An exclusive first-look…. One that Nintendo doesn’t want you to see!
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Year: 2017
Played on: Android
Also on: IOS
Developer: Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
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I come from a land down under, I swear!
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Date posted: November 2, 2017
PREMISE
So your probably wondering, how the hell a no-name blogger got a advance copy of a future F2P game early. “How come this loser gets to play something like this before anything else!?” You may cry. Well the answer it simple.
I downloaded it from some MEGA file I found and put it on my phone. You see, the game is actually already out… In Australia. So some kangaroo got it, uploaded it, and now everyone can play it early. There’s probably some consequences down the road, but I don’t care. Most likely, my data will get deleted the time this game comes out later this month but whatever. I’ll just make a camp thats bigger, better, with blackjack, and hookers! (FUTRURMA REFERENCES MADE: 1)
Unlike its console brethren, Animal Crossing does things differently. Instead of living among animal, the crazy person you are, you decide to go to the woods and camp…. with animals. You can’t turn back here, its bat country! (Note: There are no bats in this game)
Instead of a house, you now have a camper. It can be upgraded, just like your house in the games. However, the big draw here is your campsite. Instead of doing whatever you want to get money to upgrade your house, here you will be getting items for various animals, making them like you, taking them back to your place, making them listen to Huey Lewis and the News, before killing them in various ways. I may have gotten this game confused with American Psycho. Happens all the time!
Okay, so you actually want to get the animals back at your camp so you can level up your friendship level. The higher the level, the better off you be- you get money (bells), exclusive items and clothing, and most importantly, crafting materials. Yep. You can now craft a lot of furniture from past games, including new things like tents and a F@#$ING SWIMMING POOL! Crafting bigger items like these will raise everyones friendship level, and raise the max level of certain types of friends. Yep, now the animals pretty much have classes- Cute, Sporty, Cool- I don’t belong to any!
Of course, you can do regular Animal Crossing things. You can pick fruit off of trees, and, somewhat conveniently, only have to wait 3 hours instead of 2 whole days to pick more. You can also fish, although the roster has been cut down tremendously, but theres probably more coming soon. You can also catch insects and such.
You can also shop, but its kind of weird- there are two slots at the market- one switches to a different clothing store (Clothes, Footwear, and Hats) everyday, while the other slot is Tommy and Timmy nook, which sells different furniture everyday.
However, some features are sorely missed from the console counterparts, and I hope they something later on. For example, you can’t grow any more trees, as there is no shovel. Most items go for mere pennies, making you hold on to them then sell them for almost nothing. We’ll see if these features will come into the game in the future, but for now, it pretty bare bones.
Another feature that is actually well executed is how you meet other players. They are out of about in one of the games many environments. You simply talk to them, and you can send them a friend request, or even visit their camp! You can also go into their camper without their permission and wreck up the place and look around! You can also buy various items (but not crafting materials, sadly) from them- each player has little boxes to store items, name the price, and hope some sucker pays 15,000 bells for a horse mackerel. Capitalism, ho!
This is a F2P (Free to Play) game and it really, really shows! A lot of crafting materials- mostly cotton of all things- is very hard to come by. At the beginning of the game, the asks for what kind of class you like (The aforementioned cute, cool, sporty, nature, etc.), and gives you a lot of opportunity to get essence for said class- but the others are somewhat hard to come by. Be careful on which “class” you choose at the beginning of the game!
Furthermore, you can only do so many requests before animals stop making them. You can either wait a couple of hours, or buy request tickets. How do you buy these? With Leaf Tickets of course! While you can just buy these with real money, you also get some for leveling up, completing daily missions and stretch goals, and for simply logging in each day. They can be used to-
- Speed up the crafting process
- Pay for missing materials in crafting
- Buy Request Tickets
- Buy Honey, which attracts Bugs
- Buy Nets, making fishing easier
- Buying exclusive upgrades for your camper (Mostly Cosmetic)
- Buying more item slots
- Fertilizer to grow fruit instantly
- Buying more market slots
- Go to the Mine, where you can get harder to find materials and money
- AND MUCH MUCH MORE!
I have reached LV. 15, and I haven’t hit a wall, so to speak- I can play the game quite normally. I just can’t find any damn cotton anywhere! The system so far is alright, but I can see myself needing Rare fish and insects to make the animals like me. Geez, If I was going to that much trouble for a animal friend, I would just hire an animal escort! Animal crossing animals, am I right fellas?
Animals also demand certain furniture be put in order to visit your camp. Who do these animals think they are, my in-laws? Its not to bad- until some penguin wants you to put in an item that takes 12 hours to make. Then your like “Wtf, your a penguin. You don’t need this s@#t!” as people give you strange looks on the bus.
WHAT I THINK SO FAR
All in all, Animal Crossing- The Horror at Camp Jelly Jam is a pretty fun F2P game- in small doses. It can a bit cumbersome at times, especially when you don’t have the crafting materials to make what you want, or Animals wanting an item that you just can’t get at the moment. But at its heart, its still an Animal Crossing game- with some features omitted (wheres my damn shovel!?)
Pick this up if your looking for a game that really doesn’t require a lot of skill, or even that much thinking- just a lot of patience, especially if your not buying Leaf Tickets- which I don’t recommend, as the game seems to give you a lot of them.
With these “First Looks”, I don’t have any kind of scoring system. I just tell you what I think of it. Just saying.
Also, if you snitch to Nintendo that I got this game early, I sending over Mr. Resetti. You have been warned! He’s gonna reset your life, punk!
What do you think about this? Leave a comment about how terrible my taste is in the comments below!
Gamer's Edge 