Back from rehab, and with a new set of balls, does Tiger have what it takes to rule the fairway once again?
Format: PS3 (version played), Xbox 360, Wii Dev: EA Tiburon Pub: EA
Out: 02/07/10 Players: 1-4, 2-24 online
“Putts don’t get any easier than this,” declares the state-the-obvious-commentator, Kelly Tilghman. She’s right. It’s a straight stroke to the pin from one foot… and there it goes. “Oh, not an easy shot,” she says, immediately after the ball has found its mark. This sort of nonsensical voiceover is a testament to the fundamentals of real life sports coverage that sports games still haven’t managed to replicate. Moreover, it feels as though their annual release burdens them with ever more incremental updates and one-off features.
Though the master’s game of patience and skill makes some determined strides in PGA Tour 11, the recycled components of the series’ recent past threaten to stagnate it. Newcomers are introduced to the controls more gently than in past efforts, however, acquiring the china-fingered dexterity needed to use Shot Stick with true precision is still overly taxing. Granted, this is Tiger Woods, not your People’s Putter 11.0, but ignoring this usability flaw doesn’t make it more ‘authentic’. And, functional at best, the ever-expanding menus could do with a little nip and tuck.
Gradually my own performance of standard shots from tee to green improved using the analog stick, but attempting to add boost tended to through my aim or power off. On the plus side, your custom golfer earns XP in every event, so your stats gently compensate. It may rely more on timing than feel or focus, but the forgivable 3-Click shot still provides a level of accuracy Shot Stick doesn’t. While the feedback level given for both these control types makes it possible to judging shots, EA have added a new one that more or less does the complete opposite.
True-Aim takes you into a point-of-view angle to track your ball, giving you a more true to life perspective of swings. True-Aim (or True Pro on Wii) feels like a feature that was designed with PlayStation Move and Wii Motion Plus in mind – indeed, we will be testing the former with this title as soon as we have units. It’s more difficult to use than any of the existing swing mechanics as you have less feedback to utilise and even pro players may feel indifferent towards it when using a standard joypad.
Even with these shortcomings, that series’ regulars may happily dismiss, there’s no denying that PGA Tour 11 is bristling with some engrossing new features. Most notably, the chance to play the Ryder Cup. In each tier, you 18 holes games, solo (with an AI teammate) or with a friend. The AI is keen but will still botch simple shots from time to time. Fortunately then, EA’s other big dinger this year is 24-player online tournaments.
At the time of reviewing, it can be hard to find games anywhere close to the player cap, but golfing in Team Play mode now has more community vigour than ever. Live tournaments that roll over daily and GamerNet challenges return to satisfy those looking for additional distractions. Expanded online player counts and licensed tournaments don’t reinvent the wheel, but they make this year’s PGA Tour worth a punt. Shame, though, that the encumbering shot types are a reminder that so much of this sport is still lost in translation. Motion control alone isn’t the answer, but the resulting interface could be the first step to solving it.
Aaron Lee
Tags: ea, golf, pga tour, Sports, tiger woods
