by NikoRad

Created on: October 30, 2009

Ever feel like the Wii has a lack of in-depth games? Mini-game extravaganzas just not doing it for you anymore?

Well, you're in luck - check out Rune Factory: Frontier for a game that is long, thoughtful and (surprisingly, for this genre) very polished.

Rune Factory: Frontier is a joining between farming 'sim' and RPG, bring some of the best of both worlds. The farming part is an important part however, so just a warning - if you can't stand games that take their cue from Harvest Moon or simply don't have a lot of patience, this might not be the game for you.

But if you're more interested now, let's have a critical overview of the game:

Game play - 8.5/10

The most interesting thing about this game is how little it tells you. It's a game of discovery - but sometimes, you'll just find yourself at a loss for where to go next. Word to the wise - read the instruction manual before playing, then read it again after you've had some experience. Little things like knocking on doors with the nunchuck are basically left unexplained. Once the library is open in the game, you can read up there on the more advanced aspects of the game.

Though on the Wii, the game barely takes any advantage of the Wii motion-control. It's still a well-executed game in terms of controls.

There are a lot of aspects to the game, but it progresses in a day-by-day pattern, so you can get into a groove as you begin to manage your time. Sometimes you farm and take care of creatures, sometimes you're off getting experience and exploring dungeons, and other times you just hang around the village and mingle with the locals as their storylines progress.

Graphics - 9/10

Actually looks really nice for a Wii game - some nice particle effects throughout. The dialogue parts are done with still images of the characters with their reactions sliding into the screen, with dialogue on the bottom. It's a nice way to see interaction and works well.

The camera is fixed, so even though everything is 3D, you are basically looking at each area from one angle. In certain cases, this is annoying as you run into objects you can fully see, but it's not a deal-breaker by any means.

You also get cut scenes for important events that are in an anime style. They're normally quite short and come randomly through the game.

Sound - 8/10

Really nice music and some voice work on important lines of dialogue. Good atmosphere is created, overall.

Effectiveness - 8/10

Is the game effective? By that, I am rating whether it fulfills

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