Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Review

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Developer EA

Publisher EA

Platform PS3, Xbox360

Release Date Out Now

Thankfully the intrusive and often wrong caddy system is no longer a feature in the game but unfortunately the DLC issues that ruined last year’s title are back again this year with almost half of the courses locked out. It is possible to unlock the courses in game though by completing a number of set tasks and challenges which is a redeeming factor but of course there is the option of buying them with real cash too.

 

 

The character models have seen a lot of work and the stiff movements of last year have been upgraded to feature a much more fluid and realistic level of animation, doing an especially fine job of capturing the real life player’s persona including their Mannerisms and trademark celebrations.

Perhaps the biggest upgrade is a long awaited amendment to the swing. It has been made a lot more complicated but at the same time a lot more satisfying once you have put in the hours to master it. Just like the real thing practice makes perfect and just like the real thing after hours on the course I am still hitting a fine mixture of sweet down the middle drives and shots that defy the laws of physics to find trees, bunkers and water that are nowhere near where I meant the ball to travel.

The game doesn’t spend long explaining the new shot feature and leaves it up to you to explore and design your own methods. Whilst this is incredibly frustrating at first as miss timing the delivery of your follow through has disastrous consequences. You still pull back on the left stick for your back swing and jam it forward to complete the shot. Now EA have added a lot more things to mess with the outcome, tiny movements off the perfect straight line open or close the face of the club delivering a curve to the ball.

 

 

After the large amount of stick the Developer team took over the caddy system last year it seems they have gone in the opposite direction this year and reduced the amount of help a player gets, for large parts you are on your own none more so that in the brand new legacy mode which charts Tigers rise to fame through the ranks from a 2 year old playing in a sand box to the most successful golfer in recent year through a series on mini games that test both skill and patience.

A brand new complicated control method leaves this mode a frustrating experience often resulting in having to retry the same shot over and over again and a missed chance for players to really get into the incredible story behind the one sportstar.

 

 

As per usual the career mode is the best use of your time in Tiger woods 13 and whilst many fans of the series will have started in the amateur ranks and risen to a pro many many times it is still a lot of fun to do it again this year. A few advancements known as pins allows players to customise the characters attributes before each round, it is nicely balanced and gives something to think about rather than just the golf.

After last year damming response to Tiger Woods 12’s DLC EA have included the ability to either win the currency in game or for those not willing to put in the hours they can purchase it using real money. A small improvement but locking sections of a game that can be purchased later is something I struggle with especially in a franchise that sees a new title every year with not a lot of upgrades.

Motion control gets a small mention, the Move as always out performs the Kinect as it offers far more information from the players swing to feed back to the game. It is accurate and enjoyable, shame the same cannot be said for the Kinect which suffers from a lack of control, an unnatural amount of lag and a server lack of control over the power of your shot.

Overall : Tiger Woods 13 looks better than ever, EA games do always look incredible with top notch character models, some issues do pop up from time to time with assets loading in slowly but in general it does look good. The new shot system is a very good addition and makes the game far more involved. Alas the legacy mode was a bit of a let-down and again the additional DLC is the killer blow.

It is worth the upgrade from last year’s just to get rid of the caddy and for the new shot system but they seem to be running out of idea’s to keep this fresh as a yearly franchise.

SCORE 7/10

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