Nintendo DS

Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness

Critics will largely pan this game because it doesn't have enough upgrades to appeal to the gaming mainstream. Nevertheless, it added a lot that series fans were hoping for. There's still room for improvement, but IoH can hold its own until the next installment.

The Animal Crossing-like touch-screen controls (drag the stylus in the direction you want to move and pick up items by tapping the screen) are hard to get used to in their slightly imprecise implementation here -- but they're definitely a step up from Harvest Moon DS' awkward setup, even though selecting and using tools is clumsy. Upgrading your house and farm costs quite a bit of money, which takes considerable time to earn early in the game...but opening up and populating the different sections of the island as your farm's exports rejuvenate the local economy makes spending your hard-earned cash rewarding. The paper-thin storyline (you're shipwrecked on a remote island and decide to put down roots there) may be an inconsequential excuse for you to repeat the same core game of the past 11 years, but some small lessons learned along the way manage to shine through.

Vielleicht liegt es ja nur an mir, doch langsam, aber sicher kann ich Harvest Moon in der aktuellen Form nicht mehr sehen. Nicht falsch verstehen: Nach wie vor macht das Leben als Landarbeiter viel Spaß und es vergeht kaum eine Minute, in der man nicht geschäftig umherwuselt. Doch die Serie braucht endlich mal neue Impulse – und eine vernünftige Touchscreen-Steuerung. Wer noch nie ein Harvest Moon in Händen hielt, darf zuschlagen. Alle anderen können sich mit einem der Vorgänger vergnügen.

Well, if you're a Harvest Moon fan you will have experienced this all before and we're not sure if it's worth paying out £30 again for the same old slog. Meanwhile newcomers might find it a bit unfriendly to begin with. This is a series which could do with a change...

Most of the subsequent hours though will be spent enjoying what could easily be considered as the original non-game. You won't be getting any motion sickness from the intense action here, but if you want a relaxing, laid back time waster you'll find this is the video game equivalent of a gentle country stroll.

Farming, raising livestock, marrying people – none of this is a big surprise. What’s different? I liked the idea of developing and unlocking an entire island in addition to my farm, and online leaderboards add a new element of competition to the franchise. Unfortunately, bad mechanics and ho-hum gameplay progression bring things down. The Zelda-inspired touch-screen control scheme doesn’t gel with the precise moves you need to make in the field, and inventory requires constant babysitting due to the lack of automatic item stacking.

Overall, I was pretty happy with all the improvements that Island of Happiness made to the traditional Harvest Moon formula. However, I had serious issues controlling the game, and it was always a battle to get my character to do what I wanted. The stylus controls just don't work well with the grid-farming system and made this game really frustrating to play. I am certain this game would have been one of the best Harvest Moon titles ever if they had kept the old control scheme, but, as it stands, this title just doesn't live up to its potential. However, if you have a good amount of patience and are a Harvest Moon addict, there is plenty to find and discover in Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness. Plus, you can use it to call your friends!

The DS wireless capabilities enable players to add friends to their roster, take part in worldwide farmer rankings, and even chat with other players through the voice chat system, which does not require the use of a headset. Most players, however, will find enough to do in the main game and likely won't bother with these additional features. Due to its slow pace, Island of Happiness may not be for everybody, but it's certainly a peaceful journey for those who desire a break from the stress of the real world.

The bottom line is this: Harvest Moon, in its purest form, hasn't lived up to its glory days for years on end now. The top-tier team over at Natsume has moved on to Rune Factory, and just like Harvest Moon DS, Harvest Moon Cute, and River King DS (another Natsume property), Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness just doesn’t deliver. Stick to Rune Factory, or Rune Factory 2 in a few short weeks, as it delivers beautifully in nearly every element of design. Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness lacks the control, attention to style and detail on the visual front, and overall drive and ambition that needs to come with such a historic series, and as much as I'd like to, I can't recommend it. They just don't make them like they used to.

Harvest Moon DS: Island of Happiness is not an unplayable game by any means but the horrible controls simply keep it from being a fun game. If you can look past the flawed touch screen controls, there is a fun farming simulator that isn’t short on all the things we love about the Harvest Moon series.

Not a lot has changed in the Harvest Moon series, and it's unfortunate that the new features introduced in Island of Happiness, with the exceptions of online leaderboards and voice chat, are mostly to its detriment. The controls aren't so bad that the game is unplayable, but you'd be better off picking up one of the many older and better games in the series.

Trop frileuse en termes d'innovations et souffrant de contrôles au stylet complètement bâclés, la série Harvest Moon s'enfonce définitivement dans la médiocrité avec Ile Sereine. Vivement que Natsume réagisse et mette un terme à cette lente descente aux enfers.