Review: "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14" (2013) "Tiger’s Back With Less Than A Roar, But Far More Than A Whimper"

REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page:  Our Honest View

By: Adam Zimmerman

Tiger returns with another solid effort in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. The first thing I should say is that you do not need to be a golf aficionado to enjoy this game. It helps to know a bit about the game, but my wife and I have enjoyed playing this game together for years and she knows next to nothing about the actual sport.
On the course, Tiger remains largely unchanged. Almost all the gameplay mechanics remain unchanged.

 There are only a few differences. Hitting out of the rough in more challenging now. There used to be a percentage telling you how much your ball was buried in the sand or rough which helped you determine how much further you needed to hit the ball to get it where you wanted it to go. That percentage meter appears to be gone unless the option in now hidden away in some secret menu that I’m not finding, which is a bit disappointing because that was very helpful.

Also changing is how you swing for draw and fade shots. For those that don’t know a draw or fade shot is when you pull or push the ball in a left or right curve, depending on whether you shoot lefty or righty. In previous games you just altered your stance and swung away like normal. In this years game you have to actually change the angle of your short left or right depending on how you’re trying to curve your shot. The strike meter has also changed a bit, you now need to see how your ball is lying and adjust where you strike the ball accordingly, such as hitting lower on the ball if you are in the rough to get it out.


Almost all of the game modes are unchanged. Career mode is still the same, starting you out as an amateur who needs to earn their PGA Tour card, though this year you don’t have to play in as many amateur events before you can do so. All the exhibition modes of previous games return, including versus, four ball, etc.

 There is one notable exception though.


In last years game you got to experience Tiger’s journey from tiny child prodigy to arguably the greatest golfer that’s ever lived. In Tiger 14, they are focusing not on the history of one player, but the history of the entire sport. Replacing Tiger Legacy mode is the new Legends of the Majors mode. This mode goes all the way to the 1800’s.

You play as and against the legends of the sports, trying to match their feats. You don’t just play as those golfers; you also wear the same clothes and use the same equipment that they used back in their respective days. That may not seem like a big deal, but it will seem bigger when instead of hitting it 300 yards down the fairway with your driver you are now barely cracking 200 yards. Theirs a big difference between wood and titanium alloys.

Online gets a bit of a boost. All the same modes are still in place, but now when playing on online tournament you can seem the flight trajectory of 24 of your opponents shots so you can compare yourself to the competition. There are also new weekly challenges such as beat player X when tied entering the back 9 of the final round of the tournament. The Country Clubs, which were introduced last year, has now increased in size from 25 players to 100. On a side note, if there are any Tiger players out there for PS3 reading this, I’m looking for a good country club (in game) to join.


The weather also gets a boost in this year’s game. In last year’s game you could get live weather updates if you were connected to the Internet and play in the exact same conditions the course was experiencing in real life, except that it was always daytime. This year’s version goes a step further and lets you play in the dark, and rain now has more of an effect. The only real difference rain used to make is it would shorten how far balls would roll. Now the rain effects you like you think it would. The ball doesn’t fly as far or roll as far.


Women finally get in on the action this year. You have always had the ability to make a female golfer, but she could only play in challenges and exhibitions. This year they can finally play in the career mode with the addition of the LPGA.


Character customization takes a few steps forward and a few steps backwards in this year’s game. On one hand, there are less clothing options, and less options as far as body type go. All the created golfers in this year’s game are either lean, or have a big beer belly. Unlike in previous years versions, you pretty much can’t make a heavy-set person. I guess they didn’t want thousands of John Daly clones running around.

There also seems to be fewer choices for what you can have your golfer wear and they no longer boost your stats. On the other hand, to make up for the lesser options in other areas, you can now change your golfers swing style in meaningful ways and the style of golfer you are. For swing style you can choose whether your shots have a low, medium, or high arc. That may not sound like much but it makes a big difference when there’s wind and it also affects distance and your ability to stop the ball where you want.

You can also now choose whether you are a power player or a control player. Power golfers can obviously hit it farther, but their shots are much more sensitive to over/under swings and off-line shots. Control golfers are what they sound like; they sacrifice power for accuracy. They may not hit it as far, but their shots are much more likely to end up exactly where they want.


