-
-
TW '12 to use balance board on Wii.
Even if you're not a golf fan, Tiger Woods PGA Tour is a Wii game worth keeping an eye on. In addition to its masterful use of WiiMotion Plus, PGA Tour also incorporates a number of modes, including Disc Golf and Mini Golf, perfect for those not content putting on a traditional green.
Here's the thing though - we've already given high praise to the previous two Wii installments of Tiger Woods. How do you improve upon that? What do you do for this year's installment? That's the question I had for Eric Busch, designer of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters. In addition to the quick interview, I have a trailer for the game, highlighting this year's changes.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour is Back - On a Balancing Board!
IGN: Tiger Woods has been exceptionally well-received on Wii for a couple years running now. How do you improve upon an experience that's already, arguably, one of the best out there? How do you keep this year's version from feeling like last year's – while not ruining a good thing?
Eric Busch: Keeping things fresh is obviously a challenge for any franchise that's on a yearly release schedule, but at the same time it allows you to look back at the previous year to see what worked and what may not have been as well received. This year we were able to secure the rights to the Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, which historically has been our number one requested feature. When nailing down this year's feature list we used Augusta as a barometer of sorts, specifically focusing on those features we felt would best showcase the rich tradition and history of the course and its tournament.
IGN: Wii MotionPlus has obviously been a high point for the series thus far. Are you experimenting or tweaking any control concepts this year?
Busch: The enhancements to the swing provided by the Wii MotionPlus have been extremely well received, so much so that we didn't feel it necessary to make any real changes. We did however add support for the Wii Balance Board, something which seemed to be the next step in the natural evolution of the swing.
The balance board has two distinct modes, Arcade and Pro. In the Arcade mode your balance will be measured during each swing, and based on how well you perform you will be awarded balance points. After earning enough balance points you will unlock a power shot, which provides an extra 10% power on your next shot. This can be useful off the tee or when trying to reach the green on a long par 5.
In the Pro mode your balance will also be measured, but this time you'll need to maintain good balance during your swing in order to achieve 100% power on your shots. Swinging with poor balance can result in up to a 20% power penalty.
IGN: Tiger Woods has routinely featured a variety of mini-games in addition to the core golf attraction. Are Disc Golf and Mini Golf back this year? Are there any new games? Do these have multiplayer functionality?
Busch: Yes, both Disc Golf and Mini Golf return this year. We've added a 5th Mini Golf course, EA Boardwalk, which is a seaside course that features more of a classical take on miniature golf with angled walls and obstacles to maneuver your putts around. Both Disc Golf and Mini Golf can be played offline with up to 4 players, and Disc Golf can be played online against a single opponent.
IGN: Graphically are you making any tweaks to this year's edition?
Busch: We updated all of our 3D golfer models and improved the golfers' shadows. We also have an improved green grid when putting, and added a new heat map overlay to improve the ability to read the contours of the green on approach shots.
IGN: What are your thoughts on the 3DS? Do you think we could see Tiger Woods make its way to the system? Is that something you'd like to attempt?
Busch: I really can't comment specifically on the 3DS, but as with the recent release of EA SPORTS™ PGA TOUR� Golf Challenge on Facebook, we're always looking for new and exciting ways to expand our golf franchise into new markets.
IGN: At this point, have you effectively maxed out the Wii? Are there any things you'd like to attempt with the system, or are you ready for a Wii successor? From a development perspective, what do you hope for from a Wii successor?
Busch: While we continue to optimize the game and improve performance to allow for additional features and graphical enhancements, there will naturally be diminishing returns as we extend further into the lifespan of any hardware platform. Each year presents its own set of challenges, but I don't think we've hit the limits on the Wii just yet.
I really don't have any insights into what the future may hold for a Wii successor, but the move to HD is inevitable. Obviously this would be great from an art perspective since it would help to more closely align our course creation pipelines with those used on the PS3 and Xbox360, but Nintendo always seems to have a trick up their sleeve, so it will be exciting to see what the future holds.
Comment
-
Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12 is going to be on Jimmy Kimmel tonight.
