Tomodachi Life 3Ds Game Review. If Animal Crossing gives players a chance to join a community, Tomodachi Life is Nintendo's way of letting them create one from scratch. Unlike Nintendo's other life sim, you don't have Tom Nook to tell you what to do or provide any sense of structure. You're free to inhabit the world with characters of your design and set your own goals.
Instead of being part of the town, you're equal parts god and surveillance camera, listening to the pleas of your islanders and peering into their windows (and occasionally, their minds). They ask for dating advice. If they're hungry, you're the first to know. You help them sneeze. You don't control their bizarre little lives; it's more of an aquarium filled with people, and you are an observer with occasional input.
It all starts with character creation, where you design your Miis. In addition to futzing with noses, favorite colors, and all the usual stuff, you also get to tweak personality attributes on sliders, showing how fast or slow they are, if they lean toward being polite or direct, and a few other qualities. After that, you select their strangeyet-endearing robotic voices. When you're done, they move into an empty apartment and start living their lives.
I created more than a dozen Miis, and after a few days of playing, a nexus of drama emerged – an elderly woman named Marge. She was aloof, boring, and not traditionally attractive. She also seemed to mesmerize nearly every male on the island. Within hours of joining my village, for example, one of my colleague Kim Wallace's Mii creations was head over heels in love with Marge. After getting some tips from me, he professed his love by singing a romantic song to her on the beach. A bit disturbingly, the Mii based on my five-year-old son (age and all) interrupted the proceedings, saying he wanted her heart, too. Alas, she chose neither. I consoled one of the heartbroken characters by giving him olives, then pushing him on a swing.
I enjoyed checking in several times a day and seeing what people were up to. It's a great pop-in game, since you do spend the majority of your time watching as opposed to rotating chairs and shaking trees. That comes at a cost. After playing for about a week, I've started seeing events repeat themselves, which definitely reduces the overall novelty. Similarly, I lost enthusiasm for my Miis' eagerness to play games once I realized there were a handful of these WarioWarequality diversions.
If you thought Animal Crossing was too sparse on the gameplay front, Tomodachi Life's superficial interactions may stretch your definition of the word “game.” In spite of the repetition, this island is a pleasant place to visit, even if I'm not ready to take up a permanent residence.
3DS
Style: 1-Player Simulation
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release: June 6
Rating: E
Concept: Help your Miis live out their dreams, days, and drama on a tropical island
Graphics: Nintendo's simple avatars do the heavy lifting, so it's pleasant – but not a visual tour de force
Sound: Character voices sound like belching synthesizers. That doesn't take much away from the hilarious musical numbers
Playability: The WarioWare-style microgames control well enough, but you spend more time watching the action than you do participating
Entertainment: Laid-back pacing and general silliness won't click with everyone
Replay Value: Moderately High