There is one thing that I need to take EA to task for. I am a big fan of adding courses through DLC. I will also defend companies for having day 1 DLC if they made the DLC after they finished working on the main game. Tiger 14 however, has 18 courses available for download on day 1. If they were brand new courses that would be one thing.

 However, they are essentially the same courses that were downloadable last year. Adding to my frustration is that some of them are my absolute favorite courses to play, including Wolf Creek and Emerald Dragon. To make matters worse, except for the 4 fantasy courses, they are built into career mode so if you don’t get them then you are forced to skip have the tournaments which hurts your ranking and is just generally annoying.

 Last year they did something cool and made it so that you could unlock every single DLC course through regular off line play, but that feature was taken out of this years version so it is pay to play. So basically, if you want the full experience in career mode, you need to shell out a minimum of $110. That is made up of as 60 for the game, 40 for one of the downloadable course packs, and 10 for the other. It’s an incredibly crappy move by EA in my opinion.


Our Honest View gives Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14 and 8 out of 10. Overall, as I said at the beginning of this, this is a solid game. There were a few steps forward and a few steps back. If you are a fan of golf this your only option for realistic golf, but even if you aren’t a big fan of the sport it is still a very fun game to play, especially with friends.

REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page:  Our Honest View

Replay Value: Moderately High (Campaign) Infinite (Multiplayer)  

Similar Games:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013

NES Open Tournament

Hot Shots Golf World Invitational

Review: "Defiance Demo" (2013) "Shooting MMOs From Televison To Consoles"

 REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page: Our Honest View

While the PC gamers of the world have been enjoying MMO’s for a good long time now, console gamers have mostly been left out, with the few exception’s being Phantasy Star Online, Final Fantasy XI, and Everquest Online Adventures and of course DC Universe Online. While those have some good series behind them, none of those three were really any good.

Now along comes Trion games and their upcoming release Defiance.


Now many people are confused as to what Defiance is. Defiance is a massively multiplayer online (MMO) third person shooter, and also a TV series. One of the wrong assumptions out there is that you need to experience one to fully enjoy the other.

This is not true.

Both games take place at the same time, the year 2046 on Earth, but the TV show is set in St. Louis while the MMO is set in San Francisco. There will be crossovers between the show and the game, but while you might understand more if you watch the show and play the game, doing both is in no way required to fully enjoy either.

While many games have branched out into other forms of media, Defiance is the first to have crossovers to this extent. There are two characters that you run into early on in the game. When they leave the game they are driving away in a car, the first episode opens with those same two characters driving with the same clothes on and in the exact same vehicle. Another example is a character might be a villain on the show, leave the show and redeem themselves in the game, and come back to the show a changed person.

One of the cool things that has been mentioned as a possibility is that some of the top ranked players in the world might see their characters walking around in the background of the show. Also, one of the pesky enemies in the game, known as hellbugs, are prominently featured in an episode.
It somewhat hard to get a good grip on how good the game is going to be, even after playing the beta. There are several systems that aren’t fully in place, most notably the dialogue and sound effects. At one point I was playing and when this huge enemy bursts through a door, it basically said this sound effect is not in place yet: bang!


Graphics wise, like virtually all MMO’s, it will in no way be considered a visual marvel. It’s probably end up being strictly decent, but once again, since this is only the beta, not all of the finishing touches are in place. The last coat of polish has yet to be applied.


When you create your character, as of right now you can pick between male and female humans or voltans. Once you make that decision you can customize the look further, and then you your class. There are four classes to pick form, which are essentially soldier, sniper, etc.
Gameplay wise it is sort of like a cross between Borderlands and World of Warcraft. You are told to go somewhere to get a quest, it tells you what your rewards will be for completing the mission, and off you go. The actual action feels a little like a shooting gallery at this point. In the various battles that I got into, I never got that sweaty palmed intensity. It was never bad; it just lacked a certain intensity found in other blockbuster shooters. All the missions can be done on your own or with friends… or complete strangers for that matters. I did several missions alone, but there were also several missions where another player happened to be doing it at the same time and we teamed up. Clan support is included so if you want to team up with a bunch of your friends, it’s not a problem.

