Weekly Preview | GiFTPiA

The aim of the game for Pockle is to get off of his community service bindings and begins to earn some real money and pay for another party and ceremony. Pockle can undertake many activities on the rather small island of Nanashi. He can fish, dig for gold and other types of stone, find fruit and sell some of the items he finds at the local stores. Pockle has a fridge and many other items in his house. The fridge, obviously being used to retain the goodness and freshness of his food. Pockle has a rather large inventory so there isn't too much need for worry. Pockle is very human- in that he will moan and become rather bolshy and tired when he doesn't have any food. He won't be able to continue his quest and move around the island. He also needs a fair bit of shut-eye as well, if you find Pockle getting weary in the streets his money and items are liable to be stolen, although he does have a handy swipe card that can be easily used for depositi
ng money for a while. Pockle also has to help people in his quest. For example, taking your girlfriend to the other, more adult side of the island that she otherwise wouldn't be able to go to. Some of these tasks can be frustrating, hard and complex whereas others can be very simple. He can collect various different and unique items as well such as Photographs to Mushrooms. Handing over some Mushrooms to a deranged, crazy old man will result in him preparing a nice stew for him. Not just any type of stew in particular but a magic stew that totally changes Pockle making him not so argumentative, tired and unhappy. Now, after having eaten the stew, he will go about trying to complete various tasks set by the islanders who have many personal errands for you to undertake.

The graphics are very nice indeed. The landscapes are filled to the brim with loud, vibrant colours that make this look somewhat like a true Nintendo game full with fun and adventure. And, that is really what this game is all about. It would be correct to say that it has an Animal Crossing look to it but there looks to be much more attention to detail in the island and in the characters. The graphics are certainly very quirky and imaginative and should please Nintendo gamers who enjoyed the style of Animal Crossing. There are many different textures and patterns such as the patio, water, grass and nice textures on the houses in general. The camera maybe fixed but that doesn't stop you from exploring the island to the full. There are neat touches as well that give it a hint of realism and life such as the trees swaying to the air, when hot being distorted around the areas of great heat.

Like in the Sims, the voice-overs are not in English, or for that matter any language. You may hear the odd word that is but it will be your ears deceiving you. The diversity in the words the characters say is pretty small and you'll grow to hate the word 'Papereng.'

The music is a total mix of styles. These ranging from rap to techno music, opera and even rock music. You won't be stuck for something you like listening to in this as there is music for all tastes. All this comes from popular, and not so popular Japanese bands such as Snoweffect. Nanashi Island has its own radio station which pumps out these tunes all the way round the island.

[Anticipation Rating: 3/5]