Tiger Woods 360 ***Impressions****

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:44 pm

Spooky wrote:Okay, you make good points and eased my mind a bit more.

Spooky, give it a rent sometime. I could see you easily getting your money's worth, especially during the dry spell of releases that's coming up. It would be worth it just to see the visuals alone. I'm not sure where you had a chance to "Tjung" the game, but it didn't do it justice graphically.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:22 pm

Okay, my ‘Tjung’ kiosk playtime impressions were WAY off base! I picked this up last night and configured all of the options as suggested and WOW! This game actually feels like a sim!?!?! Especially with my created player with the low stats. And, yes, the overall graphics are quite impressive.

I do have a few questions though…

1. What does the ‘Swing Aid’ option do (I turned it off )?

2. What does the right stick or spin stick do when putting?

3. What exactly does ‘Tour’ difficulty change or do?

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:26 pm

You're all bastards.

Thought I could safely pass on this one...

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:33 pm

I just read the OXM review of Tiger 360 and the biggest thing they kept talking about was how it seemed to ditch the cheesy easyness of the Xbox version in favor of a more challenging difficulty and sim-style. I was impressed with their mention of that. I have yet to play this game but it is very tempting. Some guy owes me $40 and I'm trying to decide between this and Condemned.

A couple questions since I didn't play this years version on Xbox:

1. How is putting handles now.

2. Can you put spin on the ball while taking your shot rather than that aftertouch crap?

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:42 pm

Spooky wrote: I do have a few questions though…

1. What does the ‘Swing Aid’ option do (I turned it off )?

2. What does the right stick or spin stick do when putting?

3. What exactly does ‘Tour’ difficulty change or do?

1. I am not 100% sure, but it appears to turn off mishit and tempo penalties, which in turn makes it easy to hole out from virtually anywhere on the course.

2. You can move the stick forward to add topspin if you are "between distances" on your putt length. Pulling the stick back decreases distance.

3. TOUR difficulty basically removes all of the arcadish crap that makes default mode so easy to score in the 50's on. I played 3 holes in Default, quit the game, went looking for the Options menu, turned off all the BS, went back in and played a GOLF game, not a putt-putt game.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:46 pm

1. What does the ‘Swing Aid’ option do (I turned it off )?

If you take your swing you can see a color by your club. I turned it off but I think you will see a blue or yellow streak while you swing if you are hooking or slicing.

2. What does the right stick or spin stick do when putting?

I can't think of any valid reason to use the right stick while putting.

3. What exactly does ‘Tour’ difficulty change or do?

I'm not sure. I think it automatically turns off some "cheats" like in flight spin control and it also seems like you are much much less likely to have shots that are magnetically drawn towards the cup.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:46 pm

ScoopBrady wrote: A couple questions since I didn't play this years version on Xbox:

1. How is putting handles now.

2. Can you put spin on the ball while taking your shot rather than that aftertouch crap?

1. Putting is not like previous TW console versions. Your putter has increments of power starting at 5', then 10/20/30/40/60/80/100/120 feet. You will need to practice to negotiate the greens in this game. There are tutorials during the initial loading screen that will give you hints on how to putt.

2. Both, unfortunately. I have turned off any post-shot functionality. However, the Shape Stick is one of my new favorite features that really add to your shotmaking capabilities.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 1:16 pm

My copy just shipped from Gamerang today, I'm looking forward to joining you guys in some XBL play soon.

packmanuk-4 · Post by **packmanuk-4** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 4:56 pm

How do you set tour level difficulty in career mode ? I don't see an option. I see it in the varous play mode options but not career.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:43 pm

packmanuk-4 wrote:How do you set tour level difficulty in career mode ? I don't see an option. I see it in the varous play mode options but not career.

You set it in the Options section of the Main Menu.

packmanuk-4 · Post by **packmanuk-4** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:54 pm

I did that. But do you have to set it before you create a character ? I seem to remember having to do this in a previous version.

JackDiggity · Post by **JackDiggity** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 5:54 pm

DivotMaker wrote: 1. Putting is not like previous TW console versions. Your putter has increments of power starting at 5', then 10/20/30/40/60/80/100/120 feet. You will need to practice to negotiate the greens in this game. There are tutorials during the initial loading screen that will give you hints on how to putt.

2. Both, unfortunately. I have turned off any post-shot functionality. However, the Shape Stick is one of my new favorite features that really add to your shotmaking capabilities.

