Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon spreads its seed to UK

There's something more than a bit depressing about writing news on a game that's been out in Japan for two years already. It's hard to muster up too much enthusiasm, in all honesty.

That said, Harvest Moon fans should still be excited about today's announcement from publisher Rising Star that the game is finally coming out here. Not until September, mind you. But we'll begrudgingly accept it as we gave the game a Bronze Award in our review of the US version, and it's better late than never, obviously. But also better not to be late in the first place.

For those not aware of such things, Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon is probably as bizarre a blend of gaming as you'll ever play, combining the sedate crop-growing and sheep-shearing traditionally associated with the Harvest Moon series with an RPG world, monster-capturing and real-time battling. It works though, and should safely ensure all but the most impatient gamer will be kept gripped for many hours (growing crops isn't a speedy business, after all).

The game begins with your character awakening in a strange village called Kardia. A woman called Mist comes to your aid and offers you food and water in return for helping her on her farm, but it soon becomes apparent you're equally as handy with a sword as you are with a plough. With the nearby caves overrun by monsters, you decide to set about tackling them.

All the usual RPG elements come into the game – upgrading skills, both on the farm and for fighting, and collecting materials for new items, equipment and furniture. There's also wi-fi compatibility that lets you send emails, screenshots and messages to other players.

For even more information on how it all plays though you can read our review (here, if you can't be bothered to click above), which we're hoping doesn't contain too many too many time-sensitive references because by the time Rune Factory actually reaches Europe, they're going to be pretty out of date.