Xbox One X Coverage – Farming Simulator 2017 Platinum Edition

Farming Simulator 2017 is a very niche title, and although the majority of people likely won’t enjoy what the game has to offer, it is easily one of my favorite franchises on console, and I eagerly await the new released, which lately seem to be about bi-yearly. Just last week, Giants Software released Farming Simulator 2017 Platinum Edition, and although this version can be purchased in the stores, all previous owners of Farming Simulator 2017 Season Pass were able to get the upgrade at no additional charge. While the 4K improvements are what I showed up for, I was surprised to see an all new map, new tractors, and so much more.

This title was reviewed in 4K on the Samsung Series 7 55inch Q7 UHD QLED TV! Our Review Here.

With modifications being activated on Xbox One and PS4, future releases from Giants Software for Farming Simulator 2017 seemed to be muted, as new maps, tractors, buildings, and more could easily be obtained for free, using all the mods people have created. While there is always a risk that these mods might not work properly, many fans have spent countless hours perfecting their own creations; 95% of the time, the mods work just fine. I was looking forward to the Xbox One X enhancements though; although Farming Simulator 2017 looked fantastic on the PC, it never really quite lived up to that standard on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. Unfortunetly, even with the 4K patch enabled, I’m not sure the game looks that much better.

Draw distances are definitely improved overall, and the new South American map looks fantastic when staring off into the sunset. But everything close up doesn’t look any better than before; this isn’t a problem, however, since the game is utilizing a number of the other key Xbox One X features, namely faster load times and a better frame rate.

To date, I’ve yet to experience poor frame rate in Farming Simulator 2017 Platinum Edition, which I cannot say for when I first played the game earlier this year. Frame drops were a fairly frequent issue on the original Xbox One, and although that never really affected how much I enjoyed the game, they were noticeable and annoying at the least. Everything seems to be running incredibly smooth now, even when you get multiple tractors on screen working on the same field. In the past, this situations would have cost some graphical inormalities, but no longer!

Load times are also improved, although not as drastically as I would have liked. Farming Simulator is a fluid title, with no load screens. When you enter the menus, the game lives on in the background; when you purchase new vehicles and equipment, nothing stops in your game. There are no load times, and this makes for a very fluid and constant experience. You are kept in the farming lifestyle, as the developers had intended. Load times, therefore, are long when first loading the game, but I can say loading my older maps was 30 – 45 seconds faster on the Xbox One X when compared to the original Xbox One.

If you’ve been playing Farming Simulator for a while now, and want to experience something new, picking up the Platinum Edition is a must! If you’ve never played before, there is a lot of content packed into this release, but understand it is a very niche experience that definitely won’t be for everyone. When you get going on the Xbox One X, don’t expect to be blown away by the graphics; do expect, however, better load times and a more solid frame rate.