KLIK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FILE : Task 4 - Review Game
REVIEW GAME – HARVEST MOON
No one could
have guessed that a farming sim would be so much fun. Sowing seeds, tilling
soil, milking cows - it all sounds more like tedious work than engaging play,
and yet somehow all of these activities come together to create an experience
that doesn't feel at all like a chore. The game is Harvest Moon, and its concept of casting players as a young and
unproven son trying to reclaim his father's farm was so well received 11 years
ago that it went on to become the foundation for one of the gaming industry's
longest-lasting and consistently entertaining franchises. Who could have
guessed?
Jack is your
character's name by default (though you can change it to whatever you want) and
your adventure in Harvest Moon begins
when your parents leave you, abandoned, alone at home on the family farm. The
old farmhouse, chicken coop and surrounding fields have fallen into disrepair
and it's up to you to restore them to pristine productivity in the span of two
and a half years. At the end of that time (which is just 300 days by the game's
internal calendar) your father reappears on the scene and assesses your work,
either praising you for your diligence or admonishing you for being too lazy.
So Harvest
Moon is an RPG/ simulation that plays out in a specific amount of time, and the
way you choose to budget that time is where the core gameplay gets going. You
can choose to focus on growing crops, working the land to produce bountiful
harvests of turnips, potatoes, corn and the like. Or you can choose to center
your efforts on livestock, raising a coop full of healthy chickens and a stable
of milk-producing cattle. Or you can choose to just blow it all off and spend
all your time exploring the mountainous countryside, fishing and taking trips
to the spa. It's up to you.
The most
successful strategy is likely a balanced combination of each of the above, but
it will probably take you a while to find your rhythm -- Harvest Moon limits
your total play time to 300 days, but then each individual day is also limited
to a set portion of time as well. Jack can stay up as late as he wants plucking
weeds and moving fenceposts around, but more physically-demanding activities
like chopping up old tree stumps with the axe or pulverizing loose rocks with
the hammer become impossible when the day's drawn on too long and he's too
drained of energy.
It can be
frustrating to see Jack get tired and the sun go down as quickly as it does
each day, and new players may get turned off by the fact that this sim is so
accurate in that regard. It's hard work to be a farmer, and it always does seem
like you never have enough hours in the day. But with persistence you'll
persevere, and you'll learn how to schedule Jack's time and energy well after
the first week or so as you're also learning what it takes to successfully
raise a healthy crop. Harvest Moon's planting and reaping aren't as simple as,
say, Animal Crossing. Here you'll have to clear the land, and then use a hoe to
prepare the earth, then sow the seed into the ground, then water the
freshly-planted seed with the watering can. And that's just for starters.
You'll also have to remember to re-water the plants each day and wait for several
days to go by before your efforts bear any fruit (or rather, vegetables).
It can sound
again like tedious work in laying out the formula one step at a time like that,
but again Harvest Moon feels more rewarding than its individual components
would suggest. You'll find yourself getting into a consistent rhythm after a
while, and it's at that point that more of the game will open up to you -- you
can find the free time to explore more of the game world and even catch the eye
of some of the nearby village's local single girls. One of Harvest Moon's
signature sidequests (and an element that has gone on to be an important part
of the entire franchise) is that you can win the heart of any of several
different eligible bachelorettes in town, and ultimately get married and have a
family. Whether you choose to pursue that goal can also have an effect on the
ending you earn after the two and a half years are finished, as there are
multiple different ones you can potentially achieve.
This game
can be played by all people and ages. but if viewed from the flow of the game,
the game is less fit to be played by children, because in this game there is an
interaction in which the characters will be in a relationship.
