Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 Critic Reviews

I ended last year's review by saying, "I don't know how this game can possibly get any better, but I look forward to seeing EA try to best this almost-flawless installment, and what is arguably the best version of PGA Tour in the history of the franchise.". Well, somehow they did manage to best their previous efforts, so I will let that statement and challenge conclude this year's review as I return to the links for another year of great virtual golf.

It's getting harder to improve upon a title that has seemingly thought of everything for its fanbase. EA Tiburon did a great job in bringing Tiger Woods into the home as not just a golfer, but as a member of their own family with his Legacy mode. The Kinect makes this title that much better. There are some minor issues with the new swing mechanics that increase the difficulty perhaps a bit too much, but once you get past those, you'll find that Tiger 13 is just another solid title in one of EA's more under-appreciated franchises.

In the end this could be the best golf game you have ever played, or the worst, and it will all be dependent on how much you can adapt to the new swing mechanics, that while take the most realistic approach in video game history, don't provide the option for casual gamers to revert to a different or classic mechanic.

Even if the motion controls lack a true 1:1 golf swing experience, the Kinect adds a nice new gamplay experience to the series. And if motion controls generate little interest for you, the Country Club mode and other additions warrant your investing time with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13.

The developers have seriously enhanced Tiger Woods PGA Tour, refining the gameplay, enhancing social features, and even affecting the way the game's extras are unlocked. They've delivered a complete package that offers golf fans the most refined, deepest-and, most importantly, fun-golf experience in years. Whether you're a casual golf fan or a hardcore PGA wannabe, you'll find plenty to love in this year's offering. Now, we just need a few more hours in the day to get out to the course…

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is far more than just a more of the same. Thanks to many new features and a great Kinect implementation, this game is a fantastic sports game for newbies and pros as well.

There are some technical flaws and minor annoyances, but the strength of the game shines through them. It's not an ace, but it's on the green and very close to the hole.

While the presentation could still use work, the tweaks to the play mechanics add a welcome layer of depth in how you approach and execute shots. More importantly, it strikes the right balance between easy to learn and hard to master that's been conspicuously absent from earlier entries in the long-running series.

Overall I have had a lot of fun with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. Despite my complaint about the way some of the courses are handled this is a great golfing title.

Overall, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is a great experience. The gameplay mechanics and modes introduced this year are a great step in the right direction.

A brilliant Tiger Woods upgrade.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is what we came to expect from the series: it contains enough new stuff to justify purchase, but doesn't do anything groundbreaking enough to speak to a new demographic. The word 'solid' is usually not enough, but this franchise has been on this level for years, and we're simply getting used to it.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 prevents the series from getting long in the tooth by introducing some great new mechanics and modes. I enjoyed my time reviewing the game and for the first time in years, found myself incredibly excited swing in and swing out. It's too bad that the Free To Play model has seeped into the game and that DLC is continually dangled in front of the player, because it's distracting and annoying.

It took motion control to make me enjoy a golf game, and enjoy it I did.

Tiger Legacy may not be much, but the new online Country Clubs are, as well as the Masters tournament, the gameplay tweaks and the Party Play.

Sadly, for everything Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 does right, the experience is ultimately marred by EA's use of coins to determine so much of the experience. It feels wrong... and I wouldn't have such a problem with it if it didn't cost so much to unlock the extra courses, and that so many of the extra courses are unavailable to you at the beginning. To access it all either involves a major time commitment or shelling out more of my hard-earned money for what I honestly feel like I've already paid for. It's difficult not to feel extorted.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is an enjoyable game, however if you already own Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, there's probably not a great deal of incentives to purchase the latest game.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 would have been a stellar sports title, with its new emphasis on realism and online clubs, if it traded its microtransactional model for a fairer coin system. No one likes buying a $60 title that thinks it's free to play. If you actually put in the work-the weeks upon weeks of effort playing the game-you still feel shorted people who put in less work but have more money to spend. Of course, if you spend money, you've just bought into the scheme. Somehow, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is as much a financial test of character as it is a test of gameplay skill, and that's unfortunately as memorable as any sort of comeback.

This is EA Sports' first use of Kinect, and it shows. The peripheral doesn't come close to replicating your backswing with fidelity, and it lacks fluidity and accuracy. The PS3 Move functionality fares only slightly better, but the hiccups in the backswing animation are annoying when you're trying to gauge how much power to use during putting. I don't recommend either of these peripherals over the normal control setup.

In the end, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 is still a force in video game golf. The mechanics are solid, and the changes to the swing system give the game a little more depth, even if it means that veterans have to spend some time to re-learn the system.