Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR Golf

[DivotMaker]

FYI....

https://www.facebook.com/EASPORTSGolf

https://www.easports.com/pga-tour/features

https://youtu.be/5eQKOr6sFgk

Release date....June.

[Rodster]

The graphics look great. Do you have the game yet Divot?

[DivotMaker]

Nah, first I have heard of this today. I have been in contact with EA and they have been pretty tight lipped. We'll see what they come out with.....

[Aristo]

I think it looks great. I'm anxious to see some gameplay. I'm still hoping (as doubtful as it is) that we will get TW 11' s TrueAim back. I did think the TW 14 got the closest to hitting what I felt was the best mechanics of the series.

My suspicion is that signing Rory was attempt to get the conversation back on the game being a proper PGA Tour game. Personally, I liked all of the mini-games and tries of the Tiger wood games, and including over the top courses and boosts for mini-game portion of the game sounds like fun. I understand why people freaked when that part of the game took front stage when it was announced.

But the proper game looks pretty amazing.

[10spro]

Looking great is not enough for me anymore when it comes to EA. True Aim would be a nice addition as I thought TW 14 took a step backwards. Trying to hit the fairway while not having full camera view of the course, is not how you make the gameplay more difficult.

Look forward to see some gameplay action. I do miss the country club challenges with you Kats.

[pk500]

Zero interest in this. I'll stick to The Golf Club even if it's uglier. I'm all but certain TGC will be more realistic than the arcadish crap EA will produce, and the endless supply of user-generated courses is a big plus for TGC.

[Gangrel]

I hope this is part of EA Access so I can give it a try. I love TGC, but have to admit if they don't deliver the graphical upgrade on XB1 they are promising, and Rory's game is close to being as realistic as TGC. it could be a toss up.

I wonder if this will also make HB Studios rethink their plan for the paid DLC they are bringing down the pipe.........

[dbdynsty25]

First year of an EA game on Next Gen...and it being such a polarizing game like PGA Tour...eeeesh. This has disaster written all over it. If they thought it didn't sell with Tiger on the cover...95% of America (or more) doesn't even know who Rory is.

[10spro]

I hope this is part of EA Access so I can give it a try. I love TGC, but have to admit if they don't deliver the graphical upgrade on XB1 they are promising, and Rory's game is close to being as realistic as TGC. it could be a toss up.

I wonder if this will also make HB Studios rethink their plan for the paid DLC they are bringing down the pipe.........

You don't think EA will charge extra for the more popular courses as they had in the past?

[Aristo]

I have been watching Twitch feeds of TGC for months, trying to talk myself into buying it. But it is just one of the ugliest games of golf, with courses that look more like the lanky public courses I used to play. Worse, it has terrible atmosphere, and the random "Good job" stuff sounds like it was canned in a cheap studio. I just couldn't spend the money.

Maybe if this Rory game sucks balls, I will give it a go. But I look forward to real courses, the online tourneys, the Clubhouse, and even the mini games. As much as I was pissed over the TrueAim being dropped after such an awesome implementation in TW11, the fact is, the Tiger games have been pretty good, and far less arcade than folks like to make it out to be. I mean, you could play arcade if you wanted to, but this always played pretty realistically for me. I played a ton of 13, and enjoyed it.

I think it is funny how negative folks have turned on it, because some PR guy thought that putting the mini games up front was a smart move. They were just trying to point out that it was using the same Frostbite Engine as BF4, not implying that the game had gone goofy. And the game does look amazing, from what has been shown. No one will ever make you play on a fantasy course.

I have EA Access, so I will get a nice six hours to decide if it feels solid and good. But I'm looking forward to it.

[Danimal]

the fact is, the Tiger games have been pretty good, and far less arcade than folks like to make it out to be. I mean, you could play arcade if you wanted to, but this always played pretty realistically for me.

I really have to disagree with this but don't want to really take the time to go point for point. I'll just say they made the game harder by making you a completly blind and unaware golfer. I had more information walking an 18 on Saturday than I did in their last "simulation" mode. Most people really don't care if it's accurate. If they can play Augusta and other real courses, play online and fire up a 55 that is what they want.

I'm telling you guys setting up a simulator in your garage or basement (if you have the space) is a lot cheaper than you think. Swinging a real golf club on those real courses is a lot more fun.

Also 95% of America doesn't know who Rory is? I doubt that statement is true. Granted it wouldn't of been my choice for the cover and you're right no one will be as popular as Tiger was but I like where golf is now. Every tourney so far in this young season has been tight and I'll take playoffs every weekend if we can get them.

[Teal]

Good lord. The damned game is fun. If you want to "really" play golf, then go play golf. Requiring a video game to mimic real life in such a way that you can't tell when one starts and another stops is just a bit...well...obsessive to me. I've enjoyed playing most of the Tiger games over the years. Guess that makes me an 'EA whore' or whatever stupid buzzword the EA anarchists call it now. Don't really care. Y'know, buy it or don't, doesn't crank my tractor either way. But honestly, debating whether or not something is fun is really stupid. Fun is subjective, not objective. Goodness.

[Danimal]

Is this game next gen only?

[Aristo]

Yes, it is.

I really have to disagree with this but don't want to really take the time to go point for point. I'll just say they made the game harder by making you a completly blind and unaware golfer.