I played this game at the VA today. WOW!!! I couldn't agree more about the putting. It's a blast. We turned all the bullshit off and it was a damn fun round of golf.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:42 pm

JackDiggity wrote:
I played this game at the VA today. WOW!!! I couldn't agree more about the putting. It's a blast. We turned all the bullshit off and it was a damn fun round of golf.

Jack,

Glad you enjoyed it. I cannot believe I have been playing this game non-stop since 11/22 and can't put it down. If someone would have told me that I would have over 100 hours into TW360 before it came out, I would have thought they were out of their minds.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 7:49 pm

I want to give this game a try but I don't want to buy it. Too bad I can't find many used 360 games yet.

How many courses did links have, not counting online downloads? I'm thinking 8.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 8:03 pm

6. However, six of the finest courses I have ever seen in any game....

JackDiggity · Post by **JackDiggity** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:36 pm

DivotMaker wrote: Glad you enjoyed it. I cannot believe I have been playing this game non-stop since 11/22 and can't put it down. If someone would have told me that I would have over 100 hours into TW360 before it came out, I would have thought they were out of their minds.

No doubt. I am itchin to get back at it on Monday. We are playing Riviera after rehab. Four of us....Quarter skins,carryovers and snakes.

I can't believe people are saying this is the same old Tiger. It's not. They must be playing with all the arcade crap on. With this gameplay I would buy the game if I had a 360. Six courses would be cool for me,they look fantastic.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:12 am

Well I've had some more time with the game...

Stuff I hate first...

1. I don't like the way Tiger has ever handled the created players. I hate the way they handle ball flight and power for starting players. I understand what they are trying to do but it makes the game less fun. Instead of having us playing from the white tees and hitting 220 yards on a good shot, I wish they would handicapp the game with less accuracy, trouble reading greens etc. I liked in Links how your player could hit the ball further than 250 yards. I wish they would make accuracy, length over 300 yards, reading greens more difficult when you start out.

2. Ball flight, lies and yardage. If the listed distance is 160, then why when I hit a shot from the fairway it flies 140. That doesn't make any sense. The listed yardage should be for ball flight only, not including roll.

Regarding ball flight, it bothers me that some shots from bad lies go too short. Long irons are a little funky in the game. They fly either too low, or too short. Something that I see less with better players so maybe that's because of the low stats for created players.

3. Chipping. This needs work in the game. The ball slams into the ground too quickly.

4. Only 6 courses.

5. Driving is too easy. Well in general hitting it straight is too easy. They need to add sliders to Tour mode to let us tweak this part of the game for better gamers.

6. Watching animations. Honestly, why do they force us to watch them walk off a green.

Stuff I Like
1. This isn't the same Tiger from the XBox. Well it is in parts, but I think the physics are better. Maybe that's the power of the 360?

2. Putting. In the xbox version putting was pretty easy. Just bang it up there. On tour mode, you have to hit a good putt. While I'm indifferent in how they set-up the strength of putts, you still need the right touch.

3. Graphics. The graphics are not mind-blowingly next gen. But they did get rid of my main complaint in Tiger, the "sea of green". They did a good job of texturing the fairways and roughs. I remember early versions of St. Andrews were you didn't know where the fairway began and the rough ended. Also they did away with overly green grass which makes the game look realistic.

4. Selection of choices. I'm glad they didn't put in Kapalua. Sawgrass is always in Tiger but it's also a very good course. Carnoustie and Turnberry (I think it's turnberry) are great links course. I wish they would have added Bethpage Black. I hope their next round of courses bring back St. Andrews and do some other legendary courses like Shinnicock, a British Open Course not done before.

Overall, I'm enjoying Tiger. The first day I had buyers remorse but I think they took a step in the right direction. They need to add more courses and come up with another difficulty mode for Tiger.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:25 am

OK, I've looked everywhere multiple times and I still can't find the option to change to tour difficulty. Maybe I'm just blind, but I only see one options menu and that is in the main screen. In that menu there are options for game play, but I don't see anything for tour difficulty. I have turned the gamebreaker crap off and swing assist, but I don't see a tour difficulty anywhere. LOL, what am I missing?

packmanuk-4 · Post by **packmanuk-4** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:20 am

How far should you develop a player to keep the game realistic. I wasn't going to boost my player by more than 5 for each skill. Should I go higher or lower ?

