Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters Message Board

The last time EA released a disc-based Tiger Woods game on home PCs, it was in 2008. The message delivered by that long absence, it seemed, was that EA wasn't terribly invested in PC gamers when it came to its flagship golf franchise. Then came the announcement that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 would be coming to the PC, ending the long absence of the franchise. Suddenly, golf fans were rejuvenated, thrilled to be getting a full-fledged port of the Xbox 360 and/or PlayStation 3 version of the game, especially after having only the microtransaction-focused, free-to-play Tiger Woods Online to satiate their needs for so long.

Derp.

Then Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 for the PC actually came out, and, well...let's just say, PC players might have some semblance of an idea of how Elin Woods felt.

Between EA's official forums, Reddit, and even our own forums, there seems to be an overwhelming opinion about this version of the game: it stinks.

Specifically, it appears that Tiger 12 on the PC is more or less just a reskinned, mildly upgraded version of Tiger Woods Online. Features advertised on EA's official promo page for the PC version, including the much-vaunted "Caddie Experience," are flat-out missing from this version. Additionally, the look and feel of the game is apparently near-on identical to that of Tiger Woods Online. That means no crowd gallery, stiffer animations, and a scaled back graphical engine compared with that of the console versions. True PC Gaming has a fairly detailed (and savage) evisceration of the PC version, if you're interested in learning more.

To add a bit of insult to injury, Tiger 12 on the PC comes with a free three-month subscription to Tiger Woods Online. In effect, you are getting a free browser-based subscription to the same game that you just paid $40 for. So, that's awesome.

The one piece of good news in this entire debacle is that EA is apparently willingly handing out refunds to anyone who complains. You need only head over to EA's support site, complain accordingly, and you'll get your money back. It's almost as if EA expected some kind of blow back over this situation, as if it knew that people might not be super into the idea of a $40 version of a free-to-play game. And yet, EA went ahead with it anyway, because hey, they already had this free PC game lying around. Why not just shove it out there with a few extra pieces and assume people will be cool with it? Right? Right...?

EA is offering refunds to customers of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters on PC, Eurogamer reports. While the PC version released this week, shares a name with the console versions released five months ago, it's quite a bit different than on 360 and PS3. And by "different' we mean "worse."

The retail PC Tiger Woods 12, is specifically lacking in graphics and features, using the browser-based Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online for its multiplayer mode. You can read more about the problem on the EA forums and Reddit which both dig deeper into the specific issues.

Those experiencing a lack of satisfaction with the product are recommended to putt on over to EA Support.

Just in case you've been lying awake at night, desperately anticipating the upcoming release of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 to the point where living without it has become a such a burden of living that you can barely stand it, or finding yourself looking to take out a high-interest loan for fear that the cost of Madden NFL 12's DLC would simply prove too much for your meager budget, fret no longer, for EA has come up with a subscription-based solution for you.

He's thinking about your money.

This is, of course, that nonsense we reported on last April, where EA Sports decided that its suite of upcoming titles was so awesome, that people would be lining up around the block to subscribe to a service where people can get discounts and free perks for all those sports games. Always known to make good on a threat, EA today announced that you can buy the EA Sports Season Ticket right this very second, if you're so inclined.

The pass covers Madden NFL 12, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, NCAA Football 12, FIFA 12, and NHL 12, providing players with early download access to the titles ahead of retail stores (you'll still have to make a trip out to the store on launch day, if you don't want a solely digital copy), a 20% discount on all downloadable content, and special free "web perks," which are as yet unspecified, save for FIFA, which will be getting Creation Center packs, with additional assets to build custom teams and tournaments.

Terrifyingly enough, GameStop has been named "the exclusive retail marketing partner for the roll-out of EA Sports Season Ticket, with company presidentquoted as saying, "GameStop is in a unique position to deliver this digital product utilizing its multichannel network. We will continue to work with progressive publishers to bring great gaming experiences to our customers." I have no idea what that means, but it's already freaking me out.

So now you know: If you've got $25 (or 2000 Microsoft Points) lying around, you can give it to EA Sports, and they'll give you some stuff...provided you like football, college football, hockey, golf, and soccer. If you like basketball or baseball, apparently you can just go to hell.

Wait, does EA even have a basketball game this year?

If you don't have a PlayStation Move yet, but desire one primarily for its function as a semi-imaginary golf club, good news! Sony is offering a bundle with a Move wand, a PlayStation Eye, and a copy of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters. It'll be out next week for $99.99.

The bundle of a popular Move-enhanced sports game and the hardware seems pretty natural to us, but the timing of this bundle is somewhat less natural: Tiger Woods 12 actually came out in March. We're not used to seeing new hardware bundles for random already-released games. Perhaps this one got stuck in a sand trap, much like this post has become mired in a forced golf metaphor.

Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA) today announced the availability of the limited edition PlayStation Move Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: Masters Bundle. In stores nationwide starting the week of July 11, 2011, this latest bundle combines the PlayStation Move motion controller, the PlayStation Eye and the thrill of EA SPORTS' Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 12: The Masters on Blu-ray disc, all for $99.99 MSRP...

The lie I faced on the seventh green at Costa Navarino was so steep, it's a wonder I didn't need rappelling gear to address the ball. My caddy, who has recommended twisting shots that skip over bunkers and thread between trees, suddenly had no advice. Without any starting point for my read, I had no hope of making this putt in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. More »

Andrew Wilson, president of worldwide development for EA Sports, told Joystiq today that the caddy feature in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters was "well received" and destined to return in the franchise's next installment. As you may know, this is a decision we wholeheartedly support.

