While I’m not a farmer’s daughter, I did grow up smack in the middle of cotton country, Alabama. My sister married a cotton farmer, and her son had about every John Deere miniature farming implement ever made. If only he had kept them, he’d be rich! Oh well. … Anyway, I was intrigued by this title and wanted to see how they treated farming in a simulation. The answer is - pretty good!

When I started up the program, I expected there to be a tutorial on how to play the game. Well, while there were some easy missions to choose from that highlighted the basic gameplay, like raising chickens and farming crops, these missions themselves didn’t explain the mechanics of how to accomplish anything. There is a help file that is accessible while playing the game, but some players may miss it as it’s not evident that it’s actually a game manual. But for anyone who’s played a simulation, the menu buttons are much the same as most other simulations. The three main menu options during the game are checking the farm’s progress, building, and of course, buying lots of John Deere equipment. However, there won’t be a whole lot of farm equipment buying until later during the game, as this stuff is pure-dee expensive!

Just as in real life, rain comes down or not, there are droughts, and there are lots of bugs that want to eat your crops. These hazards are spaced out and aren’t too onerous, and there are different difficulty levels to choose from. There’s a lot to do on the farm, but there are plenty of hired hands to help with the various tasks. The game is played out in real time, which makes for some slightly unrealistic farming, like when it takes Johnny Sue two weeks to feed the chickens.

John Deere North American Farmer is a sequel to John Deere American Farmer, and offers 15 new scenarios, plus a sandbox mode to play with pre-designed maps, or uploaded created maps. The basic gameplay is unchanged from the previous edition, though.

The John Deere name and farmers in general are treated with respect. While there is some humor (one of the housing choices includes a trailer, there’s a trampoline that can be purchased, and there is a golden tractor available for yard decoration, at the small price of around a million dollars), the equipment is based on real models, and the farming decisions and choices are realistic.

Graphically, the game looks good, even when zoomed in. This is a budget title, so the graphics aren’t the best ever seen or cutting edge, but they still do the job nicely.

The music is the one of the best features of this game, and is catchy and tuneful. I’m no country music fan by any means, but this music is a more upbeat tempo type of country, and fits the farm theme wonderfully.

While this isn’t the deepest simulation I’ve every played, neither is it shallow or cheaply made. There’s plenty to do here, and simulation fans will enjoy it, especially at the budget price. A good choice for those looking for something different other than building the next ski resort or theme park.

Gameplay: 7.5
Welcome to the farm, John Deere style! With 15 scenarios, plus a sandbox mode, there’s always something to do on this farm.

Graphics: 7.0
While not state-or-the-art, the graphics get the job done very well.

Sound: 8.5
Loved the music, it’s the best I’ve heard in one of these budget titles!

Difficulty: Medium
The game has three difficulty levels of gameplay.

Concept: 7.0
There isn’t anything really new or different than the previous title, but the new scenarios at the budget price make for a good bargain.

Overall: 7.5
A nice take on farming at a budget price, and the John Deere farming equipment is the icing on the cake.