Author Topic: PREVIEWS: Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition  (Read 2103 times)

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Offline Chessa

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PREVIEWS: Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition
« on: June 08, 2009, 01:22:50 PM »
Travel through Africa on a journey to capture photographs of different wildlife.
 http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=18827

 In Natsume's Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition, players travel through African  in an attempt to capture its indigenous wildlife on film.    


Unlike Natsume's other title, Afrika, Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is more "adventurous and cartoony." The playable world is completely 3-D, and while the characters themselves certainly have a cartoony style, the animals players encounter are much less so. All the animals have been created true to real life including patterns of movement as well as outward appearance.    


Players will begin their photographic journey accompanied by their robot partner in a Jeep that runs along a set path in the African Safari. With the Nunchuk, players can move the camera left and right in order to gain a broader perspective of the overall environment. Along the sides of the trail there are often boxes that contain useless items which will aid players along their journey. Players must keep their eyes peeled for these containers at all times and click on them quickly in order to net the prizes they contain. The binoculars are a handy tool that will allow players to see boxes sooner, as well as wildlife.    


While traveling down the path, players must also be on the lookout for dust clouds. These clouds indicate the presence of wildlife, and photo opportunities. Much like Pokemon Snap for the N64, photos taken in Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition should be taken with care. At any time, players can only hold up to twenty-eight pictures in their camera, so they should be saved for specific photo opportunity moments. When players click on a dust cloud and choose to investigate, they are brought to an area  with a large radius that is outline by a red circle. Many times with certain species, players must approach them very carefully in order to not scare the animal outside the radius, thus losing their photo opportunity.    


Once a player has had enough of taking photos, finding items, or has simply run out of film, they can choose to return to their camp. Upon returning to camp, players must choose their three best pictures to send back to headquarters in order to be evaluated. One by one the editor carefully scans each photograph and after a humorous cutscene, he delivers the final evaluation: a passing gold, silver, or bronze medal, or the failing "no good." The editor is not only responsible for evaluating photos, but also for requesting a specific photo for players to take each day. For example, if players take a picture of an elephant bathing, it will net players a priceless shot.    


Money is earned for good photographs and can be used to unlock items in the shop. One unique unlockable item type are the transformation sets. These sets allow players to blend in and get closer to the specific species of the set in order to take better pictures.    


Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition is currently being developed by Natsume and is expected to release this fall.    


Lauren Lewandoski contributed to this article.