Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 / Version Played: PS3
EA Games / PS3/360 / March 28th / RRP $99
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is the first of EA’s sporting titles to release in 2013 and offers series veterans the chance to get excited again, with a bunch of new features and graphical touches.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is absolutely stunning. With more golfers than ever, EA really had a challenge in making sure that the characteristics of all players were there. In my opinion they delivered. The courses look absolutely stunning and the characters have the traits of their real life counterparts. Another extraordinary graphical touch was in the Legends of the Majors mode. The time period and visual elements of each of the 6 golfing eras are captured beautifully and really add another layer to the game. For example, the earliest of the eras adds a sepia filter and noise which perfectly represents the time period as if you’re watching it on TV. The game is also the first Tiger Woods game to let you play at night which is a really nice touch.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 introduces quite a number of gameplay features. The best of these new features is called Legends of the Majors. In this mode you will be challenged in 6 different eras of golf history where you will aim to complete a series of challenges to take down 9 golfing legends. There are over 50 challenges in total that date back from 1860 until today. This is a great addition to PGA Tour 14 and much better than the comparative mode that was offered last year. The introduction of 24 unique swing styles has also helped the game feel even more personal to your play style. For advanced golfers, you are given the chance to hit the ball exactly the way you would envision hitting it on a real course. The introduction of the LPGA tour is sure to please many golfing females.
There have been a number of improvements made to the online aspect of PGA Tour 14 as well. They’ve expanded the membership of the Country Club from 25 people to 100. They’ve also introduced a system where you compare the other players launches to yours. If you play with a lot of friends then you’re in for a treat. You can now participate in connected tournaments which allows players to compete in custom tournaments live, and all at the same time. Whilst you’re taking your shot you’ll see other players shots and approach lines.
I played a few hours of the game with the move controller and can report that it works really well. I’d recommend that you go through the tutorial to get familiar with how much make the precise movements. It has a steep learning curve but it’s extremely intuitive once you get the hang of it. This leads me to my next point. I’m not sure how easy this game will be to grasp for newcomers. I’d recommend that anyone play through the tutorial to at least get the basics down. Whilst it may seem tedious, it will be much more beneficial than jumping straight in. Loading times can become a bit of a pain, when you want to quickly jump into a game however games are long enough to not become much of an issue.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is a step up from last year in almost every way. If you play the game with others then you’ll be extremely happy with the amount of new or improved social features this year. The Legends of the Majors mode is one of the best i’ve played in an EA sports game and should not be missed by golfing lovers.