On the disappointing side, Defiance will not be cross platform.

By that I mean PS3 players won’t be playing with Xbox360 players, and neither of them will be playing with PC players. If you want to play this game with your friends, find out what system they are getting it for first.

Once the game launches, you will be able to buy a season pass, which includes the first five DLC’s, for forty dollars.


Our Honest View gives Defiance a 3.5 out of 5. Defiance is a game that shows potential. If Trion polishes it up and tightens up a few things, it has a chance to be a very good game and have it’s rating moved up to a 4.5 out of 5. It seems that current generation gamers may finally be able to join the PC playing brethren in the quality MMO world. Wait until the game comes out for our full review of the game.

By: Adam Zimmerman

REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page: Our Honest View

Review: "MLB: The Show 13" (2013) "A Swing AND He HITS A DOUBLE Across Both Systems!"

 

 REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page: Our Honest View

The pop of the mitt and the crack of the bat could mean only one thing; baseball must be back. MLB The Show returns with another solid entry in the best baseball series there is. Not content with just being the best baseball game available, the team at Sony implemented several changes big and small, and for the most part they were very successful.


On the field, MLB plays almost exactly like last years entry. Pitching still uses the pulse mechanic, though the classic single click is still available for those that don’t like pulse pitching. For those that don’t know, in pulse pitching there is a circle that pulses faster or slower depending on a variety of factors including skill, weariness, and pressure. You want to click the pitch button when the circle is at its smallest. If you don’t your pitch may not go anywhere near where you intended, including right down the middle for the opposing batter to crush out of the park.


Hitting is the same as always except they added a third type of swing. Joining the regular and power swings is the new contact swing which is great when there are 2 strikes on you and you just want to make contact so you don’t strike out. Behind the scenes the hitting has received a bit of an overhaul though. In previous entries pitching very much had the edge on hitting. Far too many games turned into 2-1 or 3-2 pitching duels even when there were only average pitchers on the mound. This year Sony increased the likelihood of 10-6 or 8-4 games, which are quite common in today’s game.

Hitting home runs was also a bit of an issue in previous games where even the best power hitters in the game would hit far fewer home runs than they should and would instead hit lots of doubles or just fly out. In my opinion they have gone too far in the other direction however as seemingly three quarters of the balls I hit in the direction of the Green Monster in Fenway Park went over the fence. I actually would have preferred a couple more wall-balls and a few less home runs, but it’s not a crippling deficiency by any stretch.


A beginner difficulty mode has also been added for hitting. When playing on beginner, the opposing pitcher will start the game throwing fastballs right down the middle of the plate. Once you get the hang of that and start having success, the computer will start moving the ball around a little and eventually add more pitches. It’s good for beginners, as the name implies, and people who are rusty and just need to get back into the flow of things.


The broadcasters received some attention this year. While never bad before, the commentary was limited and occasionally wouldn’t come close to matching the action on the field. In this year’s game, a third broadcaster has been added to the team, Steve Lyons who currently does the LA Dodgers pre and post game shows. The amount of dialogue has also been greatly increased so there is more variety now and less repetitiveness. There still is the occasional completely wrong call. In one game I played the announcer said I caught a line drive to end the ball game. The only problem with that was that I didn’t catch the ball, it landed in front of my outfielder and 2 runs scored on the play.


Franchise mode wasn’t forgotten. The biggest tweaks in that mode involve team budgets and team specific tendencies. Player scouting also received a bit of an overhaul. In previous games the appeal of using small market teams was pretty low because their budget wouldn’t increase nearly as quickly as that of teams like the Red Sox or Yankees, so you were always at a disadvantage financially. In this year’s game, budgets are tied to winning and making the playoffs.

If you make the playoffs and make it through a round or two, you budget will get bigger the next season. If you keep winning, within a few seasons a team like the Twins could have a budget as big as the Yankees. This may not seem like that big of a thing, but it’s great news for fans of small market teams like the Marlins and Twins.


Team specific tendencies deals with the personality of teams. No longer will you be able to trade an again veteran to a team for a young stud just because the veteran has a slightly higher overall rating. In MLB 13, the Yankees will be more likely to trade away their best prospects for a veteran player whereas if you tried to trade for a young player on the Nationals or Baltimore you’ll have to give up a heck of a lot more than normal because they put a much higher value on young players than other teams.