Wood also will appear on Jimmy Fallon’s NBC show tomorrow night and on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” on Thursday morning. He will promote EA Sports’ video game “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters.” Woods will have a video-game showdown with “Morning Drive” co-host Gary Williams. Woods is scheduled to play mini-golf with Fallon.Comment
-
im getting rid of Fight Night Champion and getting this for sure.Comment
-
For those that haven't pre-ordered yet Amazon is offering a $25 credit. Pretty awesome deal.
Comment
-
Good shit Twigg. I'm going to turn around and put it towards Socom
Comment
-
Anybody getting this today? I'm bout to head out and get it for the 360.
This will be a brand new game for me as I've never bought a golf game before. Looking forward to learning more about the game and smoking bowls with some buddies and playing this.Comment
-
Anybody getting this today? I'm bout to head out and get it for the 360.
This will be a brand new game for me as I've never bought a golf game before. Looking forward to learning more about the game and smoking bowls with some buddies and playing this.Comment
-
if you've not played a TW game you'll probably really like it.
the franchise is decent, but similar to other EA franchises where getting it every year or every other year isn't that smart.
i'm goin out to get it right now, but on PS3.
Comment
-
I put in Tiger10 last night and having a debate on buying this one or not. As said, it is really hard to improve on a golf game besides adding courses and things like the Ryder cup. At the end of the day it is either three button swing or analog swing and that is about that.All you need to know when thinking of the NHL vs Madden series is the two people involved in making the games.
"rammer" and "cummings"
The NHL series is a giver, Madden takes the load.Comment
-
fuck didnt realize it was coming out today. Im trading in Fight Night Champion and getting it.
Im really hooked on Full House Poker though right now.Comment
-
I got mine, does anyone have the codes for the extra course on the Xbox. Should have preordered.Comment
-
playing a career with tournament difficulty on. good challenge. putting is no joke. i'm likely rusty i guess tho, but it still seems tough.Comment
-
For someone who has never played a TW game, putting is hard as hell but I am really enjoying this game.Comment
-
Saw this on CAG...
Read:
Quote:
:There’s one more key component involved before you can try your hand at securing a Green jacket. EA has added the in-game global ranking and to get to the Major tournaments you need to rank in the top 100. Do well in a tour event and you’ll shoot up the rankings. It’s not required to play every event, but skipping an event does come at a cost: a slight decrease down the ladder. This is particularly important in regards to the one aspect of Tiger Woods 12 I despise: EA’s upfront inclusion of DLC. In the main career mode there are a number of tournaments utilizing the games built in 16 courses.
However, EA has 20 DLC courses planned for sale and they’ve chosen to add around 5 in-game tournaments that take place on these courses. I initially thought it was a nice bonus for those who spend the extra money to have earlier shots at moving up the rankings by playing these optional tournaments. However, EA has also decided to penalize gamers who don’t purchase the DLC tourneys by forcing users to skip them as they would a standard in game event. The drop in ranking applies to these events, even if you haven’t bought them. Frankly, I think it’s a gutless move by EA who are already charging gamers $60 for a game and then more or less telling them they need to shell out more if they want full functionality of their game, and it’s an issue that makes me much more hesitant to whole heartedly endorse what is otherwise a fantastic game.
The biggest issue I have with the game comes back to EA’s underhanded marketing. The 16 real-life courses in the game are tremendous fun and show the variety of the golfing world, but the 20 courses slated for DLC show EA is cheating paying customers, especially when one looks back to the original Xbox version of “Tiger Woods 07” where courses on that disc were removed from the 360 version and appeared as DLC. The slight penalty in career mode for not purchasing these DLC courses is truly unconscionable and I hope this is the last time EA tries this. I wouldn’t hesitate to give this game the highest rating possible, if it weren’t for this terrible marketing strategy, because that aside, it’s a fantastic game and one of the best sports titles I’ve played. Don’t hesitate to pick it up if you love golf, just understand the few drawbacks. Highly Recommended.
What a joke. And by the way, the game is $45 on Amazon right now for 360/PS3. $37 for Wii.
Comment
Tweet
Comment