Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 Review: The Year of Excellence

Game Reviewed: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14

Release Date: March 26th, 2013

Developer: EA Tiburon

Publisher: EA Sports

Platform: [Reviewed: Xbox 360], PlayStation, PC

Genre: Sports

Rated: E for Everyone

Wow! There has to be one word to sum up the number of changes and improvements made for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14; that word is Wow! 15 years have passed since EA launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour, becoming the greatest golfing games available anywhere. But it wasn’t a cake walk.

Over the years, Tiger Woods has taken down competition that attempted to shadow his road to glory, both on the course and on consoles. Anyone remember John Daly’s Prostroke Golf? Sadly his title disappeared before ever having a chance to break even.

In PGA Tour 14, EA Sports sincerely caters to your personal preference, whatever they may be. You’ll start off with a tutorial, learning the ropes between performing backswings, controlled swings and more. Once you’ve completed the tutorial, it’s time to create your legend.

PGA Tour 14 allows you to find your identity as you dive into gameplay. There’s a new strike meter that helps with precision. There’s also an advance shot shaping that allows players to perform todays, as well as legends signature shots.

With 20 courses to begin with and nearly 30 to follow, Tiger Woods 14 plans to offer the most innovative and expansive experience to date. Not only do you get enjoy the additional courses, but all four major events: U.S. open, Open Championship, PGA Championship and the Masters are accessible for the first time .

The career mode still exist as you can develop your own character’s career. This year, you can take golfing the extra mile by creating a female golfer to partake in the LPGA Tour.

While undergoing the career path, you’re able to upgrade your player’s equipment and clothing, unlocking then as you climb the ranks. There are plenty of tournaments and trophies that await you, including the one’s I failed to grasp in the duration of this review.

With all the legends being included in this amazing edition of PGA Tour 14, the welcoming mat is none other than Legends of the Majors. It’s a trip down memory lane giving you the chance to relive history. Depending on how great of a golfer you are, you have one of two way of being victorious. One is by simply meeting the minimum requirements. The other is by keeping true to the on-screen task for a chance of being ranked “legendary.”

For gamers just wanting to play in the moment, PGA TOUR 14 offers featured events and quick tournaments. A quick tournament will allow you to pick the golfers (Men or Women), choose a scenario leading to the end of the tournament and the tournament you’re aiming to win.

Featured tournaments on the other hand will be updated each week, coinciding  to the real life PGA Tour may be taking place.

One of the coolest new features in PGA Tour 14 is the Connected Tournament. Imagine playing with 23 other players at one time, at the exact same time. More importantly being able to see how your shot compares with other players around the world. Twentyfoursome opens that window and allows you to view up to 24 (your shot included)  balls landing from other gamers playing on the same course as you.

This year, players are able to chat with friends, opponents on the same hole as them and to Country Club members, which has increased members from 25 to 100, through club chat (regardless of where they are).

The environment have always stood out these past several years on PGA Tour. This year however, the time of day physically plays a huge difference in how you will experience certain courses. If it’s raining in real life in the city where you’re playing in the game, “Live & Dynamic Time of Day” might make you want to wait a few days before virtually stepping on the green. If it’s not in your preference, at any time the mode can be turned off or slightly adjusted to your liking.

Best saved for last is the broadcast. Gameplay is presented in a televised manner, especially when playing tournaments and quick sessions. The announcers for PGA Tour, Jim Nantz and David Feherty, does a superb calling play by play, creating a realistic atmosphere to the virtual world, though at  times, a few of the wrong shots were called.

Something that hasn’t happened in quite some time happened in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14, I couldn’t resist playing one more game than intended. PGA Tour 14 is the year of excellence! Amazing gameplay, stunning graphics, legends and historic courses with more to come; what more could you truly ask for?

The Scores

Gameplay: 4.75/5

Visuals: 4.75/5

Audio: 4.25/5

Controls: 4.5/5

Value: 4.5/5

Overall Rating: 4.5/5