Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters

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If you have never played a Tiger Woods game, you will enjoy 12. But if you have played other games in this series, you will be disappointed.

The addition of Augusta is worthy of a new release. However, EA has removed some of the more enjoyable features from previous versions of the game. For instance, why remove the camera flybys or change the thumbstick putting mechanism? EA could have left these features in as options at the very least.

The graphics are great, but they are no better than the previous installment. If you have played Tiger Woods 11, there is nothing to brag about here.

Using the Move controller is novel, but the accuracy is questionable at best. Unless you are playing "just for fun", you will be using the control pad.

The caddy feature is a nice addition, but it is unpolished. Shot advice from the caddy is either completely obvious or completely misguided. Leveling up your caddy's mastery of the different courses takes an eternity and provides no measurable benefit. If you are familiar with the controls, you will probably turn the caddy feature off after a couple rounds.

Putting in this game is more difficult than in real life. The controls are extremely fragile. You will soon build up a tolerance for missing 2-foot or 3-foot putts. There is nothing to practice or correct on your end it is a flip of the coin. You simply roll your eyes and move on to the next hole.

If playing at Augusta is your main concern, buy this game.

If not, get a copy of Tiger Woods 10 or 11 and save your money. You will still be dazzled by the graphics, and the gameplay will be as-good or superior.

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So, EA Sports is back with yet another edition of their long running golf franchise. There are surely two things that fans have been asking for for years in the Tiger Woods franchise. First is to play as a virtual Phil Mickelson, and the second is to play at Augusta National.

Luckily, this year one of those dreams has been fulfilled. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 comes complete with the home of the Masters, and the entire game, from the introduction, to the menus, to the special features is decked out to display the beautiful course located in northern Georgia. From the second the game turns on, it sounds like a telecast of the Masters is starting.

Along with the new course, another new feature is called Masters Moments, where you re-live some of the greatest memories from Masters lore, from Tiger Woods' miracle chip-in in 2005 to Gene Sarazen's double eagle in 1935. If you can perfectly replicate all of these moments, you'll receive an automatic bid to the Masters tournament once you reach the PGA tour in career mode.

Speaking of Career mode, it has been fleshed out and expanded wonderfully. This year's edition now includes an Amateur Tour, the Nationwide Tour, Q-School, and finally, the PGA tour. This adds a wonderful layer of depth to the game, and it really makes it feel like you're working your way up from the bottom, as opposed to just starting and winning on the PGA tour right out of the gate. In addition to the events, there are also challenge and sponsor events each week. Challenge events consist of matching you against a PGA/LPGA Tour player in one of the game's various modes, such as Match Play, Skins, or Battle Golf. If you win, you earn an enormous amount of XP. Sponsor events have you play a few holes in order to accomplish certain goals, such as minimizing your amount of putts or hitting all the greens in regulation. Doing so will unlock certain items or gear from that sponsor that you can use without having to pay for them.

Your coach from the last two years, Hank Haney, is no longer present in this version, but he is replaced by a very helpful, nameless caddie who will provide you with some advice and at least two options for each shot before you take it. You can choose to take his advice, or you can create a custom shot of your own. If you liked things better the old way, the caddie option can be turned off entirely. For the most part, the advice and shot placements you get from the caddie are rather good, but at times he can lead you astray if you automatically choose his first choice each time. Luckily, your caddie levels up as well as you gain your own XP, so his choices gradually become more reliable and his putt reads improve significantly as your career progresses.

The PS3 version of the game can be played using the Playstation Move controller, and for the most part, the actual mechanics of the golf swing are duplicated beautifully. Slight turns and twists of the motion controller can impart a slight draw or fade on the ball, whereas a strong derivation from the swing plane can result in a very errant shot. Putting in particular can take quite a while to get accustomed to, especially when the tension starts to rise and your putt meter disappears very quickly. There are times when the Move controls don't work as well as they could. For one, there must always be a wireless controller on and functioning. The Navigation controller seems to serve no purpose at all, and the wireless controller only needs to be used for switching clubs if you want to create a custom shot. Unfortunately, you aren't able to slightly alter your caddie's suggestions, either. Instead of simply moving your caddie's suggestion a few feet to the left, you have to create your own custom shot from scratch. The controls for adjusting your shot or lining up your putt can be finicky at first, but after a few rounds they become very intuitive. Though the Move controller can also be used to navigate menus, it is pretty much a disaster, as many of the menu options scroll right/left as well as up/down. It can be gotten used to, but the controls are very sensitive and you're better off using the standard controller to navigate the menus.

Using the Move controls adds a new layer of depth, and it no longer makes the game too easy. It can be a challenge to craft a consistent swing to pull off good shots, and you'll struggle to keep your rounds below par. Once you get the hang of it, however, it's a great feeling of accomplishment when you nail that approach shot within 3 feet or sink that tournament winning putt on the 18th green. To make the game a little easier, the focus system introduced last year remains in effect, allowing you to power boost, improve your accuracy, or use putt preview.

