Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11
Vs
John Daly’s ProStroke Golf (both played with Move Controllers).
Developed by: Tiger Woods – EA Sports, John Daly – OG International
Reviewed by Matt Adcock
As a lifelong fan of Tiger Woods golf games it was with interest that I tried out this year’s newest challenger. Yes it’s time to ‘Grip it and Rip it’ with John Daly in John Daly’s ProStroke Golf – which is the first golf game built from the ground up to use the funky PS3 Move Controller.
So will Mr Woods take this challenge lying down (with or without a glamorous companion) or have EA Sports slapped enough Move features into their already built game to keep the PS3 ‘Move-ers’ happy?
John Daly:
Let’s look at John ‘The Bear’ Daly’s effort first: Featuring the unique and critically acclaimed ProStroke control that allows players to craft and control real golf shots like never before. Sam Torrance and Peter Kessler provide lively commentary across 12 varied and challenging courses, populated with interactive spectators to bring a rich match-day atmosphere to life, well I say ‘rich match-day experience’ but that only applies if you haven’t experience Tiger Wood’s!? Away from the tournaments and exhibitions you can get stuck in to a Challenge Mode offers a series of golfing trials presented by John Daly himself. It is a fun mixture of different disciplines of the game, from putting and approach play to the world famous ‘Long John drive’. Where Daly shines is with the great controls – using the Move controller this is the best / most realistic golf experience in a video game to date. The physics in particular are awesome, you can open or close your shot (to swerve the ball left or right) simply by twisting your wrist slightly – as you would in the real game. It is both immensely impressive and massively challenging too, because as any golfer knows – one really bad shot can screw up your whole round!?
John Daly’s ProStroke Golf is very immediate – you can jump straight in: No levelling up required before a player is allowed to reach their full potential, it’s all about how good you are in real life!?? Sure you can play Daly’s golf with a DualShock 3, but the Move is really the best way to play this title – just be ready to put in a lot of practice!! It can take a while to even unlock the first tournament due to the game mimicking your real golf skills… perhaps that says more about my golfing prowess than I’d like but hey…
Graphically Daly can’t touch Tiger – the courses are nice enough but the crowds, effects and players are far better in the EA alternative. Online options are a bit limited for Daly too but they work if you find someone of a similar level a fascinating match can be had. Sound effects and commentary aren’t all that either – it’s bird noises and chirping insects and that’s it…
So for a highly realistic but pretty no thrills golf experience John Daly is your man.
Tiger Woods:
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 sees the grand master Woods who has had by far the best console golf game for years now – rise to the challenge of John Daly. Woods adds Move support which his functional but not as good as ‘The Bear’s’ but also adds the Ryder Cup and best of all - fun. It is refreshing to see a sports game not get too complicated and concentrate on the silky smooth play mechanics that have served them so well up until now.
Take your pick from the wealth of options - stroke play, match play, skins, long drive competitions as well as Ryder Cup, PGA tour and some wicked skills challenges. Tiger not only looks and sounds better than Daly’s effort but also has some killer online playability like play 12 vs. 12 games and Live Tournaments.
If you’ve played and enjoyed any of Tiger’s games up until this year – get ready for the same classic experience with the expected amount of polish and added ability to build up FedExCup points and role play like experience points to improve your various attributes. There is a new ‘True-Aim’ option too which helps with active swing control and the ‘Focus’ which allows for super accurate putting or an extra few percentage points of power on a drive when used.
Tiger is the choice for non-move owning golf fans or those who value production over realism.
Darkmatters Verdict
Both these games are pretty excellent in their own right – either will satisfy and provide hours of golfing goodness. If you’re looking for a pure Move experience then you should check out John Daly as it will give you a fantastic insight into your own ‘real’ play style.
Final scores: The two titans of virtual golf each deliver good golfing experiences. Tiger is slicker and better looking, Daly rocks the best Move controls by a long drive… the choice is yours…
Tiger Woods – Overall: Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (9 awesome classy birdies out of 10)
John Daly – Overall: Darkmatters rating: öööööööö (9 long drive 'Moves' out of 10)
Of course for massive golf fanatics you probably need to buy both!
No comments:
Post a Comment