This year's flagship golf release from EA, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13, initially looks to be a mix of old and new, with some new control options and gameplay modifiers as well as some tried-and-true courses and game modes.

The core gameplay of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 seems to offer a relatively accurate simulation, as has generally been the case in previous iterations, especially if played on the higher difficulties. The lower difficulties allow plenty of assists in the form of putt previews, after-touch when the ball is in flight and more lenient swing mechanics. On any of the difficulties you can still always ask your caddie what to do, even on putts, which gives you a fairly accurate idea of where you should be aiming, but it rarely results in the perfect shot since you'll have to tweak a few other things on your own to truly lock it in.

As for the new Total Control swing mechanics, I've had pretty good success with them so far. Nothing is radically different than what series regulars will be used to, but anyone expecting the ability to ditch the analog altogether for the three-click method will be disappointed, as it's been removed completely. I don't think that the three-click system should have been taken out, but I do have to say that the analog swing does require some judgement and accuracy in the short game, making the whole affair seem more like an actual simulation than some of the previous Tiger Woods games, which could get pretty easy when it came to gauging the power of a shot.

The smart thing with the revamped controls is that they package up the usual shot preparation and execution into discrete parts, which gives everything a clear and concise presentation. First you deal with the stance setup area, where you can adjust your posture for draw, fade and ball loft. Then you move to the strike meter, where you can choose exactly where to strike the ball with your club. Finally, the swing plane that goes around your golfer shows how far you should swing on the analog stick. As you pull back on the stick, you'll be given a backswing indicator (overswing, underswing, perfect), and then you'll swing forward to dictate the tempo (fast, slow, perfect). I'm liking the way this feels for drives and iron play. It can be frustrating at times with wedges and short shots, but I think it adds some realism when you actually have to judge the weight of a 60-yard shot properly, just like in real life.

Putting has been a bit touchy, especially on the backswing/power portion, but just like in previous games, it appears that you have to adjust your aim according to your power tendencies (if you overswing constantly, for example).

Game modes include the usual array of stroke, skins and match play variants, as well as old favourites like Battle Golf, which allows winning players to remove a club from the opposing golfer's bag, as well as Bingo, Bango, Bongo, which rewards players for first on the green, closest to the pin and lowest score. One way to change up any of the game modes this year is to add “Pin Packs,” which are unlockable boosts that you can apply to your golfer before a round. Some of these boost your overall stats, whereas others allow for more putt previews, better lies and so on. It's an interesting idea, which might allow users to try out higher difficulty settings with a little bit of a safety net.

Another big change this year for the Xbox 360 release is the inclusion of Kinect support, which allows for full voice and body recognition when playing the entire game. Menus can be navigated by guiding your hands up, down, left and right, and then you make a swiping motion to the right to confirm the choice. As an aside, the whole menu interface has been cleaned up quite a bit from the usual EA offerings, and this is likely because of the Kinect support. In general, I'm feeling that using a controller for the menus might be best, and then you could switch to the Kinect for actual gameplay.

My initial experiences with the Kinect on the golf course were interesting, but I do still question the viability of playing round after round in this fashion. Some of the immersion is fairly cool, since you are able to crouch when reading the break of a putt, put your hand above your eyes when looking (zooming in) down the fairway or simply say “ask caddie” to see what your caddie thinks you should do for a shot.

Some of the voice commands work better than gesturing through the menu when you want to tweak your stance or aim your shot, as the menu interface can be a bit finicky when just using your arms. When addressing the ball, you simply clasp your hands together and then proceed to take your swing. There is definitely a lot of assist going on with most of your shots, especially putting, but the experience does work. A small oddity is that you do have to face the camera when swinging (ie. not side profile), which might be disorienting for some players.

The new “Tiger Legacy Challenge” appears to be along the lines of other recent EA Sports titles in that it features conventional gameplay with a small narrative element wrapped around it. The conceit is that you are reliving Tiger's formative moments throughout his life, whether it's putting and chipping on the Mike Douglas Show when he was two years old, practicing with his dad at the local “Muni” courses or achieving his first major title. It's an interesting idea and brings a bit of life to the proceedings, but I wonder if they have gone far enough with the presentation aspects. I'll have to play more of it to know for sure.

Final Thoughts

I'm interested to see how the Kinect support holds up after long-term use, and I'm hoping the legacy mode has a bit more gusto in its presentation for the later years of Tiger's career (well, not that late). The pin packs could be a good idea for those who want to add some difficulty but not get totally crushed doing so, and the new Total Control analog swinging seems like it's offering challenge in the right areas. Look for more impressions and the full review in the coming days.