Here is a quick video of me doing my thing http://yfrog.com/mwqavz Seeing the Masters being promoted all over SSNews and playing this, I'm now uber excited and contemplating dressing up in those crazy clothes but to save myself from ridicule I will settle for reviewing the latest incarnation of EA's annual offering from its golf sim stable.
Having played the franchise 07-12 (on next generation Consoles) I can easily say that if you want a Golf game then there is no doubt you should only consider Tiger. Whereas other sports games have a direct rival to challenge it around launch date and split the fans (FIFA/PES, NBA LIVE/2K, NHL/2K, MLB2K/The bigs, Madden/Backbreakers) the Tiger franchise has never been really challenged.
As soon as you boot this game up you will realize that this year’s version is titled the Masters, not because of naughty Eldrick (as South park would have you believe) but because like last year’s game it’s themed. Last year the game included the Ryder cup and was a nice touch, this year you can't move for having the Masters rammed down your throat! Home screen, loading screen, Tiger challenge, Career, video footage and prizes are all "The Masters" orientated.
Ok I'm aware that this is the first inclusion of the Augusta, Georgia course and they are actively promoting it but this doesn't give you the same mental freedom or feeling of a vast spectrum of targets that you got from Tiger 10 and even 11 although it was branded. Could they not have just said here is Tiger 12 and it includes the Masters?
Anyway this year’s version of the best Golf game out there includes the usual annual polish of the graphics, but to be honest if like me you have been playing the franchise for years you will realize how minimal it is! In fact I would even say they have removed some of the shine! Player animations in this title have been reduced and make it feel clinical. Your player used to react to the shot type you hit and that added to the atmosphere and general theatre! Now you get a generic walk and wave regardless of how well your stroke went or even if there are no spectators there.
This year also sees the inclusion of a caddy that is there to advise you on your shots, I thought this was a touch of Genius when I first heard of its inclusion, that was till I played the game! You start to learn not to trust your caddie as he blatantly lies like a cheap watch, he seems not to be able to take wind, lye and incline into consideration when taking a shot. If you have never played, watched or video gamed golf before then I recommend using the caddie for a little while. If you’re a veteran of this series then it won’t be long till you disable the caddy and allow him to go back to whatever you interrupted him from doing judging by his attitude, and judging by his suggestions I think it includes monster trucks and crystal meth.
I understand that a lot of people moaned last year that the game had become too much of a sim and this year they wanted to make it approachable again and I welcomed that idea,but its lost alot of the challenge from last year! Also isn't the idea of a franchise that you have been going for a few years and people know what they are getting? Surely the split can't be more than 80/20 of return customers over new customers?
So to recap so far this year’s version feels like a DLC add on with its tunnel vision towards "The Masters" or a better example would be to compare it to a World cup version of FIFA.
The game includes the usual chance to create your pro and download your gamer face although you would think you could just import you golfer from last year like they did with FIFA this year. One of my favourite aspects of the Tiger games is the Gamer net challenges that would pop up around the course as you made your way round alerting you of shots you could take on. This hasn’t happened once to me so far, now if that’s down to the game or lack of people setting them I couldn’t tell you.
Coming back to the fact that they are really championing the inclusion of Augusta, If you want to play a back catalogue of other courses be prepared to drop 2800MSP (yes 2800 it’s not a typo) so your £40 day one purchase now ramps up to a £65 title and that’s before you have even put it in the disc tray. Now obviously you don’t have to purchase this but I don’t know about you but I am getting sick of day one DLC, unless you regularly buy a brand new BMW you would be forgiven for thinking you’re getting everything they can put into a game in the box. I have heard the excuses that “the discs are not big enough to fit all the data on” Cool story Bro! If you can fill a Blu-ray then you’re doing something wrong. Why not give us it when we activate that online code like they did with so many other games. And it doesn’t stop there, anytime you go to but something from the pro shop it asks if you would rather pay with MSP then the XP you have earned!?
When you first start playing the game you are thrown into the shoes of Tiger Woods as he attempts to win the Masters, you will be forgiven for thinking this is scripted because every shot he hits is perfect and he can sink 30 yard puts for fun. I have some bad news for you! Tiger is outrageously good in this game and you will soon find that out online! Everybody seems to pick him and when you can go -25 on a 18 hole round can you blame people for exploiting this?
Whether it’s down to lack of competition in this genre or money saving tactics the game is very average! As I previously stated I’m a huge fan of the franchise but this game does nothing for me and is very forgettable. I hope they step it back up next year and don’t fall into the trap of taking sales for granted! You only have to look at Konami to see the danger of doing that and losing your monopoly on the market (PES/FIFA) or even closer to home for EA the embarrassment of deciding not to launch an NBA game this season.
All in all if someone bought me this game as a gift then I wouldn’t be adverse to playing it among my friends as it still delivers a solid golf sim but if I had to give advice to people spending their cash I would advise to wait for the price drop and rent for now or plump for Tiger 10 or 11 as they are both better games.
Stevie Score 7/10
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