Tiger Gets Himself Out of a Tricky Trap

Matthew Kato — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:30:00 GMT

Fight Night Champion’s story mode is garnering buzz for bringing a dose of drama to the normal sports gaming grind. Tiger Woods is also doing its part. No, the game doesn’t have a story mode, and you’re not smashing the back window out of your fender-bent Escalade with your golf club. However, centering the rebuilt career mode on The Masters tournament is a great decision that finally binds a lot of the game’s loose ends under a cohesive structure to chronicle your rise from amateur to PGA Tour champion. It helps turn leisurely afternoons on the greens into competitive fights that bring out the best in the series, making Tiger 12 one of the high notes of the franchise.

The previously separate Tiger Challenges are now integrated into a single career path, and instead of feeling like a club hack wandering around looking for a round of golf in earlier Tiger games, I now feel like a golfer on the rise in charge of his career. From the jump you’re playing in tournaments, working on sponsorship objectives, and setting your sights on the Masters and the PGA Tour. It sounds like a surface alteration to the classic Tiger career structure, but apart from making things more exciting, this has a positive effect on the balance of the game. Playing well in these early tournaments gives you the opportunity to get a big XP bump and therefore the chance to raise your attributes without having to grind as much early like previous games.

It didn’t take me too long to work my way through the amateur ranks, earn a birth to Q school, and even get past the Nationwide tour to get to the PGA tour. I was also making a dent on my worldwide ranking and the year’s FedEx board. But this seemingly meteoric rise doesn’t mean the game lacks meat on the bones. Optional events like Tiger Challenges are built into tournaments on the schedule, and now that getting equipment isn’t tied to money but is unlocked by completing sponsorship challenges (like completing a full round at a course without getting a bogey), there are plenty of content carrots to chase.

This more focused approach to the career mode is mirrored in the gameplay with the introduction of a caddie. Your caddie gives you shot options that take into account factors such as the lie of the ball, weather, course elevation, draw/fade, etc. This is not only useful in speeding up play and making things easier, but the caddie often smartly led me to safer areas of the green with certain approach shots. While the caddie simplifies matters, playing Tiger isn’t easy. Even though your caddie tells you which percentage to hit, actually producing a smooth swing that hits that number is often difficult. I’ve used the practice swing feature more than I ever have in the past. Moreover, your caddie’s info isn’t always rock solid, but improves the more times you visit the course and meet certain objectives. That said, there were many times when I followed my gut instincts and used a custom shot (which is basically like golfing the old way) for better results. I got a better feel for my clubs’ swings and differences in the process. Similar to mid-air spin and other assists, if you don’t like the caddie feature, you can always toggle it off.

Unfortunately, PlayStation 3 owners with a Move controller are hamstrung by the visual disconnect between the controller’s accurate movements and your onscreen avatar. Your backswing often appears choppy, and this gets in the way of judging which percentage you’re swinging at.

Through the years the Tiger franchise has layered on more realistic tour touches like the FedEx championship, the Masters, or the U.S. Open. This year EA’s lined things up and knocked the ball down the fairway straight and true. I think the next step for the franchise is to infuse more of the hole-to-hole drama as players chase each other up and down the leaderboard instead of each hole feeling the same, but this is a great start that makes your Tiger experience feel cohesive. Instead of chasing Tiger as the game’s ultimate end goal, now I feel like I’m building up my own career and writing my own story to the top. That’s a great feeling.

The career path accommodates different levels of skill. Some might get to the PGA Tour faster than others, but it's not going to take you forever.

XP is awarded for various feats even on a bad round.

A First Look At A New Experience

Matthew Kato — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 17:34:00 GMT

This isn't just another year for Tiger. He's no longer ranked number one in the world, and his balls haven't been finding their way to their usual home. EA Sports is also taking the opportunity to reshape its golf franchise, but instead of shying away from its now-controversial coverstar, it's bringing him back to the course that hosted some of his greatest moments – Augusta. And that's just the beginning for the changes to this year's Tiger, which is different from top to bottom.

THE MASTERS AT AUGUSTA
Not only is the legendary course and the Masters tournament included (as well as the par 3 course), but it's folded into the overall Tiger experience.

The Tradition: Right when you start up the game, you'll see a video showcasing this course's special place in golf lore narrated by game commentator Jim Nantz. Then you'll drop right into Tiger's shoes as he tries to win his fifth Masters.

Masters Moments: Play through nine of the best holes or shots in Masters' history. Each challenge includes criteria for passing and mastering, and if you complete all nine you win an exemption into the Masters.

The Rules: Augusta has its own special way of doing things, and course officials worked with EA to make sure everything in the game was up to Augusta snuff, right down to the official Masters scorecard.

Tiger at the Masters: Play through Tiger's wins at Augusta in 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, and also compete in 2011 with live field scores.

CADDIES
Caddies are an integral part of Tiger 12 and are shown onscreen before your shot.

Caddies give you recommended shots (and the corresponding swing percentage) based on varying clubs, overall shot difficulty, wind, and different approach strategies. You can also ignore their advice and just hit the ball like you used to, but caddies are kind of like Madden's new GameFlow system in that they streamline some of the decisions you have to make.

Based on your caddy's recommendations, you'll see the usual circle spot where your ball will likely land based on the your swing percentage and other factors. As your attributes get better and you play more on courses with your caddy, you'll get "course mastery," which improves your caddy's info.

CAREER MODE
The franchises' Tiger Challenges have now been integrated into an overall career structure that gets you playing on the tour faster.

Work you way up the ladder from the EA tour, Amateur Tour, Nationwide Tour, Q-School, and the PGA Tour. If you're good enough you can even skip the Nationwide Tour.

Each event will have Training and Sponsor Challenges, which effectively replace the Tiger Challenges.

The Presidents Cup at Melbourne is included.

Equipment in your career mode (including the chance to earn high-end prototype clubs) is no longer bought with XP; instead it is unlocked and won as you progress through your career and achieve different tiers with your sponsor (see more below).

Each sponsorship with club manufacturers has four tiers that contain challenge criteria that you must meet before you can advance to the next tier and unlock more stuff in the pro shop. You can switch sponsors, but in a bid to encourage an ongoing relationship with your sponsor, there will be a penalty in that some of the objectives you've earned will be lost.

MISC.

New steamlined presentation gets you golfing faster and reduces some of the menu maze.

Mid-round saves!

Skip/Simulate Rounds (you can only do this up to the final round)

New Courses: Atlanta Athletic Club, Royal Melbourne Golf Club, The Els Club, The Dunes Course at Costa Navarino, and TPC San Antonio.

New golfers including Zach Johnson and Bubba Watson

DLC courses will be folded into your career events.

Online Challenges return!

Pins & Bag Tags: This in-game achievement system replaces the trophy balls. Bag tags are for each event you play at a course, and the pins go on the tags for specific achievements at that course.

Choke: There are now two choke settings for your clubs in certain situations.

Updated player models and 3D grass.

Import XP from Tiger 11

Looking at the breadth of this year's new features and the way they are arranged in the game, we're excited for the changes and additions. It looks like all together it's looking like a good step forward for the franchise.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters - Xbox 360

Tiger Gets Himself Out of a Tricky Trap

A First Look At A New Experience