People love farming simulators, Pure Farming 2018 wants to take that global
Pure Farming 2018 may have sold me on farm games?
Pure Farming 2018 is out now. Farming Sim games now come from several competitive developers but also that competition leaves me confused because most entries in the Farm Gaming World seem interchangeable. I'm missing a key element in what draws people in, but this genre keeps raking in money hand over fist, so the problem must be with me. Let's take a look at what Pure Farming 2018 is bringing to the table.
Update: Whoops, I got a bit carried away in writing this game up the first time. I have some frustrations with the genre and it got a bit out of hand. Sorry to any digital farmers whom may have been offended.
See, I grew up on farms. I grew up on games. When I first started playing SimFarm, I totally got it. Decades later, I'm playing first person shooter formatted games where I'm operating combines and the process of planting turnips in what appears to be a Dutch village. A review of one of the Farming Simulators is the very first paid review I ever had in games, back in 2010. I wound up losing my mind shouting about how the scientific and agricultural structure of what's happening makes little to no sense; especially when you plant seeds in a field, water the field, harvest the field, take the bounty to sell in town, and ONLY THEN DECIDE WHAT KIND OF SEED YOU PLANTED. Stardew Valley felt like a tremendous step forward for realism.
There's that frustration again! I am so sorry. Let's get back on track with talking about the game today, and not half-remembered anxieties from a decade-old shovel-ware title.
After inheriting an in-game farm, you buy the best machines and work hard from dawn to dusk, selling crops, invest in new technologies, while making your farm the most efficient one in the state. And then, the game promises, you go global.
Launch trailer here:
Okay, you know what? This seems like a genuine step forward and the kind of thing I'd be... I'd be willing to try. The technological push and the idea that you're taking the world of agriculture onto a global stage is at the very least the largest scale I've ever seen in a game like this. Perhaps it's on me for thinking that all of these titles should be lumped in with the garbage I've suffered in the past.
“We listened closely to the farm simulator community, so we understand their expectations. That’s why we’re bringing a fleet of fully licensed machines from such industry leaders as Zetor, JCB, Great Plains, and many others. We’ve designed unique farms located in the USA, Japan, Italy, Colombia and Germany, and introduced various crops specific for these regions,” said Lukasz Abramczuk, Producer at Techland Publishing. “Thanks to three distinct game modes, we believe we’ve created a game that is very accessible to newcomers and at the same time satisfying for hardcore gamers who know their way around a virtual farm."
There is a weird element of farming games where they all seem to be in competition to include as many brand names as possible. As someone who came up around basically just John Deere equipment, I don't understand this at all, but also good on them for packing as much realism into this as possible. If I play will I learn the difference between what JCB makes and what Zetor makes? I guess I learned most of what I know about cars from the Forza series, so anything is possible.
A list of some of the post-release content is included below:
At least 7 DLCs with new models, machines, and other surprises within 6 months;
General game improvements based on players’ feedback from launch;
At least 3 updates to modding tools within 3 months;
Support for steering wheels and peripherals, and more within 3 months;
Regularly selected PC mods added as free DLC for consoles.
The game is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Pre-Order members get the Germany farm map DLC for free. Best of luck with cracking the mysteries of life and chaos theory and whatever else comes with this. Perhaps sound-off in the comments below if you have a good explanation of where I'm missing the fun here or if you're a farmer who can tell me how close this game comes to simulating your global economic take-over.