Amazon is getting started on its Father's Day celebration early, with the first of three week-long video game sales in honor of "Dads and grads." That website's dad is really important to it, we suppose -- he helped Amazon.com develop a strong sense of right and wrong, and provided the encouragement it needed to grow up and be a successful website -- and made just the best chili.

The first sale, running through June 4, discounts a bunch of Wii games and accessories, heavily focused on EA Sports stuff, like NBA Jam for $20 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 The Masters for $30. Next week, from June 5 through June 11, Amazon will offer "Handheld Deals," followed by "Next Generation Console & PC Deals" on June 12-18.

#stickjockey Golf, in real life, never took root in me. I had friends who played, and invited me along. As a young sports writer I covered a couple of exciting tournaments. In college, I enrolled in a golf class my senior year and was even partnered with N.C. State's quarterback, a guy who later became a a club professional in Georgia. But just to get myself to the level of having a fun time socializing on the course, the time and money seemed prohibitive, and I had little of either as a newspaperman in my 20s. More »

Many of EA's for iPhone and iPod touch are discounted this weekend. The big deal is that the well-received iPhone version of Dead Space had a couple bucks strategically dismembered from its regular price and is available now for $5.

Other discounted titles include Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12,The Sims 3, SimCity Deluxe, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and The Simpsons Arcade. All the titles are $5 or less, with SimCity and Simpsons being only $1.

Does the Masters Tournament bring the Tiger Woods franchise to a whole new level?

#hotflashes The Masters Tournament, which graces Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (duh), begins with its opening round tomorrow at Augusta National. Hecklers and disturbances are either unanticipated or flat impossible thanks to the golf club's otherworldly security - in this flash game's case, a sniper ready to take out any troublemakers. More »

#gamingappoftheday Golf, with an emphasis on precision, and players always initiating rather than reacting to the action, is a natural for the mobile platform. That doesn't mean any offering - even one with the weight of Tiger Woods and EA Sports' names behind it - is automatically on the green in two. More »

Experience the tense moments of the Masters Tournament with more precision and control than ever with the inclusion of the Wii Balance Board!

Ryan and Alex hit the green fore a hole in fun in this slice of Tiger Woods.

Pull off a level shot and win by several under par.

Storm through several holes and finish with an aggressive putt.

A portion of a Joystiq review… No relationship that has only one side invested will last. That’s just a fact of life. Hopefully next year, when I make another run at it all again, he’ll be a bit more enthusiastic, a bit more human. Next year, I hope he teaches me to become a better golfer, [...]

The PS3 version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters supports the PlayStation Move, though the functionality is greatly improved over last year. EA has not only improved the sensitivity of the swing itself, but added in the first-person True-Aim system seen in last year's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 on the Wii.

Now, because my review focuses so much on the caddy (and because the PlayStation Move arrived very late from Sony), Move didn't make it in before deadline. However, that added time to mess around with the mechanic has proven to me that the PS3 version is far more sensitive to slight swing variations and wrist movement, which makes the learning curve a bit steeper.

Still, after only an hour, my proficiency increased. And because the Move is so sensitive, it was a lot easier for me to gauge how much power I was putting into a swing compared to using an analog stick.

Combined with the graphical fidelity of the PS3 version, I can say without a doubt that PlayStation Move makes Tiger Woods on the PS3 the preferred version.

#review My first visit to Augusta National broke the club's dress code with almost criminal negligence: I was wearing basketball shorts, a T-shirt, and was unshaven to boot. Sure, I was on my couch, but I told myself I was stepping to the tee box on the first hole of the world's most prestigious golf course. Does a trip to The Masters in a video game even qualify as a first time, and if so, can it be just as unforgettable? More »

Sitting here, staring at a screen of accomplishments in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, I can't help but think what a long, crazy journey it's been. I went from a nobody with barely a shot on the amateur tour to the highest level of the game, The Masters. I surprised a lot of people, including a few of my idols.

Not that I was alone on this journey. The entire time, I had a secret weapon: the best caddy in the biz. I can't tell you his name, but he came into my life and changed it forever. He taught me things I never would have suspected about the game and we both developed our skills, together, spanning a career that would become the greatest the sport has ever seen.

I'm still not sure he knows my name.

Delta House!!!

Get a sneak preview of Augusta National's first nine in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters as I, playing as Chris DiMarco, take on EA Sports' Justin Patel, playing as Tiger Woods. It's a recreation of the playoff of the 2005 Masters! Except for the fact we'll still play the other eight holes if Justin beats me on No. 1, as Tiger did in real life. Watch the video embedded here, or see it directly from EA Sports' UStream channel. More »

#stickjockey Most golf fans, if they're lucky, will get to spend four days in early April at the venerated Augusta National Golf Course, scene of The Masters Tournament. Shannon Yates was on the course, sunup to sundown, for 10 straight library-quiet days, coming to understand it in ways even a professional golfer never will. More »

#easports This stand-up-and-cheer golfer's fantasy for EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, seemed a little too good to be true. C'mon, right? No way Augusta National Golf Club, which prizes its privacy and exclusivity, would let a camera crew and a bunch of actors walk all over its storied course for an ad - for a video game ad. More »

#easports One thing you can count on in the NCAA basketball tournament, playing now, are the CBS promo spots for The Masters, full of pomp and grandeur, with Jim Nantz invoking the Tradition Unlike Any Other. That's what makes this spot for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters so fantastic. More »