After a long day of working in one of the busiest cities in the world, sometimes I want to get out and smell the fresh country air. Unfortunately, that isn’t the easiest thing to do, especially when I don’t own a car. Or a farm. Enter Farming Simulator 2015, where I can get that farm-fresh feeling while cramped in my overpriced apartment.
I don’t want to come across as combative or dismissive when I say that Farming Simulator 2015 is the perfect game for someone who enjoys mowing their lawn. Some people take great pride in their work, and others find mowing offers a quiet time for reflection. I used to mow my parents’ lawn all the time, and it wasn’t so bad. Farming Simulator 2015 reminds me of the time spent on the old riding mower. as I loop up and down my virtual fields, making sure I don’t miss a single ear of corn.
Yes, Farming Simulator 2015 is exactly like what it says. It simulates owning a farm. You can plant, grow, and harvest crops, raise animals and even cut down trees to sell. Obviously this isn’t a game for everyone. So little action occurs it may even put you to sleep with your controller in your hand. With a few more tweaks, I think Farming Simulator 2015 could become a game more people would be interested in playing. Right now though, it’s definitely a niche game for a niche audience.
My biggest complaint is with audio. You had better have a second device nearby that can play music or a TV show, because if you just use the in-game audio you’ll be bored to tears. There is no soundtrack, and the audio tracks consist of very light background chirps and other nature sounds along with the sound of farm vehicles. That means you’ll only hear a low droning rumble while playing unless you find our own entertainment. Even the most basic of soundtracks would have gone a long way to making this a more engaging game.
Another problem I had: controls. The basics all make sense, with left trigger acting as a brake and right trigger as the accelerator. Even holding on to the R1 or L1 buttons to access more actions makes sense. But burying the map under two button presses is just bad game design. The map should be one of the easiest things to access, especially in a game about property management.
Speaking of the map, there’s no key to what any of the icons mean on the map. I had to spend time driving around to each icon just to find out what was there. When your max speed is a whopping 26 miles per hour, that driving can take some time. There’s also very little in terms of tutorials, so figuring out how Farming Simulator 2015 works can be a bit of a trial and error process.
It would also be helpful to see where your purchased gear is located. You’ll quickly purchase more tools to use with your tractors, but you’ll have more tools than tractors. This means you’ll be swapping out tools on the fly to go from planting seeds to spraying fertilizer to harvesting. Unfortunately, there’s no way to track where your tools are. If you accidentally left your cultivator tool at one field, you will have to drive around trying to find where you left it. I suppose this is like real life, but a small blip on the map would be helpful.
The big addition to Farming Simulator 2015 on consoles is that there is now a multiplayer component. If you can convince a friend to come join in, this is the best way to experience Farming Simulator. Working with someone helps grow your farm much faster without having to hire some help. It also helps break up the monotony that can creep into gameplay.
That’s not to say that I didn’t have fun planting my crops and tending to the bee hive that I purchased. I found it a nice change of pace from the gun-filled, violent games I normally play. While I certainly don’t think that Farming Simulator 2015 is a game for everyone to enjoy, there are much worse ways to spend your time than throwing on some Netflix or a podcast and tending to your fields. A few more tweaks here and there, especially to the audio, could make a huge difference in Farming Simulator 2016. Here’s to next year, where the grass is always greener and is in prime shape to be mowed.
