Animal Crossing

Animal Crossing for GameCube stars a cute human living in a village of talking animals. Most of your time will be spent talking to the villagers, running errands, planting trees, picking fruit, fishing, hunting for bugs, digging up fossils, shopping, or interior decorating. Animal Crossing will keep track of the time and date in the real world, so if you pick up the game after a long time away, the characters will ask you where you've been. Additionally, the village will change according to the seasons, and you can plan to come back at specific times to take part in festivals or parties. If you connect a Gameboy Advance or a GameCube memory card with another animal village to your console, extra features become available.

The game can be saved at most times by simply talking to the dancing statue outside of your avatar's home. However, because Animal Crossing accounts for the passage of time even while it's off, a player might be tempted to keep playing in order to wait for a special event.

Animal Crossing is not meant to be difficult, and therefore it is easy to play regardless of age and experience.

• What makes basic chores more satisfying in the virtual reality of the game than in real life?
• What are the pros and cons of hanging out with friends in your game instead of in person?
• In the game, you must earn money before you can go shopping. However, methods of earning money are not always realistic. Do you think this is a good lesson for kids?
• How do you feel when two of the in-game characters are having a disagreement?