This Friday (7), Electronic Arts released its new electronic golf game. The EA Sports PGA Tour is here to give you a realistic experience of what it’s like to play the sport in the sport’s premier organization and association.
So, does the novelty for enthusiasts deliver what it promises in terms of gameplay and graphics? That’s what we’re going to find out here at TudoCelular, in our full review.
game modes
Regarding the game modes, we can divide them into four main ones. The first consists of the Career, in which you can participate in the main tournaments of the association, as well as others aimed at youth categories, in case you prefer to grow as you progress. The option for beginners is the Amateur Championship. Completing it will earn you a seat on the Korn Ferry Tour, which grants you access to the PGA Tour.
The other is Quick Play. In it, you can customize your own game. You can play alone if you just want to practice, or set up to four competitors — which can be controlled by humans or the CPU — for ranking.
There are still so-called Challenges. They are sets of tasks that you must perform in a sequence of shots, depending on the course and the distance to the hole. Some require a number of shots always on the Green – area close to the hole –, while others have a certain maximum distance.
The PGA Tour also delivers several options online. You can only choose a private match with friends, as well as Competitive, to be ranked. You can still play tournaments or make friends within the game.
A detail in this game is the possibility to customize your player, to compete in all these modes. With it, you gain experience, advance in the game and manage to create a greater identification with the competition. You can change several of the player’s physical characteristics, as well as name, age and nationality.
One downside is the language of the game. EA Sports did not enter Brazilian Portuguese (PT-BR) localization. However, it is something that may still be inserted in a future update.
gameplay
The main point of the game’s mechanics is the quest to bring as much realism as possible to the experience. The game of golf is not just regarding hitting the ball in search of the hole. There is a choice for the ideal club for a given type of ground or distance, type of grip on the ball, among other factors.
And all of that is well represented on EA Sports PGA Tour. The choice of clubs and style is made by bumpers and triggers. The directional buttons allow you to fine-tune your aim. Swinging movement is done by pulling back and forth on the left analog stick, as a simulation of the player’s movement.
The game requires you to think regarding the smallest details during your playthrough. Among them is the speed and direction of the winds. Depending on these factors, the ball can follow a completely different trajectory than your aim – as in a real match. Therefore, you must take this into account before taking your shot.
Something interesting still in this line happens when the ball reaches the Green. At that moment – when the player needs to use the Putter type club, to just push the ball into the hole –, it is possible to follow the direction and strength of the wind through lines on the ground. They allow you to get a sense of how you should direct your shot, so you don’t deviate from the hole.
Overall, we’ve seen that the title challenges players a lot, especially those who aren’t used to playing golf in video games. It can take a while to understand everything you need to hit the ball where you want it. But perhaps the biggest difficulty is in fine-tuning the shot, to use the right power.
However, the realistic experience helps make this learning time attractive and does not alienate the gamer. Even the behavior of the ball with the type of ground – a taller grass or a part of sand, for example – arouse the curiosity to learn to play perfectly.
Graphics and soundtrack
And speaking of realism, the graphics also contribute a lot to it. The fields are the main highlights. All are filled with elements with many details, as in reality.
There are scenarios with trees, lakes, audience present and several other details thought to contain what is really in the game. It is possible to perfectly distinguish the height of the grass at a certain point.
The characters are also easy to recognize, even without a level of realism that goes along with the fields. For comparison purposes, the visual part of the EA Sports game is still above that presented in the competitor PGA Tour 2K23 – which has slightly more artificial traits and a lower level of customization.
In turn, the soundtrack proved to be a very positive point of the game, with a faithful reproduction of what happens in a real game. At the moment of the shot, absolute silence. The stick’s contact with the ball is well represented in the sound, as well as the public’s reaction, depending on its performance.
Between one hole and another, as well as at the beginning and end of the game, there is a narration of the shots, which allows for greater immersion in the course of the game. A pity that, as well as the location of the menus, they also did not put voiceover in Portuguese.
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Final considerations
EA Sports PGA Tour brings a satisfying package to fans of the sport. The game modes do not include any innovations, but provide the basic options to have different types of gameplay, either alone, in an offline career or with other people online or locally.
The gameplay presents its difficulties, but the game experience allows learning and easily overcoming the initial problems. In other words, these variables also present themselves as challenges in the practice of the modality in real life, which makes the game more interesting.
The graphic part pleases in general, especially for the faithful portrayal of the scenarios and their elements. The characters lose a little this detail, but the level of customization seeks to compensate for this drop in quality.
At least, the soundtrack does not disappoint and is one of the main factors that contribute to immersion in the game.
No location in PT-BRVarious difficulties in hittingCharacter look
Here we consider game modes. They don’t innovate, but deliver the main styles that the player needs to take advantage of.
Despite the difficulties to get the hang of making good shots, the obstacles placed by the developer are compatible with the real game.
Graphics are pleasing in general and seek to give realism to the scenarios, fields and elements present in them. Only the characters are a little lower in quality.
The soundtrack translates a real golf game very well, with effects placed at the right time, as well as the narration and public manifestations. The only thing missing was PT-BR.
The immersion of this title is pleasing and allows for a very realistic game.
EA Sports PGA Tour delivers what it promises and arguably is arguably the best golf game out there.
It is worth it?
EA Sports PGA Tour is undoubtedly recommended for anyone who enjoys the sport and wants to bring their passion to video games. It has more qualities than the PGA Tour 2K23, from 2KSports, including the graphic part. For those who want to learn regarding the sport through the game, the recommendation is to wait a little longer until a promotion.
The game was released on April 7, 2023, for PCs and consoles. In the computer version – via EA App, Steam and Epic Games –, it costs from BRL 299. As for the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, prices start from BRL 339.
Did you enjoy EA Sports’ new golf game? Leave your opinion in the comments below.
*Thanks to EA’s advice for giving TudoCelular early access to the game for this analysis!