I didn't download this game because I already own it. I own all of the Farm Frenzy games. I have never had a problem with game play, connection, graphics, music, etc. The game is very replayable as you will play through, then go back and try to get all the gold trophies so you can get that elusive trophy "for getting all the other trophies". I have had Farm Frenzy on Vista through Windows 8.

Looks like giveaway 23Mar2015 this year same product 3.0.0.0 and version 0.5.0.0 although the game appears updated on interface-levels? smaller folder now 72.7MB in Jul2015 vs 91.3 MB in Mar2015 both games say built in 2009.

Thank you for another enjoyable game...I always enjoy Farm Frenzy and this is one I don't have. I'm also still enjoying last week's game. So nice to still find games to run on my Vista run machine!

Nope; right from the very beginning, the posts did not appear at all. Thanks for making them visible in the forums. :)

"All that said, game developers did take a big hit when the recession started back in 2008. Arcade games used to sell for almost $20 (around £13), whereas now you can get them almost two thirds cheaper. AAA games in the main have remained static price wise over the last 15 years apart from the big budget games like the Call of Duty franchise, but if you take into account inflation, the price has actually dropped."

I think that for game developers it's a different world nowadays in general. Like CGI for film & TV, you've got a workforce now that's worldwide, effecting pay scales, & thus the people interested in working in those fields. Some studios that produced yesteryear's biggest game hits haven't been able to put together the teams to replicate what was then a labor of love, so they've either gone away or become notorious for promised vaporware.

Big titles have become big business needing big investment from the likes of Microsoft that can afford it. Less ambitious projects OTOH have to compete with Android & iOS games for their market -- many developers have taken the stance, if you can't beat them, join them, though even then it can be rough...

Games for tablets & cells is a hugely crowded field, especially since it may only take days [rather than weeks, months, or years] to produce a simple game. Big business has also taken hold, spending the money to run national TV ads. It forces smaller developers to be cynical & cautious about investing time & other resources. Microsoft's giving away Windows 10 upgrades -- a big reason according to their CEO, is to make the installed base so huge that Android & iOS developers can no longer ignore the Windows market because of that cynicism & caution.

Against that backdrop we can only hope -- & be grateful -- that companies like Alawar continue to produce PC games.

.................................Moderator comment.............................

We've lost some big names in the develoipment field over the last few years, for example THQ who devloped the Red Faction franchise as well as Compnany of Heroes, we also lost 2K Games who developed the Bioshock franchise, Pivotal Games who developed the conflict series and many other big names are struggling. Some of the big arcade house's also disappeared (though the biggest I remember the name of, Reflexive Arcade, were bought out by Amazon).

I'm sure the android and tablet market has made a big impact on those, but i also think the devaluation that was seen over a very short period from mid 2008 to early 2009 when the price dropped out of games. Since then we've seen games on sale virtually all the time from various distributors and when the game bundles started back in 2011 things started to become desperate. THQ included all of their recent big titles worth over $400 in one of the Humble bundles just over 2 years ago which sold for $5 and later we've seen at least two more bundles with hundreds of dollars worth of big name AAA, games listed. There's actually a bundle right now with over £500 worth of game developments tools that you can buy for less than £20 (it also includes several games).

I agree, we can only hope.

Don't know whether you've noticed the trend recently over on Steam, where they are selling what looks like games created using the cheap game engines that you can purchase via Steam, such as RPG Maker. There's loads of them most of which are pretty dire. also a lot of games with the retro look to them, looking like they were created 20 years ago, but with present day price tags.

Installed fine on Windows 7 Premium 64 bit. Works fine. Really enjoy playing the game. Thank you GOTD for offering these games to us. Gives us a chance to enjoy a little time to ourselves. Kids love to play this type of game as well.

Great another TM game. Although Stephen you are right about it being a copy of a copy, I still enjoy playing it for a while. The difference with the first two Farm Frenzy games is that with this game you can actually stop and go and do something else. The concept is the same, but the scenery is different. It is still fun to play though and I am pleased with the game, so thank you all.

.................................Moderator comment..................................

Glad you like it.

