Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11

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I don't want to echo too much what other reviewers have said, but I think it is important that people know how frustrating an experience tiger woods 11 can be with the move. I purchased this game the day the move came out specifically to use with the move. I spent the next week going back and forth with EA sports trying to figure out how to get it to work, which I am just not willing to deal with in a video game. Like most people i am very busy and video games are supposed to be an escape, not another source of stress.

Once I finally did get it working, there were some nuances that you just have to deal with like the fact that the start button only works on the dual shock, as do some other functions, so there is the potential for much switching back and forth between the two. Also, the motion controller tends to loose calibration, especially for some reason if you quit one match and start another. Since there is really no way to calibrate the controller in the game, you have to exit the game all together to get to the XMB and calibrate the remote. This happens way too frequently. When i only have 45 minutes to play a game, the last thing I want to do is have to spend 15 of them exiting the game, calibrating, and starting over. There are many functions that, even when working properly, are difficult to figure out and simply not intuitive. Putting is difficult, because you are looking up at the power bar on the screen instead of down at your hands and the result is very awkward. Using the focus mode is difficult, because using left and right motions with the move controller to move the focus around just doesn't work very well, (especially once you start to loose calibration). And the practice mode does not seem to work with the move at all, so the intro at the beginning when you learn the basics of the game is useless if you plan to use the move.

I gave the game two stars instead of one because when you DO get everything working and actually get to make a swing and hit the ball, its pretty cool. There were stretches of 15 minutes or so where i really enjoyed the game. But there was just WAY too much time where the experience was more frustrating than fun.

Bottom line -i don't know whether its the hardware, the software, or both, but the combination of the two is not a very satisfying experience. I tend to think it is not the hardware because it seems to function fine in sports champions. I'm hoping John Daly's prostroke is a big improvement, but I know now to wait for the reviews instead of rushing to buy something right away. What a waste of $60, and several hours of my life.

BTW, don't read anything into this if you plan on using a dual-shock, i never even tried that mode just out of principle but it might have been pretty fun.

EDIT:

I felt it was worth posting a follow up. Being as I could only get about $20 for the game trading it in, I've stuck with it a little longer. I moved my move camera to the top of the TV instead of below it and that seems to have solved my problems of loosing calibration, at least for the most part. I've now played 2 complete 18 hole matches with the move, and it is to the point now where it is enjoyable. Navigation through the game is still way too difficult, if not impossible, with the move, but the swinging itself is fun as long as your idea of fun in a video game is being just as bad at golf as you are in real life. forget about having a large degree of control over the spin, etc., like you do with the dual shock. I highly recommend drinking coors lite, smoking cigars, and cursing when you play this it helps.

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We'll begin this review with a bit of a disclaimer. I play a very popular online golf game quite frequently, so while I've never played a Tiger Woods game before this I do know what I like in Golf Games.

Pros:

I love the different camera options. You can choose between True Aim (which seems to be kind of like "hard mode" to me), a follow the ball Camera angle that is more well known to people who play the Golf Games I do, and a mode that I like to call "TV mode" because it kind of looks like a camera panning from player level to follow the ball from the sidelines. I really love options and that is more viewing options than most games give you.

There are, to my knowledge, two different swinging modes. The stick swing mode, which I like to call "%!@#$" because that's what I scream each time I use it, and the much more user friendly and certainly proven system of "3-clicks". You can toggle that on by hitting the R3 key and I did so immediately. My shot accuracy increased dramatically and I found myself much happier. About my only complaint with 3-clicks, is that if I decide I've got the wrong strength I, again to my knowledge, cannot cancel it and have to just go with what I've got or it'll auto slice :(. That's a super small problem and it hasn't stopped me from tying Tiger Woods Score on a course this morning which got me excited :D.

The character creation mode is super in depth, I actually gave up on all the sliders. I may take pictures of my own face so I can feel like I'm a part of the game. That is an option for those that didn't know (I sure didn't).

