bit-tech Shopping: Natsume Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility

Rating: 8

Time with product: 1 Month

Strengths: Play as boy or girl

Weaknesses: No 16:9 or 480p, frequent loading and slowdown

Summary: Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility is pretty much the same game so many people fell in love with on the Super Nintendo and still can't get enough of. You create your character, you're given a farm, you plant your seeds, water them each day and then sell them. Then you can use the money to buy very profitable and very cute animals, more powerful tools, bigger buildings, furniture and of course different crops. As the days go by, you'll also be cultivating friendships with neighbors and even find a nice boy or girl to start a family with. That's right, you can play as a boy or girl which means you don't have to buy two separate games for your son and daughter anymore! After you finish the game you are given the option to start over as your child. The festivals that everyone loved in the early games are finally making a return too! This one focuses more on farming and less on character interaction than other Harvest Moon games which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The graphics are good but not as good as they should be on the Wii. With no 16:9 or 480p it could easily be mistaken for a GameCube game. The motion control isn't particularly impressive either but at least it doesn't get in the way like so many Wii games. The frequent loading can be a real annoyance and it has some slowdown like some of the other 3D Harvest Moons.I would recommend downloading the SNES classic first though because it's still one of the best and you'll have just as much fun and best of all it's only 800 points. After that, if like me you still can't get enough, go ahead and get Tree of Tranquility.

Rating: 10

Time with product: 5 Days

Strengths: Fun Harvest Moon game.

Weaknesses: None.

Summary: If you like previous Harvest Moon games, you'll enjoy this one also. New to the series is the ability to be a boy or a girl. It definitely matters to my daughters! Similar, but still different from Animal Crossing and My Sims. Graphics are decent for a Wii game. Controls are responsive.