izigame.me

At only 2.5 hours and in my first tournament, it's totally fair if people would say I don't have enough playtime to review this. I'm also emotional (angry) so that's what's prompted me to write something now. I'll update it later if I feel like it.
The one Tiger Woods game I played was 2004. An absolute masterpiece. I've never purchased another because all of them are inferior if 2004 is your measuring stick. At under $10, I figured I'd give this a shot though.
I have SP (skill points) I can spend, but haven't spent them. TBH, I don't think there needs to be RPG mechanics in a game like this. 2004 didn't have them, but you had to learn to read your shots, when to apply spin, when to add or reduce power etc..
In this new game, you not only need to learn all of those mechanics, but if your golfer doesn't have high stats, it's just RNG. Why is it that, in training, I hit the same fairway 4 times in a row, and even though my 5th shot is identical to the previous shots, it flies right and into the bunker? I'm using default settings and am not in some hardcore simulation mode.
I just completed the final round of my first tournament. It was going decently well, but the last round totally screwed me. I aim and swing well, and the ball just happens to find the tiny little bunker that is WAY far away from where I was aiming. No, I didn't choke. That's the RNG, that's my base-level stats deciding that my input doesn't matter.
The commentators are also infuriating because it doesn't matter how good of a shot you make - they'll remind you that it wasn't great. Striking the ball from 200y and landing 6ft from the hole I would say is a fantastic shot, but the commentators will express disappointment because it wasn't close enough for a tap-in.
Maybe I can disable commentary, but that would be boring. This game lacks all the charm that 2004 had. The commentators in that game were amazing and you felt comfortable and at-home playing that game.
I strongly dislike the swing system. It's rare to swing and not see that there is overswing or that it was too fast or too slow. In fact, I made a perfect swing on my final drive (you can tell when it's recognized as a perfect swing) and that's the one that flew FAR right and found a tiny little bunker. If not for that one shot, I wouldn't have lost the tournament. The final hole of 4 rounds and that happens. What an absolute joke.
I can almost recommend this game if you get it for under $10 like I did, especially if you haven't played one in 20 years and are craving something new, but seeing EA's filth at every turn prevents that. As I said, maybe I'll change my opinion later.
And speaking of EA: How are they unaware that 100% of gamers hate them? So why do their games have "EA SPORTS" as the title? That is not encouraging in the slightest. This is TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR. Imagine suddenly calling Tony Hawk's games EA SPORTS PRO SKATER. I don't care if Tiger is in this game or not - this franchise is what it is because of him and because of those early titles.
Also, this game has pronouns, so you're going to be reminded of DEI garbage every time you edit your golfer.
The menus are confusing: It wasn't clear if I would be resuming the tournament in progress or starting a new one. There are various currencies, which ofc is 100% a thing because EA wants to strongly encourage the player to purchase more, because we no longer live in a time where you just buy a game and that's enough.
Character creation is among the worst I have ever seen in a game: You just choose from a selection of face presets and 2 body types.
Whether or not I or you will have fun with this is not something I can predict, but what I can say is that this is an objectively-bad game, which is not a surprise, but I am disappointed because I thought "For under $10, I'll be okay if it isn't amazing", but it is far from good.