Well I am hooked on the new new Tiger Woods. It's been quite a few years since I enjoyed a Tiger game and honestly I haven’t liked a golf game this much since the original Links 2004 on the first Xbox. This year’s “Total Swing Control” is awesome in my opinion and a huge improvement over the previous swing mechanics. Your shot is now 100% decided by the skill with which you swing the club. You can still apply some spin once you’re in the air but otherwise you will succeed or fail based on your manipulation of the left analog stick.
As someone who really enjoys the sport in RL as the kids say I find the new system super intuitive. You start by opening or closing your stance and then adjusting the ball position. You can also determine where on the ball you’d like to strike it and then you just swing. The new system might not be for everyone and long time players of the series seem divided on it, but if you’ve been avoiding the Tiger games for a while you should give this one a try.
Besides the new swing mechanics I think the Country Clubs are the coolest new feature. These are essentially golf clans you can join with your friends. Once you’re in a country club you can compete in private tournaments, play head to head against each other, and challenge other clubs. The club itself will also level up as its members play. As a club’s level advances its members get bigger and bigger bonuses to the coins they earn no matter what mode they are playing in.
I’ve started a Penny Arcade country club called Penny Arcadia. It turns out that these clubs have a member cap of 25 people, which we reached right away. I’d ask that if you joined the club but don’t intend to play often or you don’t end up liking the game, please remove yourself from the club so that others can join up. I’ve already set up some internal tournaments and I hope to get some rounds in with everyone.
Oh and the Kinect controls are stupid bullshit. Don't even bother.
-Gabe out