AcemanPR · Post by **AcemanPR** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:17 am

Badgun,

I found it right away. Can't remember exactly where it is on the top of my head, but I'll go home at lunch and check, unless someone answers your question first.

packmanuk-4 · Post by **packmanuk-4** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 10:35 am

Tour option is switched on through the play now settings.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:20 am

I got my rental copy of Tiger on Friday, and played enough of it this weekend to finish the Q school tournament. I think the game is okay, but I definitely don't like it as much as most everybody else. The graphics are very nice and the courses are very detailed, but I don't think the gameplay is anywhere near that of Links for Xbox. The only difficulty in hitting the ball seems to be in the distance you hit it, I never hit a slice or hook anything. I'm still seeing way too many ridiculous shots go in, I bet I made at least 10 shots from over 150 yds out in the time I spent with the game. In fact, I aced hole 17 at Sawgrass in back to back rounds in the Q school tournament. It feels very canned at times, like it is predetermined your ball is going into the hole right after the swing. I really don't like the putting this year, it seems wrong that a 40 foot putt would be easier to make than a 13 or 14 foot putt. You can max swing with a 40 foot putter, where you have to softly swing a 20 foot putter for putts between 12-15 feet. Putting feels way off to me, I've barely moved the putter back and powered the ball way past the hole. Links had putting nailed, where the length of the putt was determined solely by how far you brought the putter back on your swing. Overall, I just didn't have a lot of fun playing the game, whereas I had a blast playing Links every single time.

btmmayor · Post by **btmmayor** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:27 am

Badgun wrote:OK, I've looked everywhere multiple times and I still can't find the option to change to tour difficulty. Maybe I'm just blind, but I only see one options menu and that is in the main screen. In that menu there are options for game play, but I don't see anything for tour difficulty. I have turned the gamebreaker crap off and swing assist, but I don't see a tour difficulty anywhere. LOL, what am I missing?

I don't get this either. When I go to play a single round, the option to set it to tour difficulty is on the last screen right after you select the course. As far as career mode goes though, I don't see an option anywhere. The tour difficulty option under the Play Now menu would again just be for a single round. I was wondering if maybe the option appears later in career mode after you make the PGA Tour. I'm still far from that though and I don't see a tour mode setting for my career anywhere.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:37 am

HipE wrote:The only difficulty in hitting the ball seems to be in the distance you hit it, I never hit a slice or hook anything. I'm still seeing way too many ridiculous shots go in, I bet I made at least 10 shots from over 150 yds out in the time I spent with the game. In fact, I aced hole 17 at Sawgrass in back to back rounds in the Q school tournament. It feels very canned at times, like it is predetermined your ball is going into the hole right after the swing.

That sounds like you are playing on the default difficulty. I still haven't had an ace yet and only a few eagles. I did get a double eagle, but I used a gamebreaker to do it.

Do you still hit everything straight in Play Now or stroke play with Tour difficulty on? It is too easy to hit it straight, but it's no different than Links IMO. I played with you online in Links and I rarely remember you missing a fairway. Do you really think Links was more challenging with no wind (as is the case in the career mode through the Q school)? What made Links hard were the greens, putting, and wind IMO. I remember people shooting -20 in a tournament with easy settings.

I totally agree with you about putting though. Links nailed it.

HipE · Post by **HipE** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:50 am

I only played a partial round with Tiger in Play Now, the first time I booted up the game. I made sure to go into the options and put it on Tour mode before starting the round. I turned off spin control and gamebreakers also, and had most of the conditions set at medium. I actually had a double eagle on the first par 5 at Pebble Beach that round, and then quit to start my career shortly after that. Maybe it was a fluke, I never went back to it again to test it further. I didn't realize that the Tour difficulty I set in options doesn't affect career mode play though, does the option to put it on Tour difficulty come up once you join the tour?

In regards to Links, I almost never missed fairways in that either, like you said. However, I liked the feel of hitting shots in that game more, with the way they implented the overswing where your club head would turn orange. I felt much more in control of how much I could over or underhit a club with that, whereas in Tiger I can't get a feel for hitting a club say 110% or 50%, it doesn't seem like what you see on screen with your swing matches up with your results. I also like in Links how when you hit a ball close to the pin, it seems more a result of the ball realistically reacting to the terrain when it hits the ground and bounces or rolls. In Tiger, it seems more like the game determines that you had good aim and made a nice swing and will automatically make your ball go into the hole, rather than the ball just reacting realistically and going into the hole by chance.

Digital Sportspage

Tiger Woods 360 *Impressions**