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Anyone who has ever believed that farmers have an easy life could learn a lot from Farm Frenzy 3. Combining many aspects of the agricultural life in 95 intense levels, this game is a great test of your reactions and decision making.
The story begins with a renowned farmer, Scarlett, receiving a letter from her friend Morris who has a farm of his own in Africa. Morris has fallen on hard times with a sandstorm putting paid to most of his property while the Farmer’s Union Nod (F.U.N)has refused to help him. Scarlett makes the journey to Africa to help Morris get back on track and while there he insists that she should consider running for control of the F.U.N. Scarlett thinks it over but in the meantime there is work to be done.
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Scarlett’s travels take her to five farms throughout the game, beginning in Africa and taking in Europe, South America, the USA and most bizarrely the Arctic. Each farm contains numerous delightfully challenging levels which will have you working the keyboard or mouse at a frantic pace. Each level begins with a list of your targets and a record time for completion. If you manage to beat the time you will be rewarded with a gold trophy. If you fail to reach gold standard, a second time limit appears offering you the chance to win a silver trophy. If, like me, there are times when you fail to win either of the trophies your personal time will be recorded and you will receive a tick for successful completion of the level.
Each level takes place on one screen with a list of animals you can purchase in a menu at the top while your targets and the time are located at the bottom of the screen. You are in charge of your own livestock which you must feed by regularly watering the ground and each draw from the well costs you a small fee. On either side of the screen are situated a group of machines you will need to produce goods from the eggs, fur and other produce of your farm animals. At the bottom of the screen is your warehouse for the storage of any goods, as well as a truck to transport it to the market for sale. Later in the game you will acquire other modes of transport such as a helicopter to order certain goods to combine with your farm’s produce to make food and clothing. An added complication to your working farm is the presence of interloping predators that will kill your livestock unless you quickly capture them in cages and stash them in your warehouse to be sold.
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As the levels become more difficult and the time limits more severe you will need to invest in upgrades for your machines, the water well, warehouse and transport to meet the criteria specified. In many instances it is a requirement of the next level to have upgraded your technology, with failure to have done so meaning you cannot progress. Successful completion of each level sees you awarded stars with bonuses awarded if you manage to collect a gold or silver trophy. The gold stars form your currency to improve your technology levels so they can produce a larger quantity of goods at a faster rate.
If there is any weakness to Farm Frenzy 3 it is that 95 levels can create a feeling of repetitiveness. Once you have mastered specific technology the levels will seem familiar with the stakes and severity of the time limits being the only thing that has changed. Playing through a few levels at a time is probably more suitable than sitting for hours. Many of the levels are difficult with the targets seemingly out of reach even when you are frantically directing goods back and forth, watering the land to keep your animals alive and fending off predators. The only plus point about the difficulty is that even if you fail to earn a gold or silver trophy you will still progress. However, you may need to re-do levels every now and again to top up your stars and make sure you can afford the required technology: some of it is necessary in order to move on to the next level and so you can’t progress without it.
Farm Frenzy 3 is addictive, fast-paced and great fun. It will suit all ages with younger gamers gaining insight into the farming industry as they tend to their own farms. The similarity in some of the levels means you will probably not spend hours at a time on the game but at a retail price of £9.99 and with 95 levels to work through this offers excellent value.
**Review by David Brown**
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Final score: 81%
RRP: £9.99 |
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