Papaya Farm
Android Game Review
I really, really – for the life of me — can’t figure out why I get sucked into these types of games. Farming sims. Why? I mean, I grew up in cow country. Sheep were my neighbours and everywhere I looked for miles and miles? Corn. So why do I see a farming sim in the Android Market and squeal with delight? Really, I don’t know. I know that doesn’t sound like much of a sell but hear me out: It’s fun.
At least, I’m pretty sure it is. If any of you have ever played Eve Online (wait, did she just compare a cartoon farming sim with a galactic empire sim/sci-fi MMO?) you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. With Eve (and Papaya Farm) you spend most of your time on the same screen, farming for ‘crops’ that you don’t actually use but instead sell for more money that you use to farm better ‘crops’ that you sell… for more money. And there are even more similarities!
If you want to use the crops that you’ve farmed, you can gather up a certain number of them and build cool things (it varies based on what you want to build and how many crops you have). The similarities pretty much stopped there. What? You thought that Papaya Farm could be Eve Online in disguise? I mean, just look at the pictures. Someone put real effort into Papaya Farm, guys. Not like that other game. Who plays sci-fi MMOs anymore anyway?
BOTH USE THE COLOUR BLUE. AM I RIGHT? SUSPICIOUS.
Alright, let’s talk cartoon farming. If you’re reading this review it’s possible that you’ve already discovered the joys of wasting hours and hours of your life farming imaginary cartoon crops in that other popular farming sim game. Well, I can honestly say that I enjoy this one more. Why? Theft. That’s right — you can steal other peoples crops. And no, I’m not talking about stealing their crops in that cutesy way where you leave an automated message on their Facebook wall telling them all about how clever you are in stealing an ear of their corn and how they should come play the game and steal back from you lolz etc. I mean heart breaking, relentless theft. You can waltz into someone elses farm and just steal a bunch of their stuff. Sure, they can steal yours too but there’s no real cutesy game played about the whole thing. You can just be a jerk. I like games that accommodate me and my more evil urges.
If you want to prevent theft, you can employ a dog to watch over your crops and bite anyone who tries to steal from you. To keep this dog on guard you have to feed him. Just like real life. But if you don’t feed him he doesn’t die, he just curls up and whimpers. Forever. Or until you feed him again. Unlike real life. (Oops.)
There’s not a lot of skill involved but there is a fair deal of thinking ahead — different crops grow to maturity at different times, ranging from 10 minutes to 4 weeks! When you harvest crops you receive ‘tools’ which you can use with your crops to bring in more money. For example, you may find a bag of peach flour which you can use with a bushel of harvested peaches to make a peach pie which is worth significantly more than you would make by just selling the peaches alone. You dig? (Get it?)
For every harvest you earn XP. For increased XP you open up more plots of land where you can plant things and a wider variety of crops to plant that will bring in more money. You’ll use that money to buy bigger and better crops to use with the tools you find when you harvest. And the green grass grows all around.
All in all, I’ve enjoyed this game quite a bit. I check on my crops once a day, at least, and have been playing for almost a year now. Am I ashamed? Only a bit. Can I grow magic pumpkins? YES. And they make it all worth it. If you like Farmville, you’ll like Papaya Farm and hey, it’ll follow you around on your phone. Won’t that be nice? Then you can feign interest in being outside and away from the computer!
| Papaya Farm is also available on these platforms | |
|---|---|
| Android Tablets | |
