After a two year hiatus, EA’s PGA series is back for the new generation with a fresh figurehead in the shape of Rory McIlroy and on a new engine, adopting DICE’s impressive Frostbite 3 in an effort to render courses with as much detail as possible. With the abandonment of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and the move to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, there’s been nothing holding EA Tiburon back from turning in a true next-gen entry in the classic sporting franchise. Of course, the question is whether they actually have.
The game plays host to three gameplay styles: Arcade, which offers a fun and simple swing mechanic utilising the analog sticks for swing and spin; Classic, which hosts the atypical 3-click swing meter; and Tour, which offers a more advanced analog swing and removes the ability to zoom into your shot’s potential target. Anyone that has played any of EA’s previous golf titles will immediately be at home with the 3-click mechanic, and in many ways it’s still a great method of controlling the golfer’s action, even though both analog options offer a more precise and involved experience.
The tour mode’s advanced analog swing offers a serious jump in depth, factoring in the speed with which you return the stick to designate your shot’s power. You’re given immediate feedback with each shot, letting you know that you were too slow or that you over-swung, as well as returned the shot while slicing it. You’re also given various shot types to choose from, with the full shot, choke, punch, pitch, flop and chip shots all altering the behaviour of the ball as you head for the green.
There are a variety of different game types on offer, starting with the simple ability to play a round of golf, where you can choose from a small selection of male professional golfers as well as a few unlockable guest characters such as a Battlefield soldier. Currently there are only two female character’s available and they’re both fantasy creations in the form of Nevada Smith and Edna Masterson, but with the assertion that PGA will not be one of EA’s yearly releases, it’s fairly likely that real women golfers will appear by way of DLC over the next couple of years.
Whilst the game also offers a competitive online Head2Head mode and online tournaments, the main draw for many will be offline in the Pro Career mode, where you can create either a male or female character and build your own legacy. Sadly the character creation options are fairly limited, with a number of ugly preset heads partnered with minimal customisation options.
It’s fairly unlikely that your character will actually look anything like you want them to, though things are helped somewhat by an unlockable range of attire to dress them in. You’re then able to choose from four preset attribute bonuses; Balanced, Power, Precision and Finesse, which offer different specialisations that increase alongside your character’s level. Things are immediately tougher as you start to play this mode in earnest, as you’re no longer in command of McIlroy’s top-tier abilities and shots are no longer so easy to pull off. It could be an off-putting jump for many, but it makes perfect sense in terms of starting out in your career.
Graphically first impressions aren’t that strong, with the game’s introduction displaying scenery pop-in as the camera pans about. Disappointing character models and stilted animations during interim scenes also do little to make it feel that this is a truly next-gen experience. However, the Frostbite 3 engine does turn in some genuinely impressive renditions of courses, with lovely lighting effects and some nicely implemented depth of field adding to the spectacle. You can still notice pop-in during a number of pre-shot breaks, but performance is solid, if a little stilted during transitions. The courses themselves are very attractive, and the character’s look a great deal better with realistic lighting during actual gameplay.
The biggest advancements, however, may actually come in the way each course behaves as opposed to how they look. Each course offers unique terrain physics that mimic the way the courses behave in real life, so if they have firmer terrain, the ball will bounce more on that course than on others. It’s that level of detail that I think will set this latest entry apart, particularly for series enthusiasts.
The commentary provided by Frank Nobilo and Rich Lerner is well delivered and often interesting, but sadly also misfires on a number of occasions – telling you, as you go into your second shot after a good first shot, that play has been poor up to this point really detracts from the experience, as does saying that it’s “yet another Bogie” after only completing the very first hole.
No matter the graphical glitches or less than stellar character models, the fundamental game of golf that is on display here is compelling and addictive. I repeatedly found myself edging closer to the edge of my seat as I made – or missed – an important putt, and the prologue does a relatively good job of preparing you for making shots while taking into account obstacles and the direction and strength of the wind. It can be exacting, teeth-gnashing stuff, but I haven’t ever felt that failure has been unfair, coming down to a lack of precision on my part.
As I spend more time with the game it’ll be interesting to see how my career develops and how well the various online modes function. However, on first impressions it seems like EA have put together a solid opening package that will keep golf fans happy, with plenty of room for further expansion and improvement with EA’s extensive plans for DLC and support over the coming months and years.
Amphlett
The last Tiger game I played was on PS3 around 3 or 4 years ago and much like your notes on the current instalment above the number of on-screen pop-in elements became distracting. The oft misplaced commentary, much like your notes on the current instalment, only served to compound the loss of immersion in the game and the smoke and mirrors quickly became visible. In reality, all games are are a set of rules, images and sounds, all set up to create an illusion of an environment, a situation or an event, and when some of those building blocks which make up that illusion start to break, so too does the illusion.
Even from your pre-review notes above, it sounds like the elements are not quite stitched together enough to provide the level of sensory immersion required. This will be another golf title I will be avoiding.
Amphlett
PS. I played 18 holes of golf at the weekend – Played awful, had some great social interaction, good exercise and a lot of laughs. I’d much rather spend my money on playing the real game, albeit badly, and having the genuine face-to-face social interaction.