There are other facets of the game that just aren't up to what they could be. Though the commentary team is improved greatly with the addition of Jim Nantz, it is still too bland, and the entire experience feels watered as you're coming down the stretch on a crucial Sunday round. The sense of urgency isn't there, and though the controller shakes a little more and your shot assist meters start vanishing as things tighten up, you end up feeling somewhat diluted when the crowd, celebrations, and commentators all feel uninteresting. Also, for some reason EA chose not to include the Ryder cup again this year, substituting it for the President's Cup. Since the events alternate every two years in real life, it seems that EA may attempt to do the same thing, so perhaps we'll see the Ryder Cup appear again in next year's version.

Despite some disappointing presentation and omission of features from last year's game, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2012 is still the definitive golf simulation on the major consoles. This year, the addition of Augusta National, a new, expanded career mode, and highly improved motion controls are certainly enough to warrant a purchase if you own last year's edition.

Maybe next year the game will be titled: EA Sports PGA Tour 2013: Tiger vs. Phil.

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First of all this review mostly addresses the move implementation in the PS3 version, particularly in comparison to TW2011.

After a frustrating experience with TW2011, specifically the poor move implementation (documented in my review of that title), I finally decided to get rid of the game and take one more chance on tiger woods 2012. I'm very glad I did.

First of all, I'll echo the general positives about the game that others have mentioned. The new approach to building xp by playing your way up through the amateur and then nationwide tour is MUCH more fun than the approach in 2011 where you screw around with "challenges." You get right into playing real golf against reasonable competition immediately. Also, the addition of Augusta is worth the purchase price alone, and IMHO the most beautiful golf course in the world is well represented in the game. Another update that I enjoy is the ability quit and save during the middle of a round so you can pick back up where you left off. The caddie is also a nice addition, especially when I introduce friends to the game. I find that friends on their first evening (with the move controls) can play competitively against me, with them using a pro golfer, using nearly all of the caddie shots with no adjustments, and me using my (low XP) profile doing custom shots where necessary and generally being better at the game. Only general negative I have is the cheesy intro that you cannot skip until you've created a profile. I made the mistake of not creating a profile the first time I played (wanted to go straight to augusta) and then had to repeat the whole thing the next time I put the disc in.

On to the move updates. The implementation is SIGNIFICANTLY improved over 2011. The move controller doesn't tend to loose calibration during play, and if it does there is an in game calibration option. The controls are simple enough that someone unfamiliar with the game, and even unfamiliar with the move controller, can play the game relatively smoothly after only a few holes (the caddie helps as mentioned earlier). The move controller seems a little less sensitive in the normal difficulty setting than in 2011, so you aren't shanking every other shot into the woods, although a smooth and somewhat hard swing is still required to put the ball in the fairway at 100% power. Putting remains very difficult, especially until you build your grean reading skill up, but is not overly frustrating. The best way to describe it is that the move works like I expected it to in 2011, which makes this a very fun game. It works on several levels playing through the career mode on my own, or playing a casual game with some friends while working through a 12 pack, which is EXACTLY what move games should be like.

HOWEVER, I still have two major gripes with the move implementation, which knocked a star off. First of all, there are very few instructions for using the move. Even the "software" manual that is available from within the game only gives instructions for the dual shock, not the move controller. Most of the more basic controls are showed on screen during the game, but there are certain controls that simply are impossible to figure out on your own. For example, to switch clubs during a custom shot, you have to hit the trigger and x or sqaure buttons at the same time. The only way I was able to find this out was to search through the forums on ea.com, eventually finding a "sticky" post to a non-ea website where someone had taken the time to write up instructions for the move. Not even on EA's website could I find any "official" documentation. This is absolutely inexcusable.

Second, you still need a dual shock, or perhaps a navigation controller, to navigate through the game. This seems to be the norm with PS3 Move games, but it sure would be nice if, a la wii, you could play a game without having to put down the motion controller and pick up the dual shock.

Summary vastly improved game from both a general content perspective and a motion control implementation perspective from TW2011. However, the success is slightly hampered by poor documentation of the move controller functionality.

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What a scam job EA SPORTS has pulled in producing this game. The game itself seemed relatively cheap to buy. But, the caviat is that you also have to purchase golf courses individually. They have a wide assortment of 19 courses to purchase. They aren't cheap. $4 and up. You could spend well over $200 for this game. SUCKER?? Not me!

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Let me start off by saying this game is loads of fun, the graphics are impressive and the sound quality is great running PCM. However, these are all things customers expect from modern day titles. Where games can really shine is through the user interface, online modes and simplicity. Unfortunately EA falls flat.

It is not possible to play online with another friend who has T Woods 12 Master...Yes, I said that correctly, you can try to add a friend who owns the same game to the queue but once started the game does not allow you to play with a specific person. I don't understand how product mgmt can release a title with a flaw as outrageous as this one but hey I don't work there. It's even simpler than that, small things like creating a character. When you create a custom character the game automatically puts a hat on the player... accessories aren't until the end of the setup and hair style is step 3... I don't know what EA's quality testing and usability studies look like but I think it's time they took another approach because these grievances have us all asking one question. When will another company surface and provide us sports titles that work so we no longer have to trade our hard earned cash for titles that aren't ready.