I didn't realize that alawar had released 12 in the series. I stopped beta testing about 4 years ago and stopped buying alawar games when they changed the way you registered games. I preferred their original method, where you were given a permanent activation code, that could be used no matter where you installed the game. When they changed to the method where you had to reapply for activation codes whenever you upgraded your computer, that's when I stopped buying.

I think they have spoiled the franchise by releasing so many games off the back of the original. Nothing wrong with each individual game, butt aken as a whole, a level editor would have enabled you to create new levels and maybe some skin add ons that sold at a nominal price could have given you the different environemnts. A lot of indioe games do that instead of re releasing the game re skinned for full price. I don't know of any other franchise where they have released 12 separate games, though there are a lot of games where extra content has been sold to change the look of the game or increase the game play, but not to charge the cost of a new game, e.g. Rail Simulator 2015, Magicka Borderlands 2 and Saints Row 3. Actually Rail simulator is a bad example as the total cost of the dlc (presently standing at 232 separate dlc's) released for that game is over £3100 ($4650). Some of the dlc's cost almost as much as the main game, but those dlc's add a lot of extra content. Oh yeah, the Sims 3 game also has very expensive dlc, but those games are an exception.

All that said, game developers did take a big hit when the recession started back in 2008. Arcade games used to sell for almost $20 (around £13), whereas now you can get them almost two thirds cheaper. AAA games in the main have remained static price wise over the last 15 years apart from the big budget games like the Call of Duty franchise, but if you take into account inflation, the price has actually dropped. I was paying £30 for a AAA game back in 2000, which is equivalent to £75 now.

Downloading the game right now, so I'll post the following while I wait for the download to complete...

Hi Whiterabbit,

Please see my recent replies to you at the links below.
They're not visible when I log out, so the spam filter may have blocked them.

[u]Sawoid[/u]:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/9355#post-516705
or
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/9355

[u]Zuma's Revenge[/u]:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/405587#post-516390
or
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/405587

..........................Moderator Comment............................

Sorted. I think the links you had provided caused them to go into the spam folder. wouldn't think any of the moderators would have shoved it into the spam folder? Did they ever show up, or were they invisible from when you posted them? If they were, then they were almost certainly put straight into the spam folder. If they showed for a while, it would be more likley someone shoved them there.

I'll add more images later. Need a few more hours sleep. :)

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Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie:

Installation:

The download size is 76.8 Mb which when installed is 72.7 MB. The game unpacks to a dual setup and activation module a security file called setop.gcd and a read me file. There is no activation code required as it is automatically activated via the dual activation/setup module. The default installation path is:

C:\Games\FarmFrenzy3AmericanPie_Game


There is no shortcut installed or a start menu shortcut. If you're not sure how to create the latter, there's a short tutorial available in the game discussion forums. You'll find it easily as it's in the stickies on the front page of the gaming forum.

The game works on Win 7 and win 8.1. I've not tested it recently on the other versions of windows, but I've previously played the game on XP and Vista and it worked on those as well.

Story:

Join Scarlett, the feisty star of Farm Frenzy 3, as she puts robots to work on her land in this Time Management game. Can you keep up with the latest advancements in technology as you grow crops, feed animals, collect produce and manufacture goods? Of course you can! Just don't let the zany new animations distract you from the task at hand. Featuring all-new levels packed with never-before-seen characters, buildings and challenges, Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie promises a bumper crop of fun!

reference accessed HERE 19th July 2015


The Game

If you’re looking for a frantic farming game, you can look no further than the Farm Frenzy series. These games have a good reputation for their fast-paced time management game play, and Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie is no exception.

While Farm Frenzy 3 starts off in Africa and takes you around the globe to more exotic farming locations, Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie stays right in the USA and has you farming with robots. With the interest rate on the mortgage constantly increasing, the farm back home is in trouble. The story is sketchy and light on details, and serves mostly as a framework for the new elements introduced into the game.

If you already have Farm Frenzy 3, you might be disappointed with the overlaps in Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie. I guess this is why Alawar didn’t call the game Farm Frenzy 4. Most of the upgrades are exactly the same, including the helicopter that drops goods onto the playing field, and the various farm machines like the incubator and sewing factory and cake maker. In fact, the only real difference is the American vs. International theme, and the addition of robots instead of exotic animals. That said, Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie is addictive from the start, so fans shouldn’t be afraid to try it out.

