The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
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Reviews
Review: Farm Frenzy Fun
Price: $0.99
App Store Link: Full / Lite
Verdict: Love It
Replay Value: High
Pros: Lots of gameplay and achievements; great for long or short play.
Cons: Inconsistent touch controls (e.g. a tap can plant grass instead of trapping a bear)
Bottom Line: This addictive game cleverly builds upon typical time management games by allowing the player to strategize towards each level’s goal, allowing for better scores, times, and outcomes. While the touch controls could be improved, this game will provide countless hours of fun.
In Farm Frenzy, the player is in control of maintaining a farm and is presented with different objectives at each level. The beginning levels start off simple by only requesting that you purchase a set number of geese and collecting a set number of eggs. To keep the geese alive you must plant grass for them to eat, which in turn uses up your water supply that can only be refilled by paying a small fee. You can earn additional money by selling the goods you collect.
As the game escalates, you’ll find that eggs are needed to create flour, which is needed to create bread, and so on. The player is able to collect goods and keep them in a storehouse, which has limited space. To empty the storehouse and earn money, you send your goods away in a truck and after a few seconds the truck will return with your money.
Upgrades are available for purchase; these may be required in the objective of the level, or simply help you make more of an item quicker, allow for a larger storehouse, etc. To add a challenge to the game, sometimes you’ll hear a roar, soon followed by a bear dropping from the sky in order to attack your livestock or possibly spoil your goods. To prevent this, players can tap on the bear several times to lock him in a cage. If you have enough storage space, you can send the bear to the storehouse to later sell for some extra cash. If you don’t have the space, the bear will eventually run off screen.
This is particularly where I found the touch controls to be frustrating at times. While trying to cage the bear by tapping the screen, I would instead plant a patch of grass (which requires a similar tapping gesture), and the bear would go free to kill my livestock. Occasionally, tapping inconsistencies also caused the unintended purchase of various upgrades (an expensive mistake). While this is something that should be addressed, it did not affect the game enough to make it unplayable. Also, if this happened frequently during a level, you can always restart that level or even play it again afterwards and keep what rewards you did earn. Each level typically lasts about 5 minutes, but it can be as short or as long as you choose.
I found the game to be quite addictive, and I really appreciate how much there is to achieve. Not only can you earn the standard type trophies, but in order to proceed to higher levels, you have to earn enough points to purchase upgrades which will be offered in-game once that level is unlocked.
Ultimately, I would definitely recommend Farm Frenzy to anyone looking for a twist on typical time management games and appreciates long game-life. The cute graphics are entertaining and will be sure to keep you in a frenzy to play more. This app will definitely remain on my devise for a long time to come!
