Quick Cons: Stingy requests.
Review: Let me start by saying this, because I want this to be known early... I think the Chuck wagon is a brilliant idea, the ability to cook up rations relatively cheaply. The plot of Bess' Dad coming along and helping out his girl on the Trail is also nice, although it has been suggested by another admin we need a Jerry Springer DNA test as Cookie's head just doesn't seem big enough...I also think it's just right, size-wise, (the Wagon obviously, not Cookie's head...) and its artwork is really attractive, it looks great and fits in to the general homestead theme.
After a couple of buildings that haven't really "fitted in" with my realistic OCD, the Inn L'Amour and the Detective Agency, this one does match up nicely next to my Pioneer Campsite and various prize tents. If this were merely a review of it's looks then we could end this review right now and give it a lovely send off.
Unfortunately it's not, it's about the whole experience and... well, the rest of this release drag this potentially brilliant feature down like it's accidentally slipped into Mafia Wars, been fitted for a pair of concrete boots and sent to sleep with the fishes.
The missions LOOK good, they're varied and have a nice amount of different things to do on the Homestead. Then you get to mission three and find the requests for Bacon Dripping gives just one single item every request, a request you have to wait 8 hours to make again. Then in mission five it's that time all over again with just one item per request for Tootin Fruit.Add to that the fact that half the building supplies (30 in all) only pop up TWO per post and you begin to wonder if the game has suddenly become the lovechild of Scrooge and Gollum, counting it's items in a dark room, stroking a piece of ceramic muttering "My precious..."
It's sad that the missions bring down what could be a cracking new feature but the constant requesting just makes it a war of attrition, load up, request, get one item, load up, request, get one item... lather, rinse, repeat. All the time watching your neighbours with a ferocity and avidness that, in real life, would likely lead to either marriage or a restraining order... or possibly both.
Back to the positives for a second, the idea of being able to craft rations is a very nice one... but by the time you've fought through everything that needs doing to get to the point you get your 8 rations and think... It's nice but I'm not really sure it was worth all that effort really...
I'm sure in the long run once the memories of the missions and building requirements have scabbed over I'll enjoy it. I'll enjoy the look of it, the extra rations.... But now and then I'll get a flashback like a Vet from a Vietnam movie shouting at anyone who suggests something new needs too many items..."You don't know nothin' man, I was in the Chuck Wagon!"
Stability: So far it's been glitch free.
Ratings (out of 5)
Fun:  Could have been so much fun... but isn't really thanks to the stingyness of the requests. | Spam: Let's be honest, this is spammier than a spam sandwich with spam as bread. | Time: If you're incredibly organised and get some friends together this might take a week... |
Overall (out of 10):
An absolutely brilliant idea let down by the preliminary stuff.
I totally agree with you Andy!! You just put it in nicer words, then I would have!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that the chuckwagon actually suits the Frontierville Theme. It took me 3 days of solid lather, rinse, repeat, to get the bacon drippings; finish collecting the tootin fruits. I like the fact that you can make your own rations, instead of constantly begging your neighbors for them as most have quit playing due to other technical glitches. I also thought that Bess' dad's head was super huge and not in proper graphic proportions.
ReplyDeletegreat review... caugfht the pitch perfectly, especially the attritional requirement to monitor updates in FB to try and get one of the requests!!! Nicely nice
ReplyDeleteGreat review! The bacon drippings posts were grueling but I was able to post the tootin fruits multiple times - one right after the other- for a total of 41 posts. Not sure if this was a glitch or not??
ReplyDeleteAfter waiting a few weeks for a Homestead mission I was a little bit frustrated that this was the mission that they chose to go with. I feel like it was badly timed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I did enjoy that we had to grow things for the missions, because that was the part I was missing.
I am giving it a 5/10 overall.