Written By: John Perkowski

Harvest Moon is one of those low key franchises that appeal to a niche audience. It’s a game where there are no monsters, no treasures, no weapons, no anything that would make a great RPG or adventure game. As a matter of fact, the game is one of the most repetitive in existence. Yet it still manages to throw on the charm as your character, no matter whom it is, plants vegetables, milks cows, and does all sorts of farming related mundane tasks. The worst part? Its really fun. You don't really successfully have a system until you have at least one farming sim, and Harvest Moon is the best. We got a chance to try the PSP iteration: Harvest Moon: Innocent Life.

Innocent Life takes it name from its main character, who is called Life. Life appears to be a robot, made by a scientist on Easter Island. Word has gotten around that since the humans on the island have gotten into auto farming, and no one tends the land by hand anymore, the island itself is going to sink beneath the waves in a huge volcano eruption. The Doctor, however, believes the island can be saved, as the ancients have left them one way to make up for the sins of auto farming. A ruin on the island is perfect for growing all sorts of crops, which is where our hero sets up shop.

Controls are a snap, and unlike so many PSP games, the camera is not a problem. Life does tend to move fast, but thats a benefit when so much of the game is based on walking around and exploring. Environments are pretty, and exploring them finds you all kind of goodies with which you can use for farming. Each time you break open a rock, pick up some moss, or plant some flowers, you always find something to do.

The game is really an RPG, and this is where much of the challenge comes in. As your stats go up, new problems will arise for Life that can make the game more challenging. Since there is only one year in the game, though, you have to keep an eye on the time. Each season change is preceded by an event in game, and you'll have to keep an eye on the clock. There are also numerous NPC's in town, each of which will react to Life as a friend. This game makes the gamer torn... Should you go and visit your friends in town? Go shopping? Or plant more rose bushes? There is always a lot to do, and it translates well to a smaller screen.

The great news is that it seems the Harvest Moon signature gameplay is perfect for the handheld PSP as far as we have played. The simplistic yet addictive gameplay combined with the ability to save anywhere (once you get past the long intro) is nearly perfect and fits the handheld well. We will have more on Harvest Moon: Innocent Life when it hits our shores in a few weeks.