Wandering Willows - Finding The Way Back

 

Wandering Willows, the newest release from PlayFirst, is a delightful and unique adventure that sends you on a journey to whimsical lands of magical creatures and zany new friends.

 

You and your trusty new pet will do everything from digging holes to dealing with Alien aircraft while charming your way into the hearts of everyone finally finding your way home.

 

 

Wandering Willows is a simulation-style game (think the MySims series) that focuses on friendship and doing things for others while helping yourself.

 

After a bird tears a hole in your hot air balloon you find yourself stranded on a beautiful island inhabited by people who are so happy there they never want to leave.  You do want to go home, though, and to do so you are going to need help and good friends to get you there.   

 

An adorable pet adopts you and never leaves your side, becoming instrumental in your completion of the game. Everyone wants to barter with you, so you set off to explore the island and complete 162 quests, from finding items to making complex gadgets to repair your balloon.

 

You'll begin by customizing your avatar, where you can customize everything from gender to skin tone.  You find yourself in "Grassland town" where you meet ten of the island's hilarious inhabitants, each of whom has unique personalities, likes and dislikes.

 

You will have conversations throughout the game to find out what people need, and can click to read the dialogue and refer to the top of the screen for the "to do" list to keep track of your quests. Each time you satisfy someone you become more popular with that person. You start out as an "acquaintance" and work your way up to "Best Friend."

 

You have an inventory list and a notebook that keeps track of all recipes, patterns and floral arrangements. There are more than 40 animals and each has different strengths and weaknesses you can use to your advantage, such as the "Torzil," a strong climber and weak charmer, or the "Gruffie" a strong charmer and weak digger.

 

Unique game play, beautiful artwork, and a funny storyline with colorful characters will prove Wandering Willows a winner among adventure and sim game fans young and old.