***Borrowed FROM TheOperationSports***
MLB 13 adds a couple new modes this year to go along with the usual play now, franchise, online franchise, etc. New this year are the Show Live, the Postseason, and Challenge of the Week. The Show Live essentially lets you play with the exact lineups and pitching matchups as are being used in real life that day. Prior games are also available to play. The game gets the info directly from MLB.com to ensure the best possible accuracy.

The Postseason is exactly what it sounds like, you play through the playoffs with whichever team you choose. The new wild card rules are implanted in this mode for some added fun and excitement. Lastly, Challenge of the Week pits players from across the world against each other, in an indirect way. Your performance in that weeks given challenge is scored and put on the leaderboard. Whoever performs best each week will win a prize, including a signed MLB 13 game case.

While not a perfect, MLB 13: The show is still a great baseball simulation worth buying if you are a fan of baseball. It plays great on the field, has made some great strides off the field. The graphics are so impressive at times that during one of the short cutscenes, a family member actually asked who was playing because they thought it was a real game.

Lastly, there are only a few minor issues with the game and none of them are major by any stretch of the imagination.


Our Honest View gives MLB 13: The Show a 4.5 out of 5. It is by far the best baseball game out there. If you are a baseball fan and own a PS3, you should get this game. Only minor issues like the occasional excessive amount of home runs, and broadcast miscues keep this game from being a 5/5.

 REMEMBER to BECOME a FAN by LIKING our FACEBOOK page: Our Honest View

By: Adam Zimmerman

Replay Value: Extremely High 
 

Review: "Mass Effect 3: Citadel" (2013) "Even Shepard's Story Must Come To A End."

Remember TO LIKE us on our Facebook page; Our Honest View


The End Has Come, and What an Ending It Turned Out To Be.


After playing through the Citadel DLC for Mass Effect 3, all I can say is thank you Bioware. The story of Commander Shepard is finally complete. Where the actual ending of the game failed to bring closure for a lot of fans, this was a near perfect way to say goodbye to Commander Shepard and friends.


The Citadel is about a conspiracy to kill Commander Shepard. It takes place in a new area of the wards, with a new enemy to give the Reapers, Collectors, and Cerberus a break in their mission to kill the Commander. Along with the new story content, the Citadel also gives you a casino to test your luck in, a battle arena to test you skills in, and a customizable apartment to test your home decorating skills in.

The best part about the Citadel isn’t the story, which admittedly is very good. It’s all the nods to the previous two entries in the series, and being able to see all your old friends, including Wrex! It is also laugh out loud funny, and Wrex is as good as ever.

It is a great change from the rest of the game, which is very grim and emotionally draining. During one section of the DLC, instead of just having two squad members with you, your whole team is fighting alongside you.

You only control two of them like usual, and the rest are split into two separate fire teams that go on separate paths from you, but it is a sight to behold. The bad guys never stand a chance. The friendship and comradery is really played up throughout the DLC as well.

Speaking of bad guys, the Citadel brings a new villain, and he is Shepard’s equal in every way. I was totally surprised when he the main baddie was revealed. The boss battle was much more satisfying than the final battle in Omega was.

Every variant of the new enemy is essentially the same as members of Cerberus just with a different color scheme.

The only downside to the Citadel was that while you do get two new weapons, you don’t get any new powers and a few squadmates were missing from action. Everyone outside Legion makes an appearance, but Miranda only shows up if you romanced her, and a few others, like Jack and Samara, only show up for the party, and are not able to join your squad for any missions. It was especially disappointing that Jack wasn’t able to join your squad because at one point Joker goes for help and when he comes back, he says he brought people that like to get shot at.



Our Honest View gives, "Mass Effect 3: Citadel" 5 out of 5. Overall it is more than I expected and even better than I dared hoped. Even though I personally am far from done with this trilogy, if this was the end, I would be happy and at peace. It has been one hell of a ride. I recommend saving this until just before the end, so everyone in your squad can be there for you to say goodbye to.

