Nintendo DS Review: John Deere's Harvest in the Heartland - Page 2

Besides greatly simplifying the work on the farm, tractors also help players keep their sanity. Returning to the farm triggers a loading delay, which can happen when coming back from town or closing out of the “tool shed" screen. Early-game farming is an exercise in patience, as one selects the hoe, waits for the farm to load, tills the soil and selects seeds, waits for the farm to load, plants seeds and selects the watering can, waits for the farm to load, and generally curses small-scale farm efforts that require frequent tool switches. The “garage” screen has the same loading delay, but it breaks up the game play much less when players can spend more time on the tractor tending to bigger fields spread over a larger area. It still would have been nice to be able to switch between tools on the fly, especially because the game can lock up and never come out of the loading screen.

The stylus controls in the game feel underused, and all the farm motions can be bypassed with the A button. An effort was made to have players swing with the hoe, slash with the scythe, and spray with the pesticides, it almost feels faster just to skip the touch screen. In the tractor, the stylus is only used to tap the attachments to turn them on or off.

One of the game’s strengths is the in-game assistance. Any time a new aspect of the farm is encountered, players are shown a brief tutorial explaining how it works. These tutorials can be accessed from the pause screen at any time, even before they are encountered, so that the mechanics behind the farm are clear. Players can also select individual buildings, plants, and animals to get a diagnostic readout that shows how they are doing. This makes it easier to verify that plants have been watered, animals aren’t getting sick, and buildings have been painted and repaired before they start deteriorating. There are also a number of in-game services available that will take care of some farm upkeep requirements for a fee.

Article Author: Peter M. J. Gross

Peter M. J. Gross is a writer who has also contributed to Charlottesville's weekly newspaper, The Hook.

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