Rune Factory: Frontier (Wii, 2009)

As a HUGE fan of both RPG games and a Simulation video games, I must say that this is a bullseye for my tastes.

Harvest Moon fans will get a taste of some RPG action while RPG fans will get a healthy sample of a farming simulation (a la Harvest Moon).

+++ POSITIVES +++

+ BEAUTIFUL GRAPHICS - The cartoonish characters of Harvest Moon are replaced with anime-style characters. The level of detail is incredible from the backgrounds to the menu screens. Graphics are important to me, and I must say that I'm VERY impressed with amount of work that went into ever last pixel on my TV. There are also several animation scenes when meeting woman (and during the title) that remind me a lot of Tales of Symphonia sequences. Absolutely stunning!

+ LOTS TO DO - This is the understatement of the century. Let's see: farming, wooing women, participating in holiday events, exploring dungeons, forging weapons, helping others, solving mysteries, exploring, evloving monsters...(and I'm just scratching the surface). Let's just say that if you become bored with this game, there will likely never be a game that will satisfy you. In fact, I'd be more inclined that people will complain becuase there's TOO much to do.

+ EXTREMELY HIGH REPLAY VALUE - Like all simulation games, there's a good chance that even when you 'beat' this game, you'll likely start over again and choose a different route. With an infinite amount of paths to choose, you'll be curious enough to replay this game again and again. If you meausre a game's worth by the number of hours you put into it, your $50 will be well spent.

+ SOUNDS - Usually, I could care less about the sounds/music in a game, but one thing I noticed are the fine details given to various sounds. From the sweeping of a broom to the squeaky opening of a door, I feel like I'm actually there listening to the ambient sounds of a town. Very nice!

+ GOOD PLAY CONTROL - Some may disagree, but the play control is much better in this game than many other similar games. You're able to set up 'shortcut keys' to access your tools/items at a quicker pace, resulting in less redudant button pushes. Even putting items in the shipping bin are made easy with double-clicking. This is a BIG improvement!

+ RPG/SIMULATION COMBO - As a big Harvest Moon fan, I concluded long ago that it was going to be tough to improve on the HM setup, but Rune Factory has gone above and beyond that. The process of leveling up with every swing of the axe or sword or every cooked egg, gives you incentive to keep it up. Even if you don't like to fish or mix potions, there's a reason to do it now. You wouldn't think that adding RPG to a Simulation based game would be possible, but they did it!

--- NEGATIVES ---

- NO INTERACTIVE PLAY - If I have to find something that could be missing, it'd be some Wi-fi connectivity. It would be nice to have some online features (a la Animal Crossing), but maybe this'll be an option in future titles.

- SLOW LOADING TIME - Nothing terrible, but the typical 5 sec. wait can be expected when jumping from scene to scene. About the same as Harvest Moon: MM.

CONCLUSION: There's no denying it, Harvest Moon fans will definitely enjoy the new additions and RPG lovers may just get a taste for HM. From it's superior graphics to its HIGH replay value, Rune Factory is one of the better games I've played in a while. Sorry Harvest Moon, I've got a new best friend...