To play, you buy animals, trap predators, and gather products like eggs and wool and milk. You can use the animal products you gather to put into machines, and these machines make new goods. For example, you can put eggs through a machine to make powdered eggs. You can then use powdered eggs in another machine to make cookies, and then combine those cookies together with flour in order to make cake.

Unlike Farm Frenzy – Pizza Party, which had huge combinations to remember, Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie (like Farm Frenzy 3) involves simple two- or three-ingredient combinations. You can see what’s needed by hovering your mouse cursor over any machine.

Predators mean trouble, just like in all the other Farm Frenzy games. Bears drop onto the playing field and toss away animals. If you have a dog, he can help get rid of these pesky pests for you, but he makes the ultimate sacrifice. Unlike earlier games, the dogs do not explode. That’s kind of good, since it was a little disturbing. This time they just roll off in a cloud of dust. Just like in earlier games, you can dress-up captured bears for a huge profit.

It’s worth mentioning that there are a lot less animals than there were in Farm Frenzy 3. In American Pie, all you get are turkeys, sheep, and cows. Sure, there are the dogs and cats and bears, but you don’t get to raise those. There are none of the cool animals from Farm Frenzy 3, like jaguars or buffaloes or ostriches, which is kind of a disappointment.

However, the biggest new twist in this version is the addition of robots. They’re really, really expensive, costing a whopping $50,000 (vs. $10,000 for a cow). They only show up halfway through the game, so expect to play for a dozen hours before encountering one. Robots consume fuel and mine ore. After moving around the screen for a short while, the robot will stop working. You can buy more fuel for them by using your helicopter. Unlike many items, you can’t gather these yourself, and need to wait for the robot to gather them. The ore appears on your screen like any other resource when the robot is working, and can earn you major cash. Otherwise, robots behave much like other farm animals.

For those of you who don’t like pressure, you can still complete a level even if you go over the time limit. What’s neat is that the difficulty level is completely flexible. If you’re a slower player, you can replay older levels to earn additional upgrades, which will make beating the levels a bit easier. However, advanced players will undoubtedly be challenged if they try to aim for an expert score. It’s tough to earn a gold trophy, even from the very beginning, which gives the game good replay value.

Aside from being addictive, another factor in the game’s favor is the length. Even if you don’t replay levels, you can expect nearly two dozen hours of gameplay. When you combine that with the new endless play mode, plus replaying rounds to earn a better score…well, it’s virtually endless.

A fair warning here…this game will make your hand hurt. There’s some serious clicking involved, and it’s completely addictive once you get started, so be prepared to take hand-stretching breaks.


Reference accessed HERE 19th July 2015


Walkthrough

You can find a walkthrough of the game via Gamezebo or Big Fish




You can find the Big Fish forums related to this game HERE.

Video

HERE, HERE (German), HERE (Dutch), and HERE.

System Requirements

OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8
CPU: 1.0 GHz
RAM: 256 MB
DirectX: 8.0
Hard Drive: 79 MB



Conclusion

Farm Frenzy 3: American Pie is the fifth game in the franchise, with 12 games so far. I beta tested all of them up to this particular one and it was at this point I stopped buying them because to me they were all the same game but with a re skin job done on them - okay there are new elements added to each one, but the core game play is exactly the same with little variation. The new addition to american Pie is the use of robots. The first game in the series was brilliant and added so much to the Time Management genre. Sadly the latest ones just feel like copies of copies. Personally I didn't enjoy playing this version, simply because I didn't feel it brough anything new to the series. To get as far as the robots you had to play for several hours.

If you love Time Management, you'll probably love this. If you've not played any of the other Farm Frenzy games this is well worth downloading. If you've played all the previous giveaways of the Farm Frenzy series this won't add anything new, but, its still a well constructed game.




Scoring:

Gameplay: 7.5
Graphics: 7.5
Sound & Music: 7
Replayability: 7
Originality: 7
Fun Factor: 7
Upgrades: 8

51 out of 70 which equals 7.3 out of 10

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Problems:


If you have any problems installing or getting today's game to work please go HERE for help. I've posted most of the common problems and solutions in a FAQ thread, which you can find in the sticky section of the forums by following the above link.




