At the Natsume Booth

ans of the precious and adorable will be pleased to hear that Natsume is publishing ten titles this year, including not three but four Harvest Moon games. Your brain will explode with delight, and the best part is that all of their games are coming out in 2009!

Harvest Moon returns to the Wii with Harvest Moon: Animal Parade. Grow your crops, tame wild animals, or just ride your cow around the neighborhood. You can even share photos of your farm and everything in it with friends over WiiConnect. I gave this one a try and it plays very well.

Overrun by vegetables? Not a problem.The artwork is beautiful and I just love the fact that you can ride most of the animals.

If you need to bring your farming, animals, and romance on the go, then Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands for the Nintendo DS is just for you. As a sequel to Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness, you will see familiar faces and gameplay. In addition to farming, you will need to mine gems, work with the local wildlife to assist you in your everyday tasks, as well as raise the magical islands that were recently sunk by a giant earthquake. Sunshine Islands will be out this August.

When your Harvest Moon cravings just cannot be satisfied by the norm, give Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming a try. Coming out in July, Frantic Farming is a puzzle game based on the characters from Island of Happiness. In story mode, you learn that the island is overrun with out-of-control veggies! It is your job to harvest them before the island is completely enveloped in vegetables. Gameplay is based on creating chains of vegetables to eliminate them. There are many other modes, such as challenge and versus modes that can be played over a local wireless connection.

And finally, for those times when you're in the mood for mini-games, Harvest Moon: My Little Shop is coming to WiiWare this summer and it is chock full of cute little mini games. After moving to a new town, you open up a shop for egg decorating, an ice cream parlor, or even a juice bar. Talk to customers, use mini-games to create wonderful things for them, and help the economy bloom.

Sun-beaten veldt not included.What do you get when you combine National Geographic and Sony licensing with a safari game? You get Afrika, coming out this August for the PS3. You will be able to photograph more than 70 types of animals, all who look and behave just like the ones you see on television. Using actual Sony equipment, you can learn what it takes to be a legendary photographer.

But if you prefer the cutesy stylizing from Harvest Moon, then perhaps you would enjoy Animal Kingdom: Wildlife Expedition. Targeted at the younger generation of photographers, this game allows you to explore several different environments where you can complete missions and fill up your photo album. Animal Kingdom will be released this July for the Wii.

PSP will get a new roleplaying game called Adventures To Go this July. The story is about a gang of misfits out for fame and fortune, but along the way they get tangled up in a plot to destroy the world. Turn-based strategy battles in randomly populated dungeons mean extra replay value.

If you've found yourself in need of a fishing trip, Reel Fishing: Angler's Dream will be available this summer for the Wii. And don't forget your Wiimote fishing reel! Catch fish in many different environments, keep what you catch in your personal aquarium,

Not just standard fun, mind you.and challenge your friends with a local versus mode.

When you need a simple, fun and addictive game to play when you are on the run, look no further than Squishy Tank for the Nintendo DS. Coming out this September, Squishy Tank is a delightful puzzle and adventure game with many modes to keep you busy. Similar to the Destruct-O-Match type of gameplay, you must eliminate tiles to group others together before the timer runs out.

Cheer We Go is a cheerleading DS game brought to you by the same development team as Princess Debut; there is currently no announced release date as it is still under development. This rhythm adventure game has a story mode full of romance and drama, all the likes of which can be found in Princess Debut. The story takes place in your town where you must socialize with your classmates and perform complex cheerleading routines in order to become the star cheerleader. Features include full character customization, great use of the touch screen to perform motions, and many storyline outcomes.

There you have it, the 2009 Natsume lineup!

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