Ever wanted a Nintendo version of The Sims combined with Animal Crossing, with a lot less hassle but similar levels of fun? That's the void which Tomodachi Life is attempting to fill, and whilst it does a great job at times, it does also fall flat in other places.

Encouraged to turn yourself into a Mii character, you can take a photo using your Nintendo 3DS camera which comes up with some very unflattering results in my case, or start from scratch and modify everything from the size of your nose to the width between your eyes and size of your belly.

The customisation in the game is fun, with a lot of different features to choose from, and it gets a little hilarious when you have to set your accent in the game. There won't be anything near what you sound like in real-life, but that all adds to the novelty.

Credit: Nintendo

Once you're all set to go you name your town (mine's called Euphoria!) before you're shown the basics of the game, such as shopping for food and feeding yourself, and it's not long before you're enticed to create more Miis to live in your apartment block, even being able to add in their relation to you if you know them in real-life.

A strange aspect of the game would be the dating one, where if you meet your friends in the game you can begin to date, live together and even have a baby which uses your features and your partner's to create your spawn.

Credit: Nintendo

Completing activities unlocks more places on the map and before long you'll be taking to the skies at the theme park on a rollercoaster or strolling along the beach on your first date.

Charming and engaging, you won't want to put down your 3DS and when you eventually do, it won't be long before you're picking it up again to check-in on your residents. This is however unfortunately something that wares off quite quickly.

Credit: Nintendo

Though the island's distractions are fun to gaze over a few times, it does eventually turn sour after a few hours of gameplay. There's no end to the hilarity that can be brought from telling one of your friends they're now married to the creepy guy from down the street whilst also being pregnant with their baby, but these stories sound better on paper than in the actual game.

Tomodachi Life is a good way to take your mind off things for half an hour or so and escape. As a game, it's not too powerful, but as a device that wants to use your imagination, it does an OK job.

Tomodachi Life is out now.

by for www.femalefirst.co.uk
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