The courses are gorgeous, I have a nice sized television (to me) coming in at 42 inches (or is it 40?), on the TV this game looks great! I'm rarely so pleased with the graphics of a game, normally this would never be a selling point to me. I rant constantly about how graphics are often the priority over gameplay. But since the gameplay in this is rock solid I'd say that this is a PRO.

I can get the ACTUAL weather for a course I'm playing on via the weather channel! Am I the only one that thought this was super cool? I leave it on all the time. That to me is super neat and a great touch.

My character rage poops just like I do when I miss a putt, it is fun to watch him freak out as I thrash like an upset infant on the couch.

It feels like there is tons of content, 17 holes come with the game, there is 1 new one you can buy, and there is side content and a campaign mode. It's pretty sweet. Plus getting trophies for things like completing a full course is really satisfying. The game makes me feel very successful and it tends to applaud you with all sorts of bonuses along the way.

Cons:

The loading times get me a little bit upset at times. I'll sink a ball in 2 swings and then be back at a loading screen. It would be great if the game preloaded the framework for the next hole as you progressed through your current one. Then just laid out the textures during the middle screen, this would have probably cut down loading times.

I'm still not exactly sure how to officially turn on true aim, I could have sworn it was different from the cinematic view because it actually gave me experience for sinking while in true aim. I'll just read the manual though, but since I have never before had trouble being sure of a menu option this unfortunately is a negative. A small one, but a negative.

Update: I found the options menu, that really should be directly on the main screen. For those curious it is hiding behind "My Tiger 11'" :).

Both on putting and on swinging I'd like a cancel button since I already know I hit too much power don't make me watch it :(. If someone knows how to do this please comment and I'll remove this from cons (or at least put in the fix).

Yes...I know EA Sports was behind this. Could you guys calm down with your name being on every sign, shirt, shoe, sock, face tattoo, cloud in the sky, and announcement in game? Please! Jeeze guys...don't advertise to me anymore once I own your game.

There might be others, but I can't think of them so they must not be that big of a deal.

Final Verdict:

I got this game for free with gift cards and a 20 dollar off promotional thing from Amazon. But had I actually spent money on it I'd be very pleased with my purchase. I have no hard feelings towards Tiger for certain recent issues, and as a sport I find golf to be amazingly complex and mind boggling at times. This game really captures a lot of that emotion. I think if EA could cut back on their constant back patting when it comes to putting their name all over these games it would be a fully authentic experience worth the time.

I would like to see TWPGA12 have the ability to transfer all my purchases over from one game to the next. I doubt that'll be the case, but if it is I just might buy the next one too. If not I'll stick with this one :). But that's a while from now! For now I'll enjoy what is all around a fairly solid title with very little in the way of negatives.

Thank you for reading :).

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This game is ok built, but nothing ground breaking. The real let down is if you bought it to play the move (or vice versa). The control is very limited and essentially nothing more than a hinderance. Don't waste your time on this game. The move, however, has great potential as shown by the game that comes with it. I'd give this a 2.5 star for a game and a negative 1 billion stars for use with the move.

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The internet is LITTERED with complaints about how the Move controller simply doesn't work with this game. It is 100% true. EA Sports should be ashamed of themselves over the garbage 'patch' attempt they took toward this game, rather than actually matching it up with the PS3 Move function. It's terrible. Don't waste your money or put yourself through the aggravation. The game won't even recognize the Move controller. Reviews and forums have documented this over and over and over again. Shameful.

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This could have been an excellent PS3 Move game the graphics are stunning and game-play is 1st-class; but the PS3-Move Controller's buttons don't work properly with this game! This makes it frustrating to navigate the game you have to use a combination of controllers to navigate the menus and messages. Don't believe the 'PlayStation Move Compatible' designation for this game! It's not as advertised, and for that reason, I'm giving it one star. And EA Games has lost a customer.