I musta missed its heyday...
posted by gamescout (SAN FRANCISCO, CA) Jul 18, 2006
Member since Apr 2005
Harvest Moon was made by Amish rebels on maryjane: it's a video game where there's nothing to do but live off the land like our forefathers, and everything moves in very slow motion. The key to being successful seems to be waiting. The game forces you to do lots of it. Farming could've been as fun as everyday suburban living like in The Sims, but every mundane action was made more mundane with the slow motion. Why does every person, animal, grass in the breeze, etc., have to move like they're submerged in mud? I hated having to stand there for 7 or so HG minutes just for a sheep to finish one "baa" before I could interact with it. Each hour in an HG day is approximately a minute in real time, but so little happens in 24 hours that it feels like half a real day has gone by.
My disappointment must be because I didn't play HG during its heyday. I understand the original was a big hit when it came out, and this edition is basically the original. But today its older technology holds it back. Beware the load screen. The game is highly dependent on it and it will come up a LOT, because it comes up when you do very common things... whenever you use/stop using your map, pause/unpause, walk through a doorway, etc. Certain repetitive cut scenes will come up on the dot, disrupting anything you're doing at the moment. Oh, and trust me, you'll want to choose your wife carefully. I got mine because she was the the first one of my choices to say yes, but as a farmer's wife she's too high maintenance. Makes survival much more difficult. The kid we had is more like her than me. And there's no divorce here, so I'm stuck with her for life. By the way, looking like kewpie dolls like we do (see screenshots) and having a kid... disturbing sight. I'm going to return this syrupy sweet Mickey Mouse stuff and trying out A Bard's Tale.
Was this review helpful?
Report
Abuse
