Farming Simulator originally launched back in 2011 as a PC game. That first version was reportedly pretty lame with limited equipment selections and too little acreage. Throw away that mental picture right now. The 2015 console version is almost too much farm too handle. Veteran players can wax nostalgic in the familiar terrain of North America, or take advantage of the new Nordic environment. I chose Nordic because I have Nordic heritage, plus the rocky hill faces and groves of trees just looked more interesting than the standard flatness of a North American prairie state.
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The biggest problem with gameplay is that it’s actually too close to being a “real” farmer. In normal mode you start in debt. You have no cash, but you own three tractors. No cash means no extra equipment, which means that you are screwed when growing season comes and you don’t have a sprayer to spread fertilizer. No fertilizer means no crops. No crops means you are stuck in debt forever. The solution? You face what farmers face all the time: sell your prized tractor and shiny equipment (at a loss), see if you can get another bank loan and/or perform menial, low-paying tasks for other virtual businesses (i.e. get a job). Yes, it will hurt, but trust me on this, and sell, sell, sell all things shiny and new. You can get by on crap equipment.
How do I know this? Trial and error. That’s really the only way to figure out how this game works. The tutorials are virtually useless. The maps have icons to direct you, but no guide to what any of those icons mean. You can drive up to telephone booths to call for help, but the same useless help screens keep appearing that basically direct you to conduct a off-game Google search to find out how the progression of farming works (plow, cultivate, plant, fertilize, harvest, etc.).
Yes, I finally figured out how to buy me some chickens, and after driving my tractor in endless circles trying to find my grain wagon, I have spotted a place to sell the eggs. But I still can’t figure out how to collect the eggs from the henhouse. Your best bet is to drive up to things and start pushing random combinations of commands until something happens. (All you smarty-pants gamers out there who think I’m just a stupid hick farmer need to shut up and start posting tips.)
Anyone who isn’t familiar with the PC version or just downright determined to start a simulated agricultural career probably quits after just an hour or two of this frustrating tedium. Bummer. And here’s why: the visuals are absolutely stunning. The PBR rendering and soundscape make this environment incredibly realistic, right down to minute detail. Was that the sound of a distant airliner passing overhead? Yes, and there’s the contrail. Are those heat ripples emanating from my over-heated tractor engine? Yes. Did darkness just phase into moonlight because my virtual day is over? Yes. Does the sunrise reflect perfectly off the waving grass as a new dawn breaks? Yes. Do my chickens cluck when I drive by? Yes. Can a drive a John Deere tractor? No.
Giant software is based in Europe and so are most of the equipment brands available in this game. I grew up with a Case tractor, so not too troubled by the Case IH option. The other main U.S. implement brand available in Farming Simulator 2015 is New Holland (as in Pennsylvania-born New Holland). So, yes, you can buy over 100 different types and pieces of machinery, but hauling a piece of Horsch (bleep!) or a driving a Buhrer will probably be a turn off to American farming purists (My apologies to our European readers, but we Americans are snobs when it comes to our farming toys).
And here’s the biggest surprise coming from a European-based developer: raping the environment pays well. The quickest way to make the money that you need to get out of debt appears to be the harvesting of lumber. This means breaking out a virtual chainsaw and cutting down trees. The programmers are proud of this new logging option, and I guess they should be because this is where the realism of game play is also strongly evident. Fail to notch that tree correctly and it will fall on your equipment. Fell it correctly and you still have to de-branch it before you can pick up the log and go dump it in the pond outside the lumber mill. Logging is hard work, but pays well in this game. I’m wondering how many virtual days it will take for my trees to regrow? I’ll let you know in 50 years or so.
Please take my 50-years comment as both catty and complimentary. I’m not convinced that this game does not have an infinite shelf life. I don’t think I will ever run out of things to do on my virtual farm, which is a bonus of sorts and adds to game value. There is something inherently relaxing about hearing cows moo in the distance while I drive a tractor to my cornfield at sunrise. And, when I feel lazy I can hire someone to drive my tractor for me. Back and forth. Up and down. Back and forth. It’s mesmerizing and boring all at the same time; and so is Farming Simulator 2015.