Farm Frenzy: Heave Ho is a time management game in the Farm Frenzy series. This game orientates around collecting a set amount of pre determined items for each level. Although as expected you are playing each level racing against the clock. Whilst this game may look plays like the other games in the series. On a visual level this game is different to other games in the series. Primarily due to the cute, cartoony pirate style that is particularly appealing to children.
This game is based around managing a menagerie of animals. Your objective is to look after them by stopping predators from getting to them/their produce. Whilst ensuring that you have placed enough grass on the field that they can eat. But the resources you get from each animal must then be made into various products. Each product has its own factory which creates products that can be sold. You use money to build factories, upgrade vehicles or buy new animals for your farm. Whilst this is a good game to pick up and play as it is easy to understand the core mechanics of the game. It is deeper than what the game appears to be. This game near enough has the same as the other Farm Frenzy game in gameplay.
However the further on you go in the game the tougher the objectives become. Over time you do also get more animals to manage. At times protecting your animals can be quite demanding at times. However levels can be completed quicker but you will need to figure out the best way. Whether that is selling animals off after you don’t need a specific produce (such as meat or feathers). Alternatively sometimes you are better off creating one type of produce before another.
I like how it adds a layer of sophistication to the game. It isn’t just a game of constantly clicking around the field. In some stages, you may need to replace factories in order to produce goods made by other factories, so keep that in mind as well. Taking 1 level in particular you start off with factories used to make hamburgers. However later on you have to replace them with factories used to make spaghetti.
After you complete each level based on how fast you can complete the level. You get rewarded in either stars and/or tokens as a reward for your efforts in game. Each reward has a different purpose. The tokens are a reward for getting achievements, obtaining a gold trophy on each level or getting 3 in a row on the fruit machine. The fruit machine takes one token for each spin and in return gives you power ups that help you in game. There is a selection of useful abilities at your usage, such as filling the field with grass or finishing the factories current production.
But in order to get anything provided from the fruit machine you need to get 3 power ups(even if not all 3 are the same). If you get more of the same power up you get a larger number of them. However if you get any X’s you get no power ups at all.
You can upgrade the factories, the capabilities of your pets, and other in-game objects using the stars you earn from completing levels. With exception of the dog, cat and cage as their unlockable abilities are permanent. Any stars spent increasing the factory/vehicles ratings only gives you the privilege of upgrading the respective items in game. As an alternative, you can purchase a token from the shop after exchanging 1000 stars. Also it is a bit restrictive in where you can spend your stars on. This is because there are certain levels where it will state that you have to get specified factories to a certain level. This may be problematic since if you don’t you have the stars to get the needed upgrades. You can only obtain the necessary stars by retaking earlier levels.
In conclusion I feel that Farm Frenzy: Heave Ho is fun in short doses. However the game does get repetitive over time. But I can only recommend this game for children and those who like casual/time management games. I would particularly recommend getting the game when it is on sale as it isn’t worth the full price. This is due to the fact that after you have completed it there is nothing else to do in it. I also wouldn’t recommend this for achievement hunters as it has in game achievements. However the achievements in game aren’t avaliable to unlock on steam.
