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The Tiger Woods PGA Tour series has been solid if unspectacular this generation carrying with it somewhat limited appeal. Hampered by a heavy reliance on downloadable content the justification to purchase yearly has waned considerably.
That won't necessarily change with Tiger Woods 14. People who play yearly may not find as much value as novices. However for those who have skipped recent versions or who would be new to the series it can be easily recommended.
While Tiger Woods 12 had the compelling draw of The Masters for the first time, and Tiger 13 attempted to create a new experience with the Legacy Challenge, it would take travelling many years farther in the past to find a golf game that captured my attention in the way that Tiger 14 has. Any assumption that a gimmicky element would be needed to create interest has been proven wrong by a product that simply delivers realistic and satisfying gameplay as accompanied by a rich and involving feature set. Feel free to check out a few gameplay videos (Career, Legends of the Majors, Live Tournament) on the Pastapadre Youtube Channel.
One very successful element introduced in Tiger 14 is the "Swing Style" feature which gives each current golfer a more personalized feel along with the ability to craft a swing style when creating new golfers. Now each individual is classified in the following categories: Type (Power or Control), Shape (Draw or Fade), Trajectory (Low, Medium, or High), and Handedness (Left or Right). The tutorial helps in getting a feel for some of the differences and the selection screen explains the choices. They can be changed later if so desired. Draws and fades are manageable this year but it can still be difficult to nail that stick movement.
Legends of the Majors is the flashy new mode for this year. It involves playing through events from history within the confines of the time they took place. That means playing with the legends, old course designs, and equipment. The visual filter defines those time periods but feels out of place in a sense given the experience is otherwise all from the golfer's perspective.
Some of the challenges are fairly easy like re-creating a shot, while others take more work such as matching a performance over several holes or a round. Whether they are overly frustrating or just tough remains to be determined. There are 62 challenges overall and most are worthwhile but there are some that clearly could have been omitted. Why am I being asked to play in 1922 as Rory McIlroy against Keegan Bradley? Legends of the Majors is a decent distraction and going through the history of the sport is a valuable journey but it's not something that will hold much value outside of the initial play through.
The Live Tournaments online have been enhanced by adding more of the social element that had been lacking last year. There is of course still the traditional ways to play online but the Tournaments now offer the ability to see the shot arcs for up to an active 24 players on a hole and include group voice chat. I have no expectation of ever winning a public tournament, and that can still be discouraging in a sense, but setting them up with Clubs or friends makes for a fun experience regardless of performance level. Country Clubs have been expanded to 100 members and that too now features chat functionality.
Other additions of note are the LPGA tour, "Simulation" difficulty, and varied tee times that include night golf. Playing in nighttime conditions is more than just the darkness as the sound effects from the environment like the chirping birds are gone. It just has a new feel to it like playing on the historic courses provides in Legends of the Majors. EA probably should have taken sunglasses off golfers who wear them though when it turns dark out. I would not be the right person to assess the "Simulation" setting but from all other accounts it appears to provide the experience very talented players have been looking for.
Presentation would appear to be the weakness of Tiger 14. The commentary is bland, overly generic, and occasionally incorrect. The camera angles range from satisfactory to downright horrible. Quite often after taking a shot particularly when putting it immediately cuts to a camera angle that makes it impossible to actually tell what is happening. They may be meant to enhance the drama but all they do is remove oneself from the moment. The on-screen informational displays do well to communicate information with the leaderboard, scorecards, and Country Club stats but others seem pretty pointless especially when the statistical leaders for a category are all the people who have yet to tee off.
Last year's method of being able to earn DLC courses through time spent playing has been removed due to heavy criticism and problems with the implementation on the PS3. Though not necessarily the wrong decision EA should have provided some alternate method that worked instead of falling back on the old way of doing things where the only way to obtain them is by spending significant chunks of money.
While the enjoyment being had with Tiger 14 may be partially attributed to having not invested much time with the series over the course of the generation and particularly last year which just fell flat and was pushed aside quickly it can't be discounted due to just that. The addictive nature of the gameplay and strong depth of content could be realized by many. Tiger 14′s additions and improvements have the merit to be appreciated by the both the hardcore and more casual crowds and that is a balance that has been tough to come by in the past.
***HISTORIC EDITION*** Includes six courses and a playable Bobby Jones not found in the standard version. For the $10 difference the value is there if the courses are important or would have been bought as downloadable content otherwise as the Historic Upgrade package is $20 through Xbox Live Marketplace/PlayStation Network Store.
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I've played Tiger Woods PGA Tour games on my Xbox for many years. There have been some ups and some downs (yeck...remember the caddie?) So I went into this not expecting to be impressed, given some of the things I've read about servers being down and game bugs galore. I can honestly say that, a month after the official release, I've experienced none of that.Instead, I found a golf game that's quite possibly the best Tiger Woods PGA Tour game, ever! Yep, I really really like this game. It combines all the good parts of past TW PGA Tour games and none of the bad. You even get--count 'em--a generous serving of 25 golf courses included (in the Historic Edition)! Better still, unlike the last Masters edition I bought, if you don't have the course that's next on the tour, no problem. You're not forced to buy the course, you can simply substitute an existing one to your tournament.