Mass Effect 3: Citadel is available for download now on Xbox, Playstation 3 and PC for $14.99.

By Adam Zimmerman

Replay Value: Extremely High (ENTIRE SERIES + DLC)

Remember TO LIKE us on our Facebook page; Our Honest View

Review & COVERAGE of SuperBowl XLVII

 

Unlike most sports where the best team usually does win the championship, that was not the case in Super Bowl XLVII. The 49ers were the better team, but this was also their first time in the Super Bowl and played like it the entire first half. The Baltimore Ravens were able to overcome age, injuries, and a lack of talent in comparison to the San Francisco 49er’s and to allow the fraud and cheater, also known as Ray Lewis, to go out a champion.

Each half of the Super Bowl was like an entirely different game. In the first half quarterback Joe Flacco repeatedly drove his offense down the field to stake his team to a 21-6 half-time lead. On the other side of the ball, the 49er’s should search their locker room for guns, because they couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. Whether it was taking idiotic penalties, turning the ball over twice, once on a fumble on what had been a very promising drive, or just making decisions that made no sense at all, such as Colin Kaepernick deciding to drop to the ground on 3rd down inside the Raven’s 5 yard line instead of fighting for the first down, they just couldn’t do anything right and made the Raven’s look like a much better team than they actually are.

 
The halftime show provided the first bit of excitement, first with Beyonce looking beyond amazing, and then the Destiny’s Child reunion. Apparently the NFL has finally gotten over the infamous nipple gate, because Beyonce was the first main Super Bowl halftime performer under 50 since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. It was definitely a good show and a refreshing change.


The second half began looking a lot like the first half, with Jacoby Jones of the Ravens returning the opening kickoff and NFL record tying 108 yards for a touchdown. The 49er’s offense also continued to make plays and then stall when it happened. The it I am referring to is half the stadium losing power. Right in the middle of the NFL’s championship game, half the stadium lost power. Ironically enough it was the 49er’s half that lost power. This outage caused the game to be delayed for over 30 minutes while they got the power back online. Once the power came back online, it was like the light had finally turned on in the collective minds of San Francisco.

For the next quarter and a half the 49er’s played like a team possessed, perhaps finally realizing that players only get so many chances at a Super Bowl title in their careers. They turned Ray Lewis into a glorified speed bump, running the ball right over him, and passing anywhere they wanted. Kaepernick also set the record for longest rushing TD by a QB in Super Bowl history, blazing down the left sideline to bring the 49er’s within 2 points at 31-29, before failing to convert their 2point conversion attempt. The Raven’s finally responded by driving to the SF 20 and kicking a field goal to bring their lead back up to 5 points. They would then barely hold on, with some help from the refs, by stopping San Francisco at the 5 yard line to preserve their victory.


I also feel the need to call out the officials of this game. Generally I appreciate it when the refs just let the teams play and don’t throw a ton of flags. However, there were 3 specific calls that were just blatant no calls at the end of the 4th quarter and could very easily have changed the outcome of the game. The first non-call was on the 3rd down before the 49er’s last field goal. Not only did Ed Reed jump off-sides, he lined up off-sides! I thought only the NBA has special rules just for super stars, but I guess I was wrong. Ed Reed is a great player, but he got away with one on that play.

The next play was on the 49er’s last offensive play of the game. The Ravens defender clearly grabbed hold of Crabtree and held on for a good 2-3 yards, but once again, the ref’s seemed to have forgot how to use a whistle. The last non-call was on the Ravens intentional safety with 12 seconds left in the game. Multiple Ravens blatantly tackled 49er’s players to the ground, which is a pretty obvious holding call, but the refs did their best WWE ref impersonation and saw no problem with the play.


Greatest Reviews gives the Super Bowl 3 ½ stars out of 5. The first half wasn’t even competitive, there were only maybe 3 or 4 good commercials the entire night, the refs made several blatant non-calls in the Ravens favor down the stretch, and the 49er’s clock management at the end of the game was possibly the worst since the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. The only thing that saved this game was the 49er’s coming from 22 points down a few minutes into the 3rd quarter to almost taking the lead with under 2 minutes to go.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>By: Adam Zimmerman

Like us on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/GreatestReviewsOnTheNet