For all of the great things that video games have allowed us to do, from saving the world from evil, to winning the World Cup, why is it the games with the more down to Earth themes that are the most addictive? Whether it be planning and building a huge city, manipulating the lives of a family or in this case running a farm, games like this all seem to be able to grab a vice like grip on you, refusing to let go until your social life is in ruins.

In fact, Natsume are so excited about their latest 'Harvest Moon' game, 'A Wonderful Life', that they have likened it to the kind of game that Nintendo might release as a first-party title. Can it possibly live up to that kind of billing?

For those of you unfamiliar with the Harvest Moon series, and I'm aware that there may be a few given that neither the SNES or N64 versions of the game saw a European release, the basic premise is quite simple. You have been left a run down farm, and a little money, and it's down to you to revive it.

You choose which crops to plan, ensure that they're watered every day, and pluck them out of the ground for shipping when they're ready. You buy livestock, and can either breed them, or take produce from them. Plus there's a whole town full of other characters to interact with, creating a feeling that you're part of a real world out there.

This game plans to take all that has been part of the series before hand, and build upon it significantly. Japanese developers, Victor Interactive, promise that this will be the largest Harvest Moon game to date, spanning some 30 years of your characters life, taking him from young man, to a mature adult, married and with a child. The game will also feature more animals than any previous version, more vegetables, and give you the ability to make hybrid vegetables too!

The game will contain 40 plus interactive characters, so the town, Wasure Valley, will seem more alive than ever. No doubt a number of these characters will be various different women that you will be able to date, and eventually choose one to propose to. Having a child will also be more significant than before, as it will grow older through the game, and could perhaps help you on the farm, enabling your farm to grow even bigger.

It has also been said that the game will contain 6 different stories to experience, and that non-linear gameplay means each game is a new experience. Whether this means that you will have to make choices that could radically alter the direction of the game remains to be seen though, or perhaps all six stories will occur at different points throughout the 30 game years you play through.

Another feature that promises to make this Harvest Moon game special is a link-up feature with the GBA version, allowing you to travel to the neighboring town, Mineral Town. Apparently this will open up new events in the game, and give you even more to explore. No more on this feature has been announced, but it's a possibility that you may be able to get items in the other town that will open up new areas in your own town, or items that will enable you to work in a different way.