T
iger Woods PGA Tour is a well-known golf franchise from EA-Tiburon that is released on an annual basis. Does this year’s release go out with a bang before stepping into next-generation? As always, I’ll be covering presentation, gameplay, achievements and final verdict.
Presentation:
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is a golf game, so the presentation for the most part is quite pure. The game doesn’t need to have overly stylish menus, drop dead gorgeous graphics or a phenomenal sound design. However, it does need to be somewhat elegant but most of importantly simple. EA -Tiburon did a good job at making Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 feel like a golf game. It has simple menus, good enough graphics, clean sound and overall an excellent presentation. I personally haven’t played any previous Tiger Woods games so I can’t compare it with anything else. However, I liked what I saw, heard and felt, and that is a good thing for the game.
Gameplay:
This game has a few new features that the previous games in the series didn’t such as Legends of the Majors, playoffs in tournaments (for the first time in history for the franchise), Quick Tournament mode and a bigger space for members in the online Country Clubs. The game has 20 courses, 21 officially licensed PGA Tours and LPGA Tour tournaments. I will talk about Legend of the Majors first because this is probably one of the most intriguing modes in the whole game.
Legend of the Majors allows players to play in tournaments from the 1930s and all the way through current present day. This game mode covers up an entire century of golf history, which is quite fascinating in my eyes. If you love, and truly enjoy golf then this is perfect. The game adds grainy filters and other visual effects to fit the era; also, your golf equipment and golfer outfits are changed according to the era. If your golfer has an old outdated golf club, that is made out of wood then you won’t be able to cover as much distance unless you had a modern-day golf club despite your excellent swings.
One of the biggest issues though that I have with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is that it’s not friendly for the newcomers. This due to the lack of an actual tutorial mode. The game does include somewhat of a brief tutorial, but it doesn’t do enough to help newbie players on properly playing the game. If you are new to Tiger Woods franchise then you will not be very happy about this, meanwhile veterans of the previous games wouldn’t care as much.
Achievements:
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 will take you a long time to grind up all of the possible achievements in the game. They’re time-consuming, but not really difficult. Majority of them require you to play 18 hole rounds with specific conditions, winning career tournaments with a custom created golfer, beating famous golf players in Legend of the Majors mode, earning specified created golfer levels and some minor online achievements that are easy and thankfully not as time consuming as the single-player portion. If you enjoy golf games, and planning to be playing this for a while then you’ll be enjoying this achievement list.
Final Verdict:
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 offers a good and varied single-player and a decent online mode that should last you a while. The presentation in the game is nice and makes the golf theme feel right at home. If you’re a perfectionist and enjoy getting all of the achievements and extra unlockables then you’re in for a long ride.
The additions of Legends of the Majors and Quick Tournaments, Country Clubs having 100 members and playoffs in tournaments are awesome for the franchise. Thanks to these new features, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 becomes a better golf game for the fans. Lack of a tutorial modes is a huge minus to the game and a big turn off for new players.
Online golfing is a ton more social now thanks to the addition of more space for members to join in your country club. However, the tricky thing about this kind of game is that it’s a golf game, and it’s hard to recommend Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 to anyone.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking for a good lengthy golf experience than Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is the perfect solution for your golf enjoyment. If you do not like golf simulators, then stay away, because this game is not for everyone and not newbie friendly at all. This is a good golf game for the veterans of the franchise, but that’s about it.
This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.
THE GOOD
Legend of the Majors rocks, addition of playoffs and 100 member cap for Country Clubs is a huge plus, well presented.
THE BAD
Golf is not for everyone, not friendly to people who are new to golf games or the franchise, lack of legitimate tutorial mode.
Final Verdict
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 is a good golf game for the veterans. Legend of the Majors is great, other features are a welcome addition too. However the game is definitely not for everyone. Newcomers will feel abandoned and upset due to lack of actual tutorials. If you like golf and are familiar with other games then this is for you. If you do not like golf and want to learn how to play I'd give it a rent. I would only recommend this game for fans who have played previous titles in the franchise.