I will always find it a little bemusing just how popular farming simulation games are, but they are. It’s probably a large amount of urbanites looking for a connection to the land, rather than any actual farmers, who are probably royally sick of the whole thing at the end of the day.

Farming Simulator 2011: Platinum Edition updates the original game with more machines and a nod at the green agenda.

There are three modes to the game, the Career, Missions and Multiplayer. The missions are fairly straightforward practice runs with finite goals and good for practising moving and manipulating your vehicles. Career can be played in either of three levels, from easy to hard. This is the main guts of the sim. Here you’re given a farm, which needs your magic touch to get up and running. Thankfully the game starts you at a point where you have a farm and all the machinery you might need.

This is where things get interesting and the game shows the depths of detail hidden within. So, what do you want to do with your new farm, concentrate on livestock or cultivating crops, each decision you take will make for a unique experience.

Of course, the majority of your time will be spent moving around your machinery and there is a lot to master here. Driving can be a little frustrating and certainly if you’re looking for a quick experience this is possibly not the game for you as it will mostly reward gamers who are willing to put in the hours needed to get the farm running right.

Graphically the game is well detailed for both the environment and the various vehicles that you will have to master. Incidentally if you have already purchased the non-platinum version of the game there is also an official add-on disc to bring your experience up to the platinum level.

7

Charles Packer