Pocket Farm by Egerter Software is part strategy, part time management, part arcade puzzle and all around not quite the best effort for a company that has prided itself on several "firsts" for the iPhone. Few of the game aspects hold up on their own and despite the combination of them, the game feels fairly flat.
fter selecting your choice of farmer, you can start your new farm simply by selecting an available square and using the all-purpose "action" button to purchase new items, work with the land or activate the special abilities of purchased items. This is repeated until you activate the item selling mini-game where you can click and drop vegetables in to baskets, hopefully chaining them up for bonus cash.
Pocket Farm uses a fairly kitschy art style that would be perfect for the game if it wasn't for the somewhat ugly standard interface and bland fonts surrounding it. The mini-game also uses this art style and almost pulls it off, but once again is let down by a poor interface design with ugly highlighting and no discernible way of identifying vegetables that are about to fall.
This could easily have been "the" game to have if you were following the farming game craze on Facebook, but despite all the effort that has gone into the art style only a basic amount of attention has been given to the gameplay itself. As a time-management game it's not pressing and the mini-game requires more luck than skill. It's fun, but there are better options.
Description
Pocket Farm is the farming game you have all been waiting for on the iPhone! Unlike other farming games this one doesn't require you to buy additional points or virtual items after you've already paid for the game! Pocket Farm is not a clone, it's a unique experience you won't find in other farming games.
Now you can build your farms wherever you go! Pocket Farm is a casual sandbox game that lets you build farms at your own pace and sell your harvest in a fun mini-game.
With only a shovel and a handful of seeds, build your farm from the ground up into a money making business. Buy fields, fences, a barn, tractor, pond, and a variety of animals. Place them where you want to design your farm the way you like it. Water the crops from your pond, or use a tractor to plow all the fields at once.
When you've harvested enough vegetables that are in demand, head to the market where you'll have to pack customer's baskets with vegetables without letting them fall off the conveyor belt. Fill adjacent baskets to chain them together and collect bonus multipliers to earn the most cash!
This extremely addicting combination of harvesting and selling will keep your fingers moving and brain entertained!
It's two games in one!
So what are you waiting for? Get farming TODAY!
FEATURES
- Addictive gameplay for all ages!
- Built in help and gameplay tips
- Zoom in and out of your farm
- Cute and zany graphics
- 40 Levels
- 8 musical tracks
REVIEWS
iphoneapps-review.com
"I really enjoyed this game, its simplistic nature is very soothing. I don't know what it is but this game really appeals to me. I've never wanted to be a farmer or anything, so it's kind of strange that I enjoy a virtual farming game so much. For only $0.99, it's hard to go wrong here.
This game surprised the hell outta me! I figure for the cost and the amount of peace the game seems to bring me, it's totally worth the buck I paid for it. 5/5"
AppModo.com:
"Pocket Farm is extremely addictive. I simply couldn’t stop playing this game. I would definitely recommend this game to all kids, both young and old."
DEVELOPER NOTES
For all the people giving low reviews because they didn't read the instructions... READ THIS: The crops in demand are highlighted with a yellow box at the top of the screen. Don't grow crops for the market if they aren't in demand or no baskets will appear and you will waste them.
JOIN THE FAN COMMUNITY
-On Facebook at www.facebook.com/RockingPocketGames
-On Twitter at twitter.com/RockingPocket
What's New in Version 4.0
This app has been updated by Apple to use the latest Apple signing certificate.
-Remastered in HD for 2017 and gone free to play!
-New farmer graphics
-Now a universal app that works on iPhone and iPad.