I played Animal Crossing on the ds and loved and was obsessed with it for a couple of months. I was never really a die hard fan as I didn't know many other people with it and never worked out how to go online so missed out of a lot of the fun with it - sharing fruit and swapping items etc.
I was a bit worried when I got this for the wii as I had read some of the reviews saying it was no different to the ds and you would find it boring if you had already played it. When I started playing I agreed to a certain extent. The look and feel are exactly the same, the musics just the same etc. I got sucked in for a second time however and was nipping on during the day to dig up a couple of fossils etc.
I have now discovered the online play and am completely addicted. There are all sorts of groups on facebook set up for people to swap friend codes and I am getting to know some really nice people at the same time.
I don't have Wii Speak (yet) but after chatting to some people on the game with it I am very tempted. You can type away to people while visiting their town or them visiting you but it's a bit laborious with having to point at each letter, a bit like texting before predictive text. You can her other people who have wii speak though and it's very clear and seems to work well. I am not sure if I would be a bit self conscious of everyone being able to hear me though and my husband doesn't want to have to watch what he says while I'm on it lol. I might just get a wireless wii keyboard instead and stick to the typing. Fun hearing other people though.
The controls work brilliantly. I started off using the nunchuck as I do with other games like this but then tried just using the wiimote and is much easier and very natural.
I don't think people should be put off this just because they have played it on the ds. It's great seeing your world up there on the big screen and I think the ease of the online use is amazing. Look me up on facebook if you need a AC friend! :)