If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums; in the game discussion section, because I cannot moderate 24hrs a day over the weekend. I've created a thread HERE for that purpose. If you've installed the game but it doesn’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at a later date. Unfortunately if your problem is actually downloading it, once the giveaway deadline is reached you will no longer be able to download the game unless you've already started downloading it before the cut-off. Sometimes you can still register the game after the giveaway has ended so long as you managed to start the download before the giveaway ends. I've tested this and the grace period lasts for up to 1 hour. Apart from the above instances; i.e. already installed, but having problems running the game, (with the possibility of receiving help from the community via the giveawayoftheday game discussion forum); or still downloading after the cut off period, but within the 1 hour grace period, or registering within an hour of the cut-off period. Once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done to get the game (unless its available from one of the free game sites) until the game is given away again (though that isn't always guaranteed).



It's worth checking the giveaway game discussion forums the day before the giveaways go live to see if we are getting a large sized file; this is especially important for those who have slow connections and even more so if the game is popular. We can have up to forty thousand (40 000) community members downloading over the 24 hour period, with the bulk of community members downloading in the first 12 hours of the giveaway going live, there is always a massive strain on the giveaway servers. The bigger the file size, the more community members will be downloading at any one time. Because the bandwidth is shared equally amongst all community members, downloads can become excrucatingly slow, so if you do have a slow connection, its important to start your download as early as possible to avoid disappointment. Because these games are free, the giveaway owners cannot invest in more bandwidth without compromising the whole project, so we have to be satisfied with what we have at present.

I hope the above goes some way in expalining why we sometimes have really slow downloads.


It’s always worth checking out the free games sites because sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity (MPC) has the most with over 1000 games to choose from; however, (today's game isn't available from any of the sites I know of but ten of the 12 in the series are available (Farm Frenzy, Farm Frenzy 2, Farm Frenzy: Pizza Party, Farm Frenzy 3, Farm Frenzy 3: Ice Age, Farm Frenzy 3: Madagascar, Farm Frenzy 3: Russian Roulette, Farm Frenzy: Ancient Rome, Farm Frenzy: Gone Fishing, Farm Frenzy: Viking Heroes.) from MPC and TooMyk Games also have a few of the series). Other sites include Gametop, TooMyk Games (I've not included a link for this yet) and FreeGamePick.


If you do download any games from MyPlayCity, Gametop or the other free game sites please 'do' watch out for toolbars etc. Make sure you un-check the check-boxes during installation, and, in the case of MyPlayCity, every time you boot the game up, (this may have changed now as these free game sites tend to change the format frequently)....... I've posted links to all of the common free game sites below in the games, games games section. If you do download a game from any of these sites you do so at your own risk. We cannot be held responsible for problems arising from an installation. :)

For now I won't be recommending you download games from Jenkat Games. They have changed the way you get games from their site. Diane has posted information about this over in the game discussion forums. If I have time or remember, I'll link to it. TooMyk Games are now safe to download from. They have removed the games that were suspect and have cleaned up their act. As always, you download from those free game sites at your own risk. The giveaway site is the safest site I know of where you can get free software and games. The only disadvantages with downloading from here is you have to download and install within the day of the giveaway (apart from the instances mentioned above and if and when you upgrade or buy a new computer legally you aren't allowed to transfer games given away previously, unless they are being given away on the day you upgrade, or if you've purchased a licence. :)

You just have to look at the sites track record since the game giveaway site was created back in December 2006. Zero games given away have been infected with malware, there are no toolbars installed, nor home pages hijacked or browsers changed. There is one slght annoyance, but that only occurs if a community member isn't paying attention when the final window pops up after installing a giveaway. That is the software Informer installation. some community members have complained that they were given no choice in its installation. That is not true; when the final window pops up, there are two buttons, one asking if you want software informer installed and the button to close the giveaway window down. Some community members have clicked on the wrong button, probably because they weren't paying attention. Thankfully software Informer is a genuine application, that can easily be uninstalled by the usual means. It's actually a useful piece of software, especially if you have a lot of applications running on your computer. Basically the program will list the programs that need updating, or programs that have available updates. They wont be automatically installed (thus cancelling many giveaway registrations); you have to click on individual buttons to update each program/application. :D

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Games, Games, and yet more Games:












There are 299 games on sale over on Steam this week, ranging from 10% to 90% off. You can find a full list of all sale items HERE. You can play the StreetFighter IV base game and all dlc for free all weekend, plus, if you decide to buy it, it's 66% off till Monday.



