Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online

[Miles]

For the gamers out there.

I'm not sure if anyone is a fan of sports games but I've always loved them. My favorites have always been the football and golf games. This year, I got wind of a free, private beta for Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online and I signed up for a few weeks ago. It is awesome! If you're a fan of sports games, then I definitely recommend this one.

Graphics: 4/5 - PGA Tour Online uses the Unity 3D engine. Probably one of the best integrations I've seen yet. Some of the surface scenery (trees up close) is jagged and reminiscent of 64-bit gaming systems while the fairways, putting greens, traps, and golfer animations are more modern. Most impressive are the different postures of the golfer. The golfer assumes more realistic stances when he/she is shooting from steep inclines. Pretty awesome.

Game Play: PGA Tour has the option for 3-click or TrueSwing. 3-Click is based upon timing of clicks with your mouse button while TrueSwing is based upon mouse/trackpad movement; pull back to set power and then move forward to shoot. TrueSwing is more difficult because you cannot preset the draws/fades/spin - you must do that with the movement of your mouse. 3-Click is pretty easy to master and is equally lame because it allows you to shoot consistent scores around 50.

All matches are played live with other players, not necessarily against them. So you can pick up the 18 holes at Pebble Beach and see, interact with other players on the course. You don't see animations of the other golfers, but you can see their ball flight paths and their current position and stroke on the course. Pretty cool. Besides a solo round: you can play a twosome or foursome and join in daily/weekly tournaments. Tournaments offer game cash as rewards which can be used to improve your swing or customize your golfer. More on that later.

Tee selection, pin placement, surface speed and firmness, wind are all configurable for each round. That means you can join different tournaments based upon your skill level and swing technique. TrueSwing golfers may not want to compete against 3-click golfers.

Features: So far the beta only has six courses: Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Sheshan Golf & CC, St Andrews, Wolf Creek GC and the West COurse at Wentworth. Each hole on the course features a flyby with commentary before you start the hole. There are no caddy tips for putting anymore but there are putt previews that can be purchased (15 max). All golfers start off with Drive, Pitch, and Putt skills that can be upgraded; Flop, Punch, and Chip skills can be unlocked and upgraded as well. Each technique has six attributed that can be upgraded: Swing Speed, Tempo, Swing Plane, Touch, Balance, TIming which affect Power, Accuracy, Workability and Recovery.

There's a lot more to cover in the game, but hopefully that's enough to pique your interest. I'll let you know when the game goes public and how much it costs. You can find me under the name: justjerome.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was also accepted for the beta, but haven't played yet. (Lack of time...and I was an online golf addict for years, seriously, so not anxious to get back into it). My friend who also plays it likes it, but isn't too sure about paying a fee to continue playing. I might finally give it a shot this weekend.

[Miles]

I was also accepted for the beta, but haven't played yet. (Lack of time...and I was an online golf addict for years, seriously, so not anxious to get back into it). My friend who also plays it likes it, but isn't too sure about paying a fee to continue playing. I might finally give it a shot this weekend.

Cool! What's your screen name?

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was also accepted for the beta, but haven't played yet. (Lack of time...and I was an online golf addict for years, seriously, so not anxious to get back into it). My friend who also plays it likes it, but isn't too sure about paying a fee to continue playing. I might finally give it a shot this weekend.

Cool! What's your screen name?

I have no idea..lol. I've got to look at my email..I think I signed up with my CTN name.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Just got an email saying the beta ends in 6 days.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I was also accepted for the beta, but haven't played yet. (Lack of time...and I was an online golf addict for years, seriously, so not anxious to get back into it). My friend who also plays it likes it, but isn't too sure about paying a fee to continue playing. I might finally give it a shot this weekend.

Cool! What's your screen name?

Turns out my screen name is my old golfer's name. SE_wags.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Had to load in Firerox..IE8 kept getting errors. Grrrrr.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Ok...I'm ready to kick your ass now.

[Miles]

Ok...I'm ready to kick your ass now.

I'm there now.

[YmoBeThere]

Ok...I'm ready to kick your ass now.

I'm there now.

Hmm...quite a delay to get your ass kicked.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Ok...I'm ready to kick your ass now.

I'm there now.

name?

[YmoBeThere]

Ok...I'm ready to kick your ass now.

I'm there now.

name?

Kicking ass and taking names? I crack myself up...

[Lavabe]

Kicking ass and taking names? I crack myself up...

Major ass vibes to you!! ;)

[CameronBornAndBred]

Just got an email saying the beta ends in 6 days.

Ahhh..the closed beta ends in a couple days..which means they will either go to an open beta (which they should) or they will go live.

[YmoBeThere]

Tiger Woods was in a car wreck today...wonder if that impacts whether they go live or not.

[Miles]

Screenname is: justjerome

[Miles]

Closed Beta is now closed. Open Beta Preview is open but not to everyone, only the top 500-1000 players (by number of rounds). That sucks for now because I don't have nearly the number of rounds put in that other players due. I also think it's a poorly considered metric for determining who is a valuable beta tester. It's not the number of rounds that are important, it's the number of reports per round that indicates a valuable tester.

Oh well, it's free. I'll definitely sign up and pay once it goes live.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Closed Beta is now closed. Open Beta Preview is open but not to everyone, only the top 500-1000 players (by number of rounds). That sucks for now because I don't have nearly the number of rounds put in that other players due. I also think it's a poorly considered metric for determining who is a valuable beta tester. It's not the number of rounds that are important, it's the number of reports per round that indicates a valuable tester.

Oh well, it's free. I'll definitely sign up and pay once it goes live.

I'm waiting to see the price. If it works out to be under $60 for a year, that would make sense..that's basically how much the new game would be off the shelf. If it's like $10/month, then you are paying twice as much had you bought it new.