Existential Videogames
The pop culture of Japan continues to provide inexplicable strangeness that baffles and delights.
Wired News: Enjoy the Good Life, on GameCubeHere's how to play Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life: Milk the cow, find something edible for the dog, scrub down the horse, bring your sweetheart some fresh flowers. Go fishing. Water your crops. Make dinner. Sleep. Repeat.
In many games, repetition is a script problem. In the new GameCube release Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, it's the main point. The game's goal, it seems, is to capture the rhythms of a quiet, peaceful country life.
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Still, A Wonderful Life can become dangerously addictive, especially during the first dozen or so hours. That's not just true for the kiddies who are this game's target audience: Playing A Wonderful Life encourages some deep thinking about being a responsible, well-rounded adult.
* Ray, 6/01/2004 02:41:01 PM