Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
Review
Working your way up to the top
by Liam Edwards
reviewed on X360
What to play?
Tiger Woods 12 has a dizzying amount of challenges, modes, mini-games and a fantastic multiplayer offline and online. Outside the main campaign you can also choose to compete in one of golf’s famous team competitions the President’s cup, or take up the challenge to become Tiger himself and help him on his way to winning his fifth Masters. If you choose to complete the mode “Masters Moments” you have to repeat famous moments in Masters history. There are only nine of these challenges so it is a bit short lived. In quick play you can choose to play many different forms of golf such as stableford, bingo-bango-bongo, scramble and many others. Another lovely feature is being able to challenge yourself by playing a-round of 18 holes while only being able to use certain clubs. The great amount of content will keep you going for hours.
With exactly the same amount of features as in offline single-player, the online in Tiger Woods 12 really shines. With a couple of new modes as well, this game has one of the best online communities out of any sports title. Although at times it may be hard to find players to play with.
My favourite of the new modes was the “simultaneous round”. Within this round 4 players can play 18 holes together but without having to wait after taking a shot for the others to take their shots. You can just carry on straight away as you would in single-player and finish the hole. This makes impatient players like me happy; you can just play your own game continually without having to pause between shots to watch other players.
Besides being able to duke it out on the course against players online, you can also enter daily tournaments. In these tournaments players can play a round of 18 and the finishing score gets posted to the leader-board. The higher you finish on the leader-board the more winnings you earn. These winnings are put into a player purse; the more tournaments you enter the more winnings you will earn. It is a nice competitive addition as well as ranked play; it keeps playing online fresh with each day resulting in 3 new tournaments. I found myself always playing better online as I pushed myself to birdie every hole and concentrate better.
Working your way up to the top!
Tiger Woods 12 is all about winning that green jacket and you must build yourself up from the very bottom to earn it. It doesn’t take too long to qualify and play in the Masters depending on your skill level. A good Tiger Woods player should have qualified within the first couple of hours of play. New players could take a while depending on whether you improve as you play or not. There is a set amount of pre-requisites that you can choose to meet, once one of these is met you then earn qualification into the Masters tournament.
As well as working your way up to playing in the Masters, you must also aim to get sponsored. You start off having your clubs supplied by the default EA sponsor. The more you play and place well, the more you gain interest from top companies such as PING and Taylormade. If you choose to move sponsors once they become available, you can use their equipment. Each sponsor has 5 levels; to level up a sponsor you must complete certain tasks while competing on the tour. Once you level up a sponsor they release better equipment and clothing for you to use. Each club and clothing item has certain stats that can increase your game so it is important that you choose clubs that compliment your style of play. If you enjoy blasting it down the fairway then it is best to choose a driver with stats that increase power boosts. Having the right set of clubs is important as it can be the difference between making a birdie or a par.
8.7
fun score
Pros
Brings the Masters to life in your home, fantastic new modes and brilliant online.
Cons
Bland visuals and a disgusting DLC scam in the single-player.
