Lacking in the field
I get pretty hyped up when it comes to simulator games; reason being is they can be addictive and relieve some stress out of everyday real life. This is my first time playing Farming Simulator and I can honestly say it will probably be my last.
After a somewhat lengthy loading screen, you are given some options which are minimal. The game a Beginner; Normal and Expert difficulty level. If you are completely new to Farming Simulator like I am it won’t matter much which difficulty you play. I was completely stumped in the first 10 minutes of the game. There are no tutorials at all to get you started. There are a couple of hints that tell you that you must tend your fields and invest money in new tools and that you can exchange crops at selling points and buy new fields to expand the farm.
Once I did get the grasp of things I started working on the fields with my tractor. After a heavy tilling session and once my first batch of crops had been harvested I was ready to ship. One of the game’s features I found was an index showing the prices of what products you can grow are going for; this allows you to maximise your profits when turning them in. The in-game guide will notify you if there is a buyer who will pay extra. You will have a certain amount of time to go get a bigger payout. There is a shop where you can buy new and upgraded vehicles which in turn allows you to expand your land; profits and general upgrading of your farms. This will, of course, allow a general better farming experience and make farming life easier.
The environment itself is nice to look at; the game is alive with red canyons; old stone building and wood buildings along with roads with cars driving down them. The game does still feel somewhat bland but it does a good job of bringing the game to life especially as it is a real life simulator and everything is placed well as it can be. The 3D feature that is being added by these animation companies for the 3DS also works fine.
The in-game guide does the job of explaining things for the most part but as I was stumped at first and many occasions after it could definitely do with explaining certain aspects better. The game does tell you that you have to do something but doesn’t go into detail of how to do it. I have no issues with the game’s controls or camera as they respond well. The vehicles move as they would in real life.
The game lacks in the sound and music department; again this is a real life simulation game so the sounds you will hear would be the same as if you was driving behind a tractor cultivating large fields. The best way to get a real life experience out of this game would be to wake up early in the morning and play with the sound effects on full with no music.
The more I did play Farming Simulator 18 the more I did have a grasp of how things worked, however, this was not enough to keep me playing. I will say though that just because I did not feel invested in the game enough is not to say anyone else wouldn’t be. Farming Simulator 18 will be great for those very familiar with the series. If you want a farming sim game with more style, charisma, story and better music and sounds then Harvest Moon or Rune Factory would be a better option.
A Nintendo DS Review code was provided by Focus Home Interactive
