Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters Demo Available Now, Post Impressions Here

[EPtheKING]

AWESOME DEMO!!! going to be an even better game...

[Seymour Scagnetti]

Quote: Originally Posted by D3C4K

From the "Getting Along with Your Caddy" feature, posted as a sticky in this forum on 3/10/11 at 1:10 pm (pulled from the EA Sports blog):

When they mean turn off the caddie feature completely they mean that you can disable like you do in the demo which is really not turning it off as his shot suggestion remains on screen the entire time as an annoyance. It will just default to your custom shot selection.

[sooner1]

Wow this game just went to a do not buy must rent!!

[supermanemblem]

Played the demo. This game went from Beyonce to Bigfoot in six seconds. EA has to have groupthink issues. They are introducing innovation for the sake of being innovative. TW11 was a great game that needed a few tweaks. Not an overhaul of core features that most of the dedicated buyers hate. Peter Moore is behind this I bet and that's why these dumb features are being implemented across all of EA Sports. I hate to wish bad on people but he needs to update his resume.

[OnlookerDelay]

Here are my impressions of the XBox 360 demo (I also have a PS3/Move and that version deserves its own set of impressions):

1. Club distances (with Tiger) feel more in step with reality. I don't feel superhuman in the demo.

2. Course graphics are a step.... more naturally "organic" looking

3. Green grid is less intrusive

4. True Aim presentation gives the player a slightly better look at the ball as the True Aim camera follows it a wee bit more aggressively.

5. "Rumble assist" as the default option for Tournament difficulty has to go. It's an aid that negates the added challenge of meterless putting.

6. Swing Camera should hold its position as long as the swing camera's perspective is being held. The rapid drop from a shoulder height swing camera to a knee-high perspective at the moment of impact disturbs the intimacy of the stroke process, especially when putting. The lower angle of the putt from this position deprives the golfer of a proper look at the roll and break of their putt.

7. The Presentation Camera takes away any sense of player perspective, once the ball has been struck. It takes the golf gamer out of the moment at impact. It would be great to have a option to set the point at which the Presentation Camera could be switched from a player perspective camera to a TV broadcast presentation camera. I can't see myself playing the game with the Presentation Camera in effect at all this year. (Then again, I'm sure I'll be playing this game in Tournament difficulty most of the time anyway.)

8. The Caddy feature is a complete annoyance to me. I don't mind it being available to those who like it, but it can't be completely disabled as the "disable caddy" function would suggest. I don't even want to see the caddy suggestion boxes on the bottom of the screen. I'm a minimalist when it comes to HUD information in a golf game when it's being played on its most difficult level.

9. To close on a positive note, it does seem to be more difficulty to nail the distances with TW 12. I think we're seeing the "vertical random landing" component in effect here.

[OnlookerDelay]

My PS3/Move demo impressions (the XBox 360 items identified in my previous post also apply here):

I've now played 31 holes with the Move. It is incredibly tough, IMO, but much of it is due to my lack of familiarity with the Move, not the game itself. The best I've shot for 5 holes is 13 over par. I tend to pull hook every full shot. I found that I can hit it straight by holding off my wrist roll, but it goes totally against what I've learned to do with my real golf swing from years of playing. I can get 100% power consistently with the Move, even when I hold off on the rolling of my wrists at the bottom of the downswing.

I do find the actual swing execution to be far more satisfying with the Move than I do with the gamepad, particularly the DS3... I see now why Hori controllers are so popular with PS3 users. I doubt I could break 100 with the DS3. The location and feel of the stick doesn't suit me as well as the 360's wireless controller's and it's also clearly way more sensitive than the 360's controller. The Move gives me a variety of results that are more proportional to my swing errors. I can recognize what type of motion produces what with the Move, even though some of the techniques require me to abandon what I've learned about swinging a golf club in real life.

One thing I can say with no reservations - the Move experience is vastly superior in the punch shot (which I'm using a lot now in the predicaments I find myself in after pull hooking tee shots), pitching, chipping, and especially putting game. The feel there is closer to real life, with putting being eerily similar to real life. I think the putting is so realistic because most player's wrists are locked during the stroke and this interface seems to favor locked wrists. The chipping game would be a lot better of the loft of the club carried the ball to the heights it should go. A lob wedge chip seems to get no more height than a 7 iron chip, for example.

I love the look from the golfer's eyes when putting with the Move and True View in effect. You get to see the entire roll of the ball from the proper height and not jerked down to a knee high camera like you are in every other camera option. The golfer's eye perspective remains in effect for all shots with True View, it's just that is more noticeable while putting. This is a big plus in my book!

I'm glad that I purchased a PS3 and a Move, as I now see the Move interface as the saving grace for this game. EA has already spoken up and said that there has been an additional 3 weeks of tuning that have taken place with the Move since the demo build, and that many of the concerns I and others are raising have already been, or will be addressed.

[fishepa]

I played the demo and hated it, unless I'm doing something wrong. Is there anyway to manually aim where I want to hit the ball?

[countryboy]

Quote: Originally Posted by fishepa

I played the demo and hated it, unless I'm doing something wrong. Is there anyway to manually aim where I want to hit the ball?

yes. On the PS3, you press up on the D-pad and then it reverts to previous years where you decide where to hit the ball.

I would guess its the same on the 360. Its called Custom on the screen where it shows the caddie's suggestions.