Developer: Giants Software
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Platform: PC, Mac
Tested On: PC
Farming Simulator 15 – Review
While farming in real-life is taking a turn for the worst, virtual farming seems to be more popular than ever. Giants Software seems to be aware of this. Since 2011 they have been releasing bi-annual iterations of their Farming Simulator. Over the years they have gained a large mod community which brought a lot of extra content to the games. Let’s take a look at the latest in farming simulation, Farming Simulator 15.
Story
There is no traditional form of a story to be found here. The great thing about this sort of games is that you make your own story. Whether you started in easy, medium or hard mode will decide how much starting funds you have. You start doing the various things that you can and sell the products that you obtain. Earning more money will allow you to buy more machines and land leading to the decision of what aspect of Farming Simulator world you want to focus on. Farming wheat, maintaining live stock or forestry, it’s up to you!
Graphics
We’re getting used to Giants Software delivering stupidly detailed virtual farming equipment but they have pushed the bar even further this time. From the little valve that covers the exhaust of some tractors (which moves when accelerating) to the rotating axles, it’s hard not to get lost just looking at all the equipment. The world itself though doesn’t feel much improved in terms of graphical quality. There is improvement to be found however in the amount of different assets that are scattered around. All in all, Farming Simulator 15 still stands its ground here.
Sound
You’d expect every tractor would sort of sound the same right? Well wrong, between the 15 or so tractors that are in the game they all have a different sound. That goes for basically every piece of equipment in the game. It all sounds unique in a way. It would however be nice to have some sort of radio system in the game because the sound of heavy diesel machinery might get annoying after a couple of hours of play.
Gameplay
Earlier, we did a review of Farming Simulator 2013 on the PS3. While the game didn’t really feel at home on a console, it was surprising how well it felt playing with a controller. When jumping into Farming Simulator 15 playing with a keyboard, you’ll most definitely get frustrated soon with the jumpy movement controls. Luckily this PC-version has controller support (check the list of supported controllers here) and wheel support. Playing the game with a wheel was fun too however a specific wheel options menu is really missing here. There are also some issues where controls aren’t properly showed on the screen and I found myself googling how to move a specific part of a crane as I couldn’t find any reference to it within the game itself.
It’s a shame that the controls offer such a learning curve because other parts of the game have become more accessible mainly thanks to the new and improved interface. Both the menu and in game UI look a lot cleaner now and are simpler to navigate. Tutorials are also available but again some machinery just isn’t handled here like the new forestry equipment. It feels strange that there wouldn’t be a tutorial for the new machines in the game, again a missed opportunity to add some accessibility.
Jumping into the game, you get to choose between Career mode and Multiplayer. Career mode starts out as discussed earlier in the review. You start earning money and decide what you want to do. Occasional missions pop up, offering some variation and sense of guidance. Multiplayer is the same as it was in the previous Farming Simulator. You can create a multiplayer game of up to 16 players using your career save. Great when you need that extra help around your farm. Looking for a session wasn’t that easy though as most are password protected. Seems like most people prefer to play with their own friends and rightfully so as it’s the best way to experience the world of Farming Simulator 15. It’s also great to see that Giants Software has embraced the mod community. Besides free mods offered on their website, you can find plenty of other mods online. These are easy to manage within the game thanks to the mod manager.
Conclusion
Farming Simulator 15 has some cool new features like the additional official brands and forestry equipment. The new user interface is also very welcome. The game does suffer from some overly complicated controls and a lack of visual information when operating the more advanced machinery. Also the driving mechanics still need some serious improvement but feel better when playing with a controller. Farming Simulator 15 will however please existing fans of the series and will excite newcomers too.
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