Video game adaptations of television shows don’t have the best track record in terms of quality, but Weeds Social Club, based on the popular Showtime series Weeds, appears to be an exception. Even in its early closed beta form, the game manages to show a level of depth that’s absent from most social sim games. Thing is, you may need to look past the fact that it’s a game about growing marijuana.
Video game adaptations of television shows don’t have the best track record in terms of quality, but Weeds Social Club, based on the popular Showtime series Weeds, appears to be an exception. Even in its early closed beta form, the game manages to show a level of depth that’s absent from most social sim games. Thing is, you may need to look past the fact that it’s a game about growing marijuana.
Much like the show, Weeds Social Club stars a down-and-out character who turns to selling drugs to earn some money. Obviously, this is a game for a more mature audience. In order to sell marijuana, though, you’ll first need to grow it, and this works a lot like in other farming games. You plant seeds, wait a specified period of time, and then harvest the plant for sale. Weeds Social Club throws an extra layer of complexity into the mechanic as you’ll also need to adjust the lighting part way through.
Though the game features quests much like in other social games, it’s the way that they’re presented that makes it feel unique. Your cellphone will constantly be ringing, and each quest is prefaced by a conversation with another character. These conversations aren’t particularly long or nuanced, but they give you a good idea of who the characters are and make it feel like you’re in a real world as opposed to simply taking on random quests. There’s also quite a bit of dark humor in the dialog, which is in keeping with the source material.
The character customization options are somewhat limited at the moment, but Weeds Social Club does feature an RPG-style advancement system that is a welcome addition. Each time you gain a level you’ll be able to allocate points to skills like your ability to barter or grow plants, which in turn gives you advantages as you play.
Weeds Social Club is currently in closed beta, but from what we’ve seen it looks more polished than most Facebook games already released. If you don’t mind the adult themes, this is definitely a game to keep an eye on.
