Farming sims, eh - who'd have thought it? Surely a silly idea? A joke? Well, maybe - but with over a dozen titles to its name and dating all the way back to the original SNES release of 1997, the Harvest Moon farming franchise wouldn't have lasted this long without blossoming and blooming along the way, growing with its audience whilst keeping them entertained and satisfied. And although typically the mainstay of Nintendo platforms, there has also been the odd foray into PlayStation territory, such as the PSOne's Back To Nature and the PS2's Save the Homeland, as well as the port of A Wonderful Life. Now Japanese developers ArtePiazza have brought this unique brand of entertainment to the PSP - the first time Harvest Moon has appeared on a non-Nintendo handheld.

And so for a new adventure on a new platform there is a new twist, for this is Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon, which is most apt given the PSP's comparative horsepower, graphical oomph and ahead of its time looks. Big things in a small package - just like Innocent Life itself - which, as a name, can be considered a metaphor for many things. As well as the game's title, it is also the lead character's name; neither robot nor human, he is the product of Dr. Hope's life work. All his knowledge, expertise and emotion invested in his immaculate conception of a 'son'.

As this is Harvest Moon, there is little if any in the way of violence or aggression, just good, whole-hearted family fun - innocence again being the name of the game in more ways than one. Set in the future, the more traditional methods of farming have been replaced by auto-farms - factory style warehouses and machines that do most of the work. Thus the land has lost some of its soul, especially the Easter Ruins where you begin your quest. After emerging from your Shine Pod at Dr. Hope's laboratory (which you can visit every Sunday for maintenance), the friendly Gayak teaches you the basics of farming. This consists of tilling the soil, planting seeds, watering your crops and then harvesting them when ready. They can then be placed in the shipping pod to be sent to the market whilst still fresh. For this work you receive payment, which can then be used to buy new seeds and tools to start the cycle all over again.

As with other Harvest Moon games, this is the core of the gameplay - but there is also a story to follow and mysteries to uncover whilst exploring Heartflame Island. Rumour has it that the nature spirits sealed off much of the Easter Ruins after its natives fought a war with the Volcano People for control of the land. This angered the nature spirits and so they decided to seal off this fertile land. The Easter People thus left, never to return. The spirits did leave the people with one chance of redemption though - if someone could once again love the land and nurture it back to life, the seals would be broken. The people from Volcano Town only care about auto-farming though, so they have given up on the Easter Ruins. Thus the land has fallen further into decay and even the very existence of the nature spirits has become enshrouded in mystery and doubt. Unbeknownst to Innocent Life, it becomes his mission to restore the land to its former glory and revoke the wrath of the nature spirits.

Initially there is little to see and do, as you are railroaded into interaction with the inhabitants of Volcano Town and exploration of the area surrounding the Easter Ruins. You soon realise that this is intentional though, as the game is played at a much slower pace than the usual videogame fare. Indeed, on certain days there is little to see and do - you have no crops to be harvested, nothing to water, no money to buy seeds and so you must simply wait until the next day and the opportunities that brings. Thankfully you can return to your room and sleep at any time, and it's a nice touch that going to bed early allows you to get up early the next day - handy if you know you have a long day ahead. Just like in real life though, going to bed late foregoes this option. Sleeping is where you recharge your batteries, or Power Points in the game's parlance. Each core action takes a certain number of points, be it tilling the soil, crushing rocks or chopping logs. Once your points have been reduced to zero, you can perform no more of these actions until you sleep. Sleeping is also when you improve your stats, based on the previous day's activities. Thus your challenge, love, intelligence and/or cooking scores increase, depending on where you explored, who you talked to and what you did during the day. You can also learn various actions (such as cooking) via watching the television in your room. This also provides vital information, such as the weather, so that you can gauge whether to plant crops or wait for the rain to pass.

Through talking to people and growing crops, the game gradually opens itself up to you. Initially you learn about the Spring Festival and are tasked with growing fruit and vegetables the 'old-fashioned' way to help garner the acceptance of the people and also as an offering to Volcano Peak's Fire Spirit. From Dr. Hope's regular Sunday check-ups you also gain a key to a locked door, which opens up a new area where treasure chests, crystals and volcanic ore can be found. The ore can be shipped to market just like your regular crops, whilst the crystals can either be integrated with the tools you carry to provide bonuses, such as reduced Power Point consumption, or they can be placed in special markers within the Easter Ruins to provide benefits to the crops growing around them. Gathering enough of these crystals opens doors within the ruins that have been magically sealed, thus revealing access to more and more of the island and helping to appease the nature spirits.

Whilst sounding simple and benign, it is in the execution that Innocent Life grows upon you. There is an air of calm and serenity about the game, from the peaceful yet emotive music to the graphical ambience of the locations - it all makes for a very refreshing change from the usual frenetic fare that we are used to, especially as PSP gamers. There is also a pleasing mix between the 3D foregrounds and the 2D parallax backgrounds, which makes for some beautiful scenery. This is aided by a fixed camera angle that alters itself to show off each location to full effect. Add in the hues as the day turns from morning to dusk to night, as well as the changing of the seasons, and the result is very effective. Sound-wise though, whilst there is the pleasing aforementioned background music, there is only the odd spot effect. Still, this is not Super Mario and other than the sound of your footfalls (which unfortunately is the same no matter what surface you are treading upon) the occasional aural stimuli is a consequence of only occasionally performing actions demanding of such.

Whilst your avatar is navigable enough with the d-pad and analogue nub, there are other areas of the controls that could have been cleaned up. For instance, there is no pause button to stop the passage of time when you want to take a short break. The shoulder buttons can be used to bring up your inventory screen and stats screens, which have the same effect but - unless you have played very few PSP games - the accepted convention of pausing the game via the start button is hard to shake, not to mention annoying when you press it, yet again expecting the game to react appropriately. Other controls also feel clumsy, such as using the square and cross buttons to cycle through your inventory, which is not helped by being unable to easily reorder your inventory so that regularly used items are grouped together. Admittedly, these are minor quibbles though, rather than game spoiling faults.

Ironically for what is essentially a farming sim, what some will find most off putting about Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon is the very nature of the game and its slow paced, limited action approach. Consider it a story wrapped around a non-aggressive resource management game and you'll have a good idea of what to expect. If you're a fan of the franchise or the genre then you probably already know with some confidence that you will enjoy this latest iteration in the franchise. Others though should consider what they are getting into - and whilst for some that consideration might lead them to think that the very idea of a farming sim is laughable, like all the best comedians know - it's how you tell them that counts.

Reviewed by Dominick Hardy for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).