Video games
are meant to be an escape from reality – a step into an unknown world where
the unimaginable becomes imaginable. Be a sneaky spy, a baseball superstar, or
a dual-weapon-wielding soldier. Be whatever you want to be and live out your
greatest fantasies.
The funny
thing is that sometimes you don’t realize what your fantasies are until
they’ve been experienced in a game. Prior to the release of Innocent Life: A
Futuristic Harvest Moon, I had no idea that farm life was for me. I had not
dreamt of picking corn and cabbage before the sun rose or of planting seeds in
the afternoon. But there was something about this game that said, “Play me.”
It wasn’t the cartoony box cover or the silly story, which is similar to
Stanley Kubrick’s unwieldy A.I. Nor was the thought of harvesting crops as
enticing as the thought of fighting slime-encrusted bosses in grimy dungeons.
But I had to play it.
If you’re
not experiencing those same feelings, you are likely looking at this as just a
farm simulator. But if you give Innocent Life a fair shot, you will learn that
it is anything but innocent. Its sneaky, never-saw-it-coming addictive traits
are downright devious.
Over The
Moon And Back
In its
bare-bones description, Innocent Life sounds about as exciting as a part-time
summer job. Go to bed early, get up before dawn, water all the crops, prepare
new soil, plant new seeds, explore the secret dungeon in the southern part of
the world, etc. Ok, so that last one might not appear on any job description
you’ve heard of (except coalmining, but that goes without saying). The other
chores – that’s what they are in the real world – are things you’d avoid doing
unless you were a farmer or a lover of homegrown tomatoes.
Yet in this
game those daily tasks are converted into entertaining gameplay. It’s almost
hard to believe at first. The game runs on a night/day cycle (not real-time)
that feels much too long during the first hour or two. Before bed the game
asks if you’d like to get up earlier than usual the next day. “Get up early?”
I questioned. “Why would I want to do that?”
By the third
hour I was looking for a way to avoid sleeping. “It’s nighttime already!? But
I have other crops that need to be planted!”
Technically
the character you control, a boy whose default name is Life, should not have
to sleep. Life is a robot designed by a Dr. Hope, a man who dreamt of creating
a robot child that had a real child’s emotions. Every week the boy must return
to his creator for maintenance, and every night he must sleep to regain
energy.
Harvest wild crops with the
Scale Pack.
Life acts
like any normal boy, but his farming tools are much more advanced than
anything you’ve seen in the real world. Initially all crops must be watered by
hand. However, once the doctor perfects another one of his designs, you’ll be
given a robot that can fly over your garden and water several crops
automatically. Simple commands may be assigned to the robot, allowing Life to
handle other tasks. While this might sound like it’s making the game easier,
it is only saving time.
Days may
have felt long in the beginning, but they are actually very short. If you have
to go into town or explore a new location, expect no less than 1/4 of your day
to be eliminated in the process. Seed planting can take up an entire morning –
or even an entire day at the start of a new season (where the previous
season’s crops die off and the new season’s crops must be planted).
Innocent
Life is progressed in three ways: (1) by harvesting as many crops as possible,
(2) by visiting Dr. Hope every Sunday, and (3) by exploring the woods, caves,
and dungeon-like areas. Follow those rules and the game takes care of the
rest.
That’s the
easy way of saying it, but there are other factors involved. Life’s farm is
comprised of several dozen squares, each counting as one space for a crop. His
farm is very big but only a small portion of it is usable due to a curse that
has been killing the island. The curse is slowly broken down by placing
colored jewels around your farm. Jewels are found within caves, most of which
are blocked by doors that have been sealed by a “mysterious” power. By
continually harvesting crops and by meeting Dr. Hope every Sunday, the story
will gradually work towards breaking these seals.
Fishin’ time.
Early on
you’ll notice that there are indented stone blocks inside most of your farm.
Four blocks are linked to form squares that surround areas where crops cannot
be harvested. Collect four jewels of the same color, place them in any four
connected blocks, and go to sleep. When you return to your farm the next
morning, the game will announce that the seal on that area has been broken.
The stone-covered area will turn to soil and any status effect tied to the
jewel (such as faster crop growth or longer water retention) will be applied
to that area.
This is only
scratching the surface of Innocent Life’s engrossing journey. Every aspect –
whether it’s the farm work at home or the exploration for new jewels – is
satisfying. The game is notoriously slow, but simulation games can get away
with that. Oddly enough, while the pace is never quick, you will rush more
often to get things done than you do in most other games.
No Harvest
Moon fan should be without this sequel, even if it means buying a handheld you
don’t currently have (Innocent Life is a PSP exclusive). I also recommend it
to anyone who isn’t strictly a fan of one game type or genre. If action games
are all you play (and all you want to play), then you probably clicked
on this review by mistake. But if you don’t mind slowing down every now and
then for a different kind of video game experience, Innocent Life will make
you forget that you have a life outside of this game.
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Gameplay: 8.0
Innocent Life: A
Futuristic Harvest Moon turns chores into entertaining gameplay. It doesn’t
seem possible. But in the tradition of Sim City and other great, unlikely
gems, Innocent Life is unbeatably addictive. I found myself clutched to my PSP
in a way that was usually reserved for console games.
Graphics:
7.0
Innocent Life’s
graphics are not as extravagant as other PSP titles, but they are quite
detailed. Indoor and outdoor environments offer the same amenities you’d
expect to find in the real world.
Sound: 6.0
A decent score
that isn’t very diverse. The game is expansive but primarily sticks to the
same locations (where the same music tracks are played repeatedly).
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not nearly as
difficult as other sim games, Innocent Life is a title anyone can learn to
play.
Concept: 7.8
An excellent way
of building on the Harvest Moon franchise, Innocent Life adds futuristic tools
and technology to everyone’s favorite farm sim.
Overall: 7.9
There are no
words that can perfectly convey what this game will do to you. It initially
seems basic, short, and maybe a little childish. But if you stay long enough
to learn how to harvest crops (which takes no more than 10 minutes), you’ll be
around for another 10 hours and beyond.
