Just in time for the spring planting season, Zynga today released FarmVille 2: Country Escape for iOS and Android as a free download.
Version 2.0 of the famous Facebook game marks the first time it has been brought directly to mobile platforms and is part of Zynga's overall plan to tap the mobile gaming market.
"We know that consumers play games differently on their phones and tablets than they do on the Web," Zynga General Manager Jamie Davies wrote in a blog post. "We've redesigned crop timers, animal interactions, touch controls and the game board to deliver a satisfying play session whether you have 2 minutes in line at the store or 30 minutes at home on the couch."
The company announced the revamp in March. Although it is hard to improve upon a game that generated 400 million downloads, Zynga believes some of the new FarmVille 2: Country Escape will make it a must-have for fans of the original.
Possibly the most important aspect is gamers still on the old platform will be able to bring along all their stored rewards, said Zynga's COO Clive Downie, via a connected reward system. The game's location is a bit different with the farm being near the coast, but it builds upon the game's original characters while bringing on board many newcomers.
Zynga has also updated the game's social media connection. Social media has always been one of the game's strengths -- after all, it was played on Facebook -- but it includes new social control options with more choices on how to connect with friends and family. And for those times when you can't connect to the Internet, there is an offline game mode.
On the opposite end of the interactive spectrum, Zynga has included new ways for cooperative play.
"Mastery and competition is a big part of FarmVille 2, so in FarmVille 2: Country Escape we've added more ways for players to team up together, help each other out and even compete. Create and join Farm Co-Ops to share Helping Hands, chat with friends directly in the game, and compete for the most thriving Co-Op on the global leaderboard," Davies said in his blog.
Another break from the past is "anonymous mode," which allows the player to move through the game without having to call in help from friends. That was possibly one of the more annoying aspects of the Facebook version, at least for the friends and neighbors who constantly received invites from the game player.
Zynga may also be near to releasing updated versions of its popular poker and Words with Friends games. Since FarmVille is now on the market, the other games should not be far behind. New Zynga Poker was built from the ground up as mobile game.
