Want to talk about ignorance for a minute? I mean, the kind of ignorance that can just plain frustrate a person? Let me provide a key example. I'm in a game store the other day, rounding out some purchases and getting in a couple of pre-orders, and there's this lady at the counter. She's complaining to the store clerk because they failed to notify her that this game, whatever it was, was not suitable for her child. The store clerk then defended the fact that the parent actually chose the game, and didn't ask for advice on it. The woman, obviously refusing to admit she was wrong, screamed at the clerk at what she would possibly recommend. And out of left field, she began talking about Harvest Moon, the farming role-playing series of games from Natsume.

Now here's where the ignorance comes into play. You ready? This woman got really mad, insisting that her kid wouldn't really get into farming at all. Disgusted, she merely asked for her refund and stormed out of the store, dragging her kid with her. The clerk looked discouraged, and, to cheer her up, I decided to pick up Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life, explaining that I had never really given the series much attention and wanted to give it a look-see out of curiosity. She then started beaming about how great the game series has been to her, providing hours of gameplay focused on the simplest of farming tasks.

So here I was, a veteran player who was working through God mode in God of War, ripping enemies apart and trying to take down this monster of a demon boss, playing a farming game. With a female lead, no less. In fact, shortly after I picked up Another Wonderful Life, I checked out the original Wonderful Life for GameCube to compare. And they're essentially the same game, putting you into the shoes of an individual who's moving into Forget-Me-Not Valley trying to start a new life with a piece of land left by a deceased family member. So those expecting an entirely new experience may be a bit disappointed.

Past that, however, I have to say that the series is starting to grow on me a little bit. The game puts you in the shoes of a young girl trying to start over and shy away from the city life, and is given her land and a few minimal basics, such as a cow and a few seeds to begin a plantation on the farm. With the right amount of choices and care (caring for a cow is not as easy as it looks), your farm soon prospers into something great, and you soon find yourself wanting to expand with newer animals. Get some pigs here, some chickens there, and even challenge yourself with some sheep and try to get the wool-shearing business underway.

But the game isn't just about maintaining the farm. After all, it is called Another Wonderful Life and not Another Wonderful Barn. Another activity comes in the form of putting together a family, trying to find that ideal husband to help produce siblings and help you on the farm. There's a few different types you can run across, including some husky guy with an attitude or a more slender, smarter guy. This is one of the bigger choices in the game, and the cool thing about Another Wonderful Life is how these choices can lead to a whole new gaming experience each time you play. You don't always need to stay on the farm- you can go off and explore a mine for treasure or even talk it up with some friends at the local tavern. Of course, you don't want to grow too slovenly and have your farm fall apart, so be sure to keep everything in play.

Another Wonderful Life follows the same pattern as previous Harvest Moon games, and that leads to another slight problem- the presentation. The graphics are acceptable, and the sound has some decent background music and effects, but nothing really stands out in this game to make it rise above previous chapters. You think Natsume would've gone a little further out to make this look more modern than other games, but I guess they're taking the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" logic. Still, I guess it could've been worse.

So later on I walked back in this game store, and the same clerk was there and asked me what I thought about Another Wonderful Life. I told her it drew me in better than I expected, providing hours worth of gameplay and tons of replayability to spare. I was hoping for better presentation and maybe something slightly different to set it apart from the previous Harvest Moon games, but at least it follows a path that has some splendid sights to see. She was happy, as if she had converted another person to some mad Harvest Moon cult. Hey, it's not a bad place to be...as long as I don't have to shear any sheep in real life.

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