Pin Packs, which are collectible pins that boost your stats for a round, are available at the Store, but you don't have to buy them if you don't want to, and you don't have to feel you're missing out on something if you don't. In fact, after I purchased a Pin Pack just to see what it was, I haven't bought any since. I don't need them to play. You can purchase Pin Packs with either MS points, or with game coins earned from playing.
Country Clubs are back. Start your own or join an existing one, reap the benefits of club bonuses with friends. Plus now, Night Golf! There's even an achievement called "Find the Werewolf"! (google this for a Youtube video)
I find the golf mechanics are pretty much perfect this time around, from the swing meter to the putting, although sometimes the camera on the putting surface is in the wrong position. There's a demo available on Xbox live so you can see for yourself. By far, the best feature of the Historic Edition is the ability to play against legends from the past. This is presented in scratchy sepia tone and is just so much fun to see the old courses, clothes and of course, golf clubs--cleeks, jiggers, and baffing spoons etc.
If you're an armchair golfer who has played past TW PGA Tour games and are on the fence with this one, give the demo a try. I did, then I came right back to Amazon to purchase it! Great golf game!
Best Deals for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: Masters Historic Edition -Xbox 360
Game play is great, but the game is plagued with a lot of bugs at this point. I have read that a patch has been sent to Xbox for approval. Hopefully this fixes some of the bugs. One of the major bugs is that when you equip coins during online matches you don't get the benefit of the boosts. Not a big deal for me since I don't use pins. That being said, I receive negative XP every time I play an online match it doesn't amount to much, but it is annoying. I have also heard of a lot of people having issues with the game freezing. I have only had the game freeze 3 times all 3 times were during loading screens while not in a match. Another issue when playing online matches is the view of your opponent's shot. All you can see if the back of their golfer it does not follow the flight of their golf ball. There are few others that have had other issues that I have not experienced.The game play itself is very good not much different from last year's though. The biggest difference I have noticed is with the putting. It seems that you have to hit your putts a little harder than in years past. I do like you can choose from a power golfer or a control golfer. In addition, you can choose whether your golfer hits fades or draws.
After approximately 100 rounds played I'm really enjoying the game even with the bugs. One really negative thing is that EA has removed the ability to 'earn' courses with your coins like you could in last year's game. Now all extra courses have to be purchased. If you purchase all courses, you're looking at over $50, not including the price of the game. If you're like me and play this game a lot, you'll probably break down and buy the courses.
I'll update my review after the patch is implemented on Xbox Live.
Honest reviews on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: Masters Historic Edition -Xbox 360
Picked this up for the 1st time in a couple years, absolutely so much fun to play. I'd read a few negative reviews on the standard edition, one guy complained about career mode and said he couldn't hit it more that 200 yards to begin with this isn't true. Within 5 hours of gameplay, my guy can bomb it 280 290 yards and they give you an option to get the masters brand clubset early on so that your stats are actually better than clubs you can't get until level 60 or more. If you like golf video games, pick this up. There is so much to do and the legends mode is incredible, I wish they would do some realistic legends teams in madden similar to this (69 Jets, 75 Vikings, etc). I couldn't recommend this game any higher, just get it.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14: Masters Historic Edition -Xbox 360
We finally upgraded from our old PS2 to the Xbox 360 so my husband can play against his sons online. This was our first purchase with our new system and we are already addicted to it. And based on their growing stats I'd say they're completely addicted to it too.My husband and I are total Xbox newbies so we can't compare this game against any other version. What I can say is that after playing it pretty much non-stop for the entire weekend our only complaint is that when we strike a putt the view immediately changes to a far away shot, as if you are now a spectator watching the play from way too far away. It bugs. The problem with this is, I can't watch my own putt from my own perspective so I can't pick up any tips if I miss the shot. This feature is rather frustrating, most likely because we're avid golfers. If the viewing angle was closer I might not be so bothered by it but it's way too far away to help me in any way and that part sucks. It may be a setting I can tweak but I doubt it. I've been through most of the menus by now and haven't seen such an option, at least not yet.
So far though that is my only complaint to report. The graphics are amazing, and for avid golfers it is really cool to be able to 'play' such revered courses like Augusta, Pebble Beach, and St. Andrews. This is as close as I'll probably ever get to 'playing' them so I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing what these courses look like with no spectators and grandstands and scoreboards all over the place. I know it's simulated but still, if you like golf this is pretty darn cool!
Update: After playing this game for several months now I can say that my opinion of it is still very high but I do notice a lot of glitches that are starting to bother me. I think the most frustrating is when the clubs in my golf bag revert back to the Starter set before you start a new round of golf. Since no one thinks of checking their clubs before each round, this glitch can really upset you when you think you have your 8 degree Nike driver (and all its attributes) only to realize you're now stuck using their default 11.5 degree starter club and it's extremely limited attributes. When your gaming profile is up to 90+, losing your upgraded clubs can really hinder your skills! I've also noticed several other little glitches that are apparently known issues if you check out the blogs on EA Sports. For example, if I select my female golfer as my profile player sometimes a warning pops up that says my other profile golfer will be removed from my console. So then if I want to use my male player later, I have to completely log out of EA Sports and log back in to get both profiles back. I am using my local hard drive for storage instead of their cloud storage so I don't know if that is why this keeps happening or not. One other issue is when I recently tried to enter a sponsored tournament their registration servers were unavailable every time I tried.
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