Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 - PS3 - Review
OK... Yeah... I caved and went and got it. Fuckin EA, sucking away more of my money and I have only myself to blame... Sheesh.
There are some significant changes to 13 and one of the ones that really helped talk me into getting it was that there is in game currency that you can use to buy down-loadable courses, so at least I won't have to drop any more cash for more courses.
There are also a lot of similarities to 12 that allow you to mostly jump right in and start playing. I have been able to find little to nothing on the web so far that explains how a lot of stuff works... I'm still not completely sure how some of it is happening even after almost two weeks play so some of the information here may not be accurate. I'm kind of going by what I'm seeing when I remember to look 
I will try to lay out as much of it as I can though.
Courses - The courses that come with the disk are:
Augusta National
Bethpage State Park
Celtic Manor Resort
Crooked Stick
East Lake
The Els Club
Kiawah Island
Pebble Beach
Royal Birkdale
Royal County Down
Royal Melborne GC
St. Andrews Links
Torrey Pines
TPC Sawgrass
TPC Scottsdale
Valhalla
The courses available for download (purchase with in game coins... See Below for more on coins) are:
Atlanta Athletic Club
Banff Springs
Blackwolf Run
Costa Navarino
Emerald Dragon
Greek Isles
Highlands
Liberty National
Oakmont CC
PGA National
Pinehurst No. 2
The Predator
Spyglass Hill
TPC Blue Monster
The Old White TPC
TPC San Antonio
Waialae
Whistleing Straights
Wolf Creek
So... There are lots of courses.
Each course can be bought for 18k coins individually or there are also two 'packs' of courses, one that has 11 (no idea which) for 150k coins and one that has 6 for 75k coins. Some (I'm not sure which) can only be bought alone for the 18k.
Collectibles - There are a number of things you 'collect' to progress. You are generally awarded these after each round depending on how well you do, all of them help. You must be connected to the EA servers to be awarded Coins and Status Points.
Status Points - Status Points go to-wards two things... Your 'Club' and your golfer. Anyone can start a Club but you need at least four people as members if you want to be counted on that ladder or participate in the special Club tournaments (I have a DU Club, if anyone has this game and wants to join, send me a PM). You want to start or join a club right away, even if it won't be on the ladder as you can get bonus coins by being a member, the more members, the more coins.
Coins - Coins are used to buy extra courses as well as Boost pins. There are several different kinds of boost pins... 'Hole' pins that give some type of bonus on that one hole (there is one for every hole on every course), golfer pins that give... I don't know but there is one for each golfer in the game, Boosts that boost a given stat for one round, and refills that refill the boosts to five uses (times you can use it). All of these can be bought or won through play... Though I'm not certain how you get them all. Some through course mastery but some others have just kind of appeared and I don't know how I got them.
Experience Points - These are used to increase your golfers stats.
Course Mastery - Three levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Get lots of birdies, Eagles, FIRs, GIRs, etc to increase mastery on each course and get Coins, Booster Packs and some unknown bonus when playing that course.
Modes - There are a bunch of different things to play but you want to be connected to the EA servers so you at least get coins to buy more courses.
Tiger Legacy Challenge - Play as Tiger through different periods in his life from a little kid (I shit you not, you get to play a toddler Tiger in his backyard, very funny stuff) to into the future. I assume you get stuff for completing each part but I've not finished any yet so I am not certain.
Career - This is where you create your golfer and compete in single player. The further you advance the more clubs, balls and clothes you have to choose from. Clubs and balls can give various bonuses but I've not seen any bonuses on clothes yet... This is good because it will create a lot more variety in the golfers you play online head-to-head instead of everyone wearing the same suit for the bonus. I still have a long way to go though so perhaps this changes.
Country Club - The club you create or join. Club matches can be set up or not and there are also special tournaments that the best in the club can join each week to earn extra status, exp and coins.
Online Live - This is single player where each persons score is kept and 'money' (not to be confused with coins) is awarded based on how you finish... This money is really a score keeping method, I play this mode almost exclusively (position 245 on the ladder already).
Online Head-to-head - Play online real time against other real people.
Within all of these there are all different types of games that you can join or set up. Skins, four round, one round, etc.
Game Play - Game play is almost all about the swing and there is some significant differences in taking shots. In general, it is the same as previous iterations of the game but... Now the meters mean so much less. If you try to swing completely by watching the meters, you will not do very well. There is a new thing called 'Tempo'. This is the speed and consistency in which you are doing your swing. Fast back and fast forward will give you over-swing and you will hit the ball harder... Much more of an effect then just going into the red on the meter. If you are used to using just the meters, it can be (well... it was for me) a difficult adjustment for such a small adjustment but once you get the hang of it, it is far more intuitive and natural feeling. I really like it a lot.
The Caddie - They pretty much ditched the asshole and now give you complete control over your shot. This is most evident on chipping in from just off the green... I make sooo many more now, it is very sweet. You can still get advice from the caddie but... It is still the same shit advice he gave last game, I advise ignoring him unless you are brand new to the game.
Drivers - The driver works much the same as previous games with the addition of the hybrid. This club is great in the rough when you are still a long way from the green, it has a nice bonus to recovery from bad lies. Your drive is the easiest shot and the first to master, keep it on the fairway and you will be at worst, OK.
Irons - Irons are where you will use tons of fade/draw and spin. With complete control over your shots, you can get some serious pin point accuracy once you put in a little practice. The second shot is every bit as important as putting, the better your second shot the more forgiving putting can be as you are making a shorter putt.
Putting - Putting is also much the same except that the slant on the green has noticeably less effect on the ball then last years game. Also, keep in mind that the putt preview is for a perfect swing, anything too hard or too soft on the stick will miss the mark.
Graphics - This is one of the big disappointments of the game for me. The PS3 simply can't handle the engine... I suspect this engine will look awesome on the PS4 but on the PS3 it is often blurry and the chop at the end of shots or if you 'skip' to go to the next shot is really really bad... Just should have been given more work, very obviously not tweaked as much as it should have been. The game looks better then last year at a lot of points but the chop and blurry scenes distract and annoy. Shit job here by EA to release it before it was done.
Fun Factor - If you like golf games, there is a lot to love here. The new swing mechanics are subtle and drastic at the same time. Tons more control makes for a lot of real cool shots you can make. The graphic presentation is a major downer but not a deal breaker. Lots of modes offer a lot of variety no matter how you like to play.
Bottom Line - I dig it, I'm playing it a lot. Being able to use in game currency to buy extra courses is freakin sweet since otherwise I would not have been able to get them... So thats a big plus for me. There are a few more courses added and I think all of them from last year are back... Also more clubs, balls and clothes to choose from. Bigger, badder and lots of golf fun. If you liked 12, I think you will be very happy with 13.
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...and then tell the media to respect your privacy because you're a 'family man'....