On Wednesday, Zynga launched its bid to recapture the original FarmVille magic with the release of FarmVille 2, which upgrades the game's visual look with polygonal 3-D graphics.
In June 2009, Zynga launched the first iteration of FarmVille on Facebook. Six weeks later, it had 10 million active daily users. At its peak, it had 30 million. Today, only about 3 million people play it, and Zynga – facing an exodus of talent and a plummeting share price – has decided it is time for a refresh.
So what's new on the virtual range?
Most of the game is still about clicking on plants and waiting for them to grow so you can earn in-game currency to upgrade your farm. But FarmVille 2 features 3-D graphics, a first for a Zynga browser game. Zynga calls FarmVille 2 a "next-generation social game," although its cartoonish graphics are less impressive than many 3-D iPhone games.
The gameplay seems to be more "social" than before thanks to a feature that allows players to visit each other's farms and help out with chores.
FarmVille 2 also allows players to interact in more ways with farm animals. Animals now need to be fed, and baby animals will grow and mature over time.
One thing that hasn't changed is FarmVille's focus on monetization. The game artificially limits the number of actions a player can make in a given time frame by making water, which is used for many of the game's tasks, slowly regenerate over time. There are also multiple in-game currency systems which can be purchased in bulk using real-world cash.
In past demos of FarmVille 2, the feature the game's developers seemed most excited to show off was the fact that players can now simply hold and drag to water or harvest multiple plants at once, whereas before they'd have to click on each one individually.
Are such tiny changes enough to require two separate FarmVille games? Will the 3 million hangers-on be convinced to finally pack up for greener pastures, leaving the farms they've been tending nonstop for three years now?
We'll be playing FarmVille 2 more now that it's released, so expect full impressions soon.