You'll also find some excellent deals over on the following Game sites. For example, there's a 23% off coupon that can be put towards the pre order of Fallout 4, the long awaited sequel to Fallout 3, (one of (if not) the best open world rpg's with a post apocalyptic survival theme around).

GreenManGaming
Gamersgate Summer Sale
GOG (DRM free games)
Gamestop
GameFly (soon to be sold off)

I've removed the Desura link because the owners are bankrupt and there has been no activity on the site in a couple of weeks. If you own any games via desura i advise downloading all of the drm free games you have on that platform before the site is taken down.




Free Game Sites:


MyPlayCity (over a 1000 games to choose from)
Gametop
FreeGamePick



To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price. If like me you prefer Steamworks games, many of the above sites also sell steamwork games.

If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles (there's over 20 of them - If you purchased all of them you'd be paying around $80 for around a thousand dollars worth of games); or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand. you'll find the indie bundles thread HERE. The thread is outdated, but all of the links will still take you to the latest bundles.








The latest IndieGameStand game is called FIST OF AWESOME:

Key Features:
- A lumberjack who travels through time punching bears in the face to save humanity
- Develop Award Nominated soundtrack by Brendan Ratliff aka Echolevel
- Okay-ish pixel graphics
- An impawsible number of bear-themed puns

PLUS, if you pay over the average, which at the time of writing was $1.70 you will also get the OST (soundtrack). You can pay as little as $0.01 to get a drm free version of the game, to get a Steam key you'll need to pay at least $1.00.

The deal ends Tuesday 21st July 2015 5am (GMT)



The latest DIG game is Fine Sweeper a re-envisioning of the good old casual game we're all familiar with since Windows 3.11 came along, and we collectively sunk millions of productive hours into an ugly little thing called Minesweeper. Still itching for a fix but you can't look at the hopelessly outdated and functional presentation any more? Now there's cure: Fine Sweeper inherits and expands upon the best traits of the genre.



You can get two keys if you pay more than the average of $1.00 (at the time of writing - this price is sure to go higher). One key to share with a friend or family member perhaps? You'll find that deal HERE. They also have five bundles of several games that'll cost you less than $1.50 each HERE (DIG Bundles 33 & 34 plus DIG reBundle 7, DIG Meridian 4 bundle and DIG Greenligh Bundle 1). You get Steam keys for all of these games apart from the Greenlight bundle; however, if they are Greenlit, you will receive Steam codes.
The single game deal ends just after Midnight onday 20th July and will be replaced with a new game; (details haven't been posted yet)

Most of the bundles retail for around $5 give or take a few dollars (apart from the Daily Indie bundles that only cost $1.49 for six games), but you can pay as little as a dollar for some. There are some excellent bundles out at the moment. Check out the following:

Groupees (5 bundles)
Indie Gala (? bundles)
Humble bundle (2 Bundles)
Indie Royale (this bundle is no longer live)
Bundle Bandits (0 bundles)
Blink Bundle (0 bundles)
Play Injector (0 bundle)
Get Loaded (0 bundles)
Games Rage (0 bundles)
Flying bundle (0 bundles)

The free game from Origin has changed to Zuma's Revenge the sequel to the excellent Luxor style marble popping match 3 game. This is one of the better Marble poppers. Check it out HERE.


You do need a free Origin account and install the Origin client to get these free games. Once you've installed the Origin client and signed into your account select 'On the house' from the 'Free Games' drop down menu. Then select download now. The game will then be registered to your Origin account permanently.

========================================================

A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you’ve checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment, and a big thank you to immanitas games for sharing and to the game giveaway team for getting these games.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen