Tradition Sports Online Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters Review
In this year’s installment of the Tiger Woods franchise by EA Sports – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters – the main added feature is clearly labeled everywhere you turn. From the cover of the case to the in-game intro to the cross-country promo tour by the man Tiger himself, this year’s game is all about the addition of Augusta National Golf Club. When looking deeper into the game itself, there are more improvements than meet the eye that really round out the experience.
Augusta National
When you have Tiger Woods doing appearances, and even a golf preview show sponsored by EA Sports pre-Masters and pre-release of the game, you begin to get a sense of how big of a deal this addition truly is for this franchise. The link between Tiger himself and Augusta is clear; Tiger owns the modern day Masters. It is also no seceret that the licensing required by Augusta and The Masters costs a substantial amount. To finally be able to marry the two icons of golf is a great achievement.
And then, they went and laser surveyed the course! This becomes incredibly evident on the faster green speeds, as the subtle breaks that are seen on Masters Sunday start to show up in a video game. The level of detail is unsurpassed on any course that I have seen in any of the games of the franchise. When playing a round on the course in-game, it is easy to get a sense as to why the tournament itself is so special in real life – the intangibles. From tee to green, it may not be the toughest layout that the pros face. The greens aren’t the most undulating, the bunkers aren’t the deepest, and the fairways aren’t the most narrow. Instead, you have a course that is built for the thinking man. There are slopes out there that can lead to fantastic shots when played right. Playing to different parts of the fairway for favorable approach angles, much like is required on the PGA Tour. The game also does a great job of capturing the prestigious feeling that the tournament provides. As one of the focal points to the newly revamped career mode – aptly named Road to the Masters – it provides a solid backbone.
New Features
This year’s game also included other features outside of the highly detailed Augusta courses (yes, they included the Par 3 Course as well). One other main new addition to this year’s game is the caddy feature. Designed to give each player the feeling that a Tour pro has out there every round, the caddy is your guide. The caddy provides different options for different shots, as well as helps you to read your putts. To those that are new to the Tiger Woods franchise, or that are inexperienced with golf, the caddy will be a great feature to help you. Additionally, while you are able to create your own custom shots, there is no ability to completely turn off the caddy.
EA Sports also took this game’s career mode to a new level by adding three different tour levels: the Am Tour, the Nationwide Tour, and the PGA Tour. As your golfer progresses through “The Road to The Masters”, you have different opportunities to unlock sponsorship objectives, compete on adjustable difficulty, and gain attributes to become a better player.
Pros
- The addition of the caddy to the mix allows for players of all skill levels to quickly adapt to the gameplay
- The included courses look great and play more realistically
- Road to The Masters mode is very involved
- Adjustable AI difficulty makes tayloring the game to your skill level more customizable
- Wide range of equipment, clothes, etc. in the pro shop
- Online play is smooth
Cons
- Cannot completely turn caddy off
- Decent amount of DLC courses in Road to The Masters mode
- Menus are slightly confusing
- No way to slowly zoom from your ball to your target to survey landing areas
Overall Review
Tiger Woods 12: The Masters gets a 9 out of 10 from me. To anyone out there that enjoys the game of golf, from guys that just watch it on TV, to guys that play once a year, to your weekend warriors, to your scratch golfers, you will not be disappointed if you buy this game. The career mode is in-depth for offline gaming, and the online tournaments (while typically very arcadish) and online matchmaking make for good fun online. The reason that this won’t get a 10/10 is because there is no way to completely turn off the caddy, in addition to the courses that have been in previous versions of the game that are DLC. These aren’t game breakers by any stretch of the imagination. The ball physics and the variability of certain shots are what make this game. It can be as difficult, or as easy, of a game as you want it to be, which makes it very versatile.
If you do decide to purchase the game, make sure you check out the TGA Tour, which is in its first season. There is no deadline to enter for the season – simply read the rules, have a golfer that conforms to those rules, and sign up for a tee time if it is a tournament week here .
Written by: Basis4aDay56
Additional insight by: Keller
Below member G-Unit5281 has supplied us with some gameplay footage:
