Don't be fooled--this game might look like its for the kids, but it is seriously good fun.
The game's premise is simple: you're growing and tending a garden. Various actions in the garden attract various animals. Your job is to meet the needs of your new animal friends, and even breed them. And, of course, there are obstacles along the way to be overcome.
The animals are amusing. They are all pinatas, of course, and their names are variations on animals and sweets. So, you have the Mousemellow and the Sparrowmint. The Doenut. The animations are never less than cute and almost always amusing. When you meet the requirements for animals to breed, they do a little "romance dance" (it's a family game, after all), most of which are hilarious.
The game's pace is deliberate. You'll very rarely feel rushed, but you never find that you have nothing to do (except, perhaps, in the very early stages of the game). There are constraints early on. You have a small garden area, and access to a limited number of options, both of which increase as you go.
There are two control schemes--one which is simplified and uses only one analog stick, and an advanced which uses both. Younger gamers will probably like the simplified version, but if you are at all used to playing first or third person perspective games you'll have not problem with it. The game also does an excellent job of giving context for your commands in the upper right part of the screen--good for beginning and experienced players alike. None of this hand-holding gets in the way of the game, though. Graphically the game is beautiful. Colorful, creative and very well designed. The character animations are simply amazing. Also excellent are the animal noises and ambient sounds, which with surround sound are just amazing and engrossing.
And that's the best part of this game, really. You can spend hours immersed in it, and you never feel pulled out of the game world. It is perhaps one of the most relaxing and genuinely fun games I've played in a long time.
Certainly some will be put off by the game's cutesiness, as I was originally. But behind the facade is an immensely enjoyable and satisfying game that, while not full of thrills and action, certainly provides a unique and entertaining experience. Highly recommended.