Seemingly everyone is playing Nintendo's new life sim at the moment -- even those who would never normally touch social games. What's Nintendo done differently to the hundreds of Facebook game developers out there?
For a game about nothing in particular, Animal Crossing: New Leaf manages to create a remarkably engrossing world -- one that remains inviting half a year later.
The only thing truly "new" about Nintendo's DS blockbuster was the notion that maybe classic platformers still had a place in the world, but that was enough to make a difference.