Title: Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition
Available On: Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC
Developer: GIANTS Software
Publisher: Focus Home Interactive
Genre: Simulation
Official Site: www.farming-simulator.com
Release Date: October 22, 2019
Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition is an expansion to Farming Simulator 19 that comes with everything and adds over 35 new vehicles and tools featuring the brand Claas. In Farming Simulator 19, you take on the role of a farmer. As a farmer in Farming Simulator Platinum Edition, it is your duty to tend to your farm, feed your pets and live the life of a farmer. With the expansion, there are just more vehicles to add to the complexity of an already complex game. That being said, Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition is a solid game but you could settle for just the base game unless you really want the Claas expansion.
Gameplay
As I have said before, in Farming Simulator 19, you tend to your farm. The best part about the game is you can customize your farm however you want. I was actually overwhelmed with what I could do in the game. When I played Farming Simulator 19, I just made a simple farm where I grew wheat, cotton, but you don’t even need to grow crops. I had the option to build a chicken coup where I could raise chickens and sell eggs to the local vendors.
There is also other livestock such as pigs, cows, sheep, and horses. There is way more than just wheat and cotton also. I had the option of growing sunflowers, soybeans, wheat, sugarcane, as well as being able to chop down trees and sell lumber with the new expansion. Farming Simulator has by far been the best series in the simulator genre and Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition takes it to a whole different level. The only issue with this much variety is that it can get overwhelming at times.
The addition of the Claas vehicles didn’t really add much to the overall game, however, it was a nice addition to the game’s collection of brands such as John Deere, Case IH, New Holland, Challenger, Fendt, Massey Ferguson, and Valtra.
Farming Simulator games as a series always make you feel like you are actually working on a farm and seem to take itself seriously in that sense. Besides Euro Truck Simulator, Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition might be the closest simulation game to actually emulate what it’s supposed to do. It’s a nice breath of fresh air considering there are games like Goat Simulator and Bus Simulator.
This game is so realistic that I spent hours just fertilizing, planting, and harvesting my crops on just one plot of my farm. It can get tedious at times, however, there is an option to hire workers to do the farm work for you while you run to the store to get more supplies or manage other things in your farm. Overall it really simulates the simplicity and peacefulness of working on a farm.
I didn’t spend too much time on the multiplayer but if you have a group of friends it can be really fun.
Controls and Graphics
The controls on the Xbox One can be a bit clunky at times, but for the most part, are very smooth. All of the controls were mapped properly, but the only real downside was navigating through the menus. To get to one section on the map for fast traveling was much more tedious than it needed to be.
The graphics for Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition are amazing. Even for the Xbox, the world was beautiful. I can’t imagine how great this game looks on a PC or even the Xbox One X. Everything felt very smooth and there were no glitches on the Xbox which tends to happen with games that can be as intense as this. The realism of every vehicle was honestly very surprising. I didn’t expect the tractors and fields to look as beautiful as they did. At times there were texture loading issues but I just think it was because of how big the game is.
Verdict: Farming Simulator 19 Platinum Edition is a great simulation game. It really made me feel like I was doing actual farm work. I also really liked that if I took on too many projects or just wanted to automate the work on my farms I could. The level of variety within Farming Simulator 19 can keep you playing for hours because there’s just so much you can accomplish.
The addition of the Claas vehicle and tools are a great addition to the game as well. However, I wish that it was advertised as the Claas expansion. In my opinion Farming Simulator, Platinum Edition is good but you’re better off getting the base game for cheaper. The platinum expansion adds to the game but it isn’t necessary unless you really love forage harvesting and bailing.
[review]