Title: Farming Simulator 2013
Platform: Xbox 360, PC (Reviewed on 360)
Developer: Focus Home Entertainment
Publisher: Giants Software
Price: $29.99
Release Date: November 19th, 2013
Tagline: The PC farming sim title, makes a lackluster debut on Xbox 360
Family Friendly: Click here for more information.
Verdict: Skip It
When I received Farming Simulator 2013 for Xbox 360, I thought it might be fun. Over and over in the back of my head, I kept hearing the chorus, “They see me plowing, my fields” to the tune of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’ Dirty”. I mean, it is a niche title, but there had to be enough going for it considering that the developers and the publishers took the time to bring the game to the Xbox 360 right before the Xbox One came out. Or, that was the ploy to disguise the fact that Farming Simulator 2013 is a hot mess of confusion that never clicks. It shows its PC heritage quickly among a complex control system and a lack of any sort of direction throughout its stay in your console.
I could go into a long detailed explanation of what you can do in Farming Simulator 2013, but it is pretty self-explanatory. You start with a detailed tutorial to get a hang of the different equipment that you will find on your farm, and what each piece of equipment is used for and then you are set out into the world to create where currently empty fields stand, waiting for the said plowing and harvesting. It does have a sense of authenticity with its faming tropes, as you do have a lot that sits in front of you. Your farm area is quite large and there are many different crops you need to tend to and bring to market to sell. In this, the game succeeds in creating the basic simulation.
But it is also a simulation where you live in the perfect horticulture world. There are no deep freezes that leave you trying to heat the fields for fear of losing a bountiful harvest. There are no pests that infest your farm and again turn your profit into a black hole of debt. I may sound a bit harsh, but the problem here is that the simulation is pristine in its presentation. You get the basic understanding of what it takes to get a farm running, but none of the ever present challenges are here that make a farmer pull his hair out daily.
It also lacks any direction once you leave the tutorial. Once I did all the beginning tasks, and learned about the different pieces of equipment, seeds field tilling techniques and more, Farming Simulator seems to think you have learned what you need to know and thrusts you out into the world, with no story points or tasks to point you in a direction. For the purist that wants an open simulation to do as they please, you will find a lot to love here. But for most that pick this up, wanting to try something different, they will quickly throw their hands up in frustration, not knowing what they need to do next. It is overwhelming in its lack of focus and direction for the causal player.
Even the controls can leave you stumbling around, as many functions require you to push multiple buttons to make actions happen, and it is easy to screw up your processes because you forgot a step, like bringing a combine down properly, or moving your tractor too fast and disengaging your trailer in the process. It feels like someone trying to shoehorn a Bugatti Veyron in the footprint of a VW Beetle. It is easy to forget what you need to do for each piece of equipment and it more often than not leads to frustration.
This all leads to the ever present question of why bother releasing Farming Simulator 2013 on the console? I know if has found many a fan on the PC, but there, you have a keyboard and a mouse that lends itself quite nicely to the many different control mechanisms you need to perform with all your equipment. It also seems paced for that crowd. In the world of shooters, racers, fighters and other instant gratification genres, Farming Simulator 2013 seems to be a tough sell for anyone to have the iron patience needed to get anything done. I am sure that many will pick it up to see if there is some fun to be had, or quick achievements to be earned, but they will soon find themselves lulled into a state of confusion to which they may never find themselves a road back to sanity.
Farming Genius:
Lots of equipment to buy and own
Said equipment is very detailed in look and in operation
Lots of different tasks and functions to perform on the farm
Heap of Dead Crops:
No direction as to what to do after tutorial
Controls are very complex for the average gamer
Lack of any outside hazard, like weather or pests
Family Focus
Farming Simulator 2013 is family friendly when you look at the content. You won’t find flesh eating crops trying to turn you into a bloody pulp. Here is is just you and a lot of nature and heavy equipment. That said, the complete lack of direction will frustrate a lot of younger players, and older ones for that matter too. The game is easy to allow all ages to play, but the attention spans of the players might preclude them from having fun.