Honestly, that was the genius of the TW 11 game no one played. You were given the ability to look at where you were shooting from above,, along with mileage markers and elevation. You could scout the entire hole to see what strategy you wanted to use to attack it. But during all of this, there was no aiming reticule, and moving that camera did not adjust the aim of your golfer. But, when you were back on the tee, you had landmarks to aim at, but it was just a distant tree or the break of a hill.

The only aiming was what you could see from the tee. It was impossible to put a ball exactly where you wanted it, in the same way it is on a real golf course. But no one bought that game. They were too smart to sucked in by EA. No, everyone bought TW 12, because it had the Masters, even though they gimped the game.

That said, by TW 13, I finally decided I could ignore the lack of TrueAim and just play a fun game. And I enjoyed it, plenty.

[greggsand]

I'm down. No offense to The Golf Club, but the visuals were a real problem for me (I'm superficial like that).. Also, give me one well made PGA course (I have no time try 30 different user created courses just to figure out "the one").

[pk500]

DB isn't that far off on McIlroy's lack of public recognition. Ninety-five percent is high, but for the VAST majority of Americans who don't cozy up to The Golf Channel every weekend, Tiger is the only name they know.

McIlroy might be big in the golf world. But outside of golf, he's the same as any boxer not named Mayweather or Pacquiao. Few people know him. Golf and boxing are similar in that once you get past the one or two megastars, the biggest names in the sport are those who dominated it 30 years ago or longer. Nicklaus, Palmer, Watson, Norman and Trevino still have far more name recognition to average Americans than McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Speith or Dustin Johnson.

EA will need to push the Rory brand hard to make anywhere near the commercial inroads and name recognition it did when Tiger was the poster boy for the franchise.

[Danimal]

Pk,

I'm not saying he is well known but I saw the story on this game on 2 news stations this morning. To be fair the story was more about Tiger no longer being on the cover so however you slice it the announcement generated publicity.

[Aristo]

Phil Mickelson would have been a more recognizable name. But Rory fits their profile since he is younger, and is currently the number one ranked golfer in the world. Also, while he is no Tiger, I would suppose EA is spending a lot less money on Rory than they did Tiger.

But I still think the only reason they even decided to find a name to put on the box was mitigate the damage that their initial reveal caused. It is still a game focused on real golf played on real golf courses by real golf pros. We can all debate about how well the game represents that, but that is the focus of the game. The mini games have always been a fun way to practice different skills. I might the only one, but i even enjoyed playing through the silly tiger Challenge, including The Toddler Years. So when they showed off a fantasy course based on BF4 in order to promote the Frostbite engine, well, the usual internet mob melted down.

Honestly, HB Studios couldn't have asked for a better environment in order to sell their game. From what I have seen, TGC is a solid, realistic game of golf. It was the perfect game for serious fans of sim golf to embrace.

So EA is now forced to emphasize something they have that TGC doesn't, which is real golfers, real courses, and a PGA career mode. Putting a pro on the cover helps convert that. It doesn't really matter who it is. It takes the focus back away from the mini games.

But the fact is, if this is just TW 13, but with a new face and upgraded graphics for next gen, I'm going to fine with it.

[Danimal]

Personally I think Rickie Fowler would of been the best choice. As someone who spends most of the week on a golf course during the spring / summer and is around a lot of youth golfers. If they wanted to capture the younger audience they should of went with Rickie.

I haven't seen kids copy a golfers style more than Fowlers. I think EA wants the #1 player on their cover and that's the only criteria they used.

[10spro]

I think EA just went with the #1 player in the world because of his current status. Fowler is not a bad choice and while he's got all the potential to be top three, he's been inconsistent with his game. Let's not forget that Rory already did grace the cover of the game along Tiger previously so it's not a total surprise to me. Anyways no matter who's on the cover, as a golfer besides the visuals, I hope that the gameplay holds its own. I don't expect a sim from them at all, but a glitch free fun game overall.

[Aristo]

Rory is younger and better, so he was an easy choice. Basically, Fowler looks like Justin Bieber.

And I'm with 10spro. who was on the covers not going to mean anything. Has the cover athlete ever inspired a single purchase of any sports game? Maybe Michael Jordan in 2K11? But even then, it was the gameplay featuring classic teams that he represented that really drove extra sales.

[pk500]

Personally I think Rickie Fowler would of been the best choice. As someone who spends most of the week on a golf course during the spring / summer and is around a lot of youth golfers. If they wanted to capture the younger audience they should of went with Rickie.

I haven't seen kids copy a golfers style more than Fowlers. I think EA wants the #1 player on their cover and that's the only criteria they used.

Agree 100 percent. I don't golf, but my wife has taken my 14-year-old and 10-year-old sons to clod around a local muni a few times. And both of my sons know who Rickie Fowler is. "The Puma dude who wears wild colors!"

[Danimal]

Rory is younger and better, so he was an easy choice. Basically, Fowler looks like Justin Bieber.

Younger and better has nothing to do with it if you're trying to capture the teen / tween market. You can make fun of him all you want but most kids dress like him on the course.

Also I don't care who is on the cover, you brought up Phil so i was continuing the conversation.

[Diablo25]

I'll reserve ANY judgement until I actually see how the game plays. Outside of a 30 second trailer with VERY little of the actual game we have nothing to judge. I say relax and let the game unfold/release. I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little intrigued by this announcement.

[Inuyasha]

I'm getting this. I like Golf Club but it's too hardcore sometimes. I like the EA Golf series since it's made more for casual golf gamers.

I'm sure Tiger must have been pissed when he heard Rory took over for his old game.