit of digging, I picked one up used from Craigslist. It came with one game: Bust-A-Move, which isn't real compelling for me. It's fun enough, but my forte doesn't lie with quick-reaction games.
I cruised the reviews a bit, and settled on a different game I was interested in: Animal Crossing: Wild World. I picked up a copy at Fry's (already being there for a different mission). I haven't really been able to put it down since.
It's a strangely compelling game. It's a sort of "life simulation," in which you're a character in a little town. You play the only human (unless you have friends who also play), and everyone else is a computer-controlled anthropomorphized animal. There's a koala, a frog, a chicken (confusingly named Goose), a duck, and so on. The whole thing happens in real-time, which is to say that the game's clock is tied to the real clock. It gets dark in the game approximately when the sun goes down outside. There was snow on the ground until February 26th, at which point it was suddenly spring-like (maybe the Japanese have an odd idea of when spring starts).
You can go fishing, or hunt bugs, or dig for fossils. These things can then be sold for money (to pay off your mortgage, of all things), or donated to the museum, or given to other characters in the game, who usually respond with some other item. It sounds simple and silly, but if I'm not careful, two or three hours can slip by as I play.
Anyway, I wanted to put up some news that wasn't all depressing like the last few posts. I'd definitely call this good (or at least engrossing) news. Just in case any of my half-dozen readers also plays this game, drop me a line with your friend-code. I'd love to try out the Wi-Fi connection, but trading codes with JoeCool2143 from some Animal Crossing chat board seems like a questionable idea at best.
Posted at 14:58 permanent link category: /misc
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater