Videogame shelves these days are packed with titles tasking you to blow up aliens, Nazis, robots, ninjas, thugs, zombies, or some combination thereof. So it's a relief to see that the Harvest Moon franchise is still around, striking a very different note. In Harvest Moon: Magical Melody, you build yourself a farm with the intention of fitting in to a bustling rural community. You'll work hard to plant crops, raise animals, fish, or explore nearby caves for precious metals. As you expand your farm the town around you will grow. Eventually, once you've built yourself a big homestead, you can even settle down with one of the townspeople and have a kid.

No, it's not the next Metroid, and it's not meant to be. The Harvest Moon games have always been distinctly non-violent diversions that emphasize hard work and community building. On paper it might not sound like fun, but running a simulated little farm is actually quite engaging. It's up to you to decide which crops to plant and how to lay them out, or what barn to build and what animals to keep there. It's also up to you to decide which of the lovely videogame ladies (or handsome but cartoony men) of the town you're going to marry and raise a family with.

Magical Melody, the latest game in the Harvest Moon series, does a great job with all of the basics. This is a fun title! But the glacially slow pace and gaps between interesting events or decisions really weigh it down over the long haul, turning what could've been a classic into a diversion only enjoyed by the most patient of players.

Working your own plot of land can be surprisingly fun.

What's New?

Fans of the series familiar with the premise will be pleased at the depth offered by the latest game. Magical Melody is rendered in 3D, but based on a grid (instead of the isometric view used in 2004's Wonderful Life), which makes moving around and planting things a little easier. You can play as either a girl or boy in this version (although the mechanics of wooing a mate are similar), and there are multiple plots of land to buy and build on.

Also new? The town is dynamic in this version of the game. Cafes and inns won't open until after you've shipped enough produce to support them. Once you ship enough clay, an old man will arrive and set up a pottery shop, and once you start planting fruit trees a fellow will show up in town to build an orchard. This adds some nice depth to the game. During one game I wasn't shipping enough sweets, and a few townspeople moved away. Changes like that go a long way to making you feel like you're actually a part of the community.

As you progress through the game, you'll unlock a series of four-player mini-games that you can play with your friends. None of these multiplayer games are showstoppers (example: who can plow the most land the fastest?) but a couple of them are somewhat entertaining if you'd like a break from the drudgery of farm life.