Farm Story
Farm sim has sneaky advertising and ways to make you spend.
Farm Story
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Farm Story is a generally cute and fun farming simulator, but that it is loaded with hidden advertising and enticements to get the player to spend real money. The game presents players with mission objectives ('Plant five strawberry bushes," "Buy two bales of hay," etc.) which must be accomplished in order to unlock the next objective and earn experience to move up to new levels. However, some of those missions involve products that can only be purchased with special crystals or by owning those crystals. Those crystals (beyond the initial 20 that all players are given at the start) can only be obtained by spending real money on them, or by receiving them as a reward for downloading more apps by the same publisher. You can't really enjoy this app without spending money or downloading other apps by the same publisher.
Community Reviews
Not for little kids!
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Is It Any Good?
FARM STORY is a great looking and generally fun farming simulation, but is frustrating in that it feels built specifically to get players to spend money (or to at least download other apps they might not want). This is a "velvet rope" app, which entices you with free play, but then offers you a faster, more complete experience if you spend extra money. However, unlike most "velvet rope" apps, which let you play a slower, less complete game if you don't want to spend money, Farm Story does not provide that option. It makes their rare "crystals" incredibly hard to come by without paying for them (or downloading other apps from the same publisher), and also makes those crystals a requirements in order to pass through certain missions. That takes a lot of the fun out of it, making the app feel more like a marketing device than a straightforward game. Too bad too, because this game starts out fun until your crystals are gone.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: September 7, 2010
- Category: Simulation Games
- Publisher: TeamLava
- Version: 1.6.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 3.0 or later
- Last updated: August 22, 2016
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