T iger Woods recently regained the world number one spot after years of golfing underperformance and

T iger Woods recently regained the world number one spot after years of golfing underperformance and the emergence apartments for sale in los angeles ca of serious challengers such as Rory McIlroy. EA's gaming series, whoever, has largely escaped the performance apartments for sale in los angeles ca dips of its namesake. apartments for sale in los angeles ca Last year's iteration disappointed some with its lack of new features, but its central playing experience remained unrivalled. This year builds on that quiet evolution but also brings a wealth of new and exciting additions, with its Legends of the Majors mode alone making it a worthwhile purchase.
The change that makes the most immediate impact on play is shot shaping. By pushing and pulling the right stick diagonally you can now commit fades and draws, significantly enhancing control. It's a tough skill to master, but do so and it will enable you to manoeuvre out of the trickiest of tree-ridden spots. It also ties in with a wider attempt to tailor individual golfers to different playing styles. If you're the type to power the ball down the fairway with a low trajectory, you can now do precisely that, taking the hit to accuracy that inevitably accrues.
Otherwise, the core driving mechanics remain largely unaltered, with your shot's apartments for sale in los angeles ca quality largely determined by the speed and accuracy with which the left stick is pulled back and pushed forward. Should you want it – and every aid can be disabled if you're a masochist – there's a wealth of instant feedback on this to help you improve, so you have nobody to blame but yourself should you continue to shank it into the bunkers.
Putting is a different story. Whereas sinking the ball was almost too easy in 2012, here it's an initially frustrating experience. Getting a lie of the green is tricky and you almost always apartments for sale in los angeles ca need to apply more power to the putt than your meter suggests. Simple practice overcomes these irritations, but the long game's apartments for sale in los angeles ca intuitiveness only underlines the flaws when you reach the green.
Thankfully, there are a lot of outstanding courses to practice on. The 20 on offer are all rendered in sumptuous detail – the game looks better than ever – and for the first time they are also available at night. Playing with a glowing ball under a full moon on a still night at Augusta is an unparalleled experience, apartments for sale in los angeles ca eerily but brilliantly different to a daytime jaunt. You can also opt to play courses live , offering the opportunity to experience a Californian downpour apartments for sale in los angeles ca or sunrise without actually going there. Should you still exhaust every course, there's plenty more available for download apartments for sale in los angeles ca at a price.
The online marketplace can equally play a role in your career progression, although here it feels a tad more oppressive. Creating an avatar from scratch and watching them rise through the ranks remains a joy – with LPGA careers a welcome addition – but levelling up can be slow. When combined with the fact that even basic clothing is locked at the outset, the temptation to financially dope with real world cash is all too pressing. But persevere, as improving your swing and unlocking new features are ultimately the most rewarding aspect of what the game has to offer.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Legends of the Majors mode, which offers a series of historical challenges dating back to 1873 and the first championship apartments for sale in los angeles ca at St Andrews, complete with period clothing and sepia-coloured presentation. It provides a glorious history of the game as you progress up to the present day, teeing off against the likes of an uncannily (re)animated Seve Ballesteros along the way. Sometimes the scenarios are a little incongruous, such as when playing with McIlroy before he was born, but the tone is good-natured and it's amusing to see him performing better with ancient clubs than he has with his new Nikes. The only disappointment is the lack of era-appropriate commentary, with introductions to each challenge from Jim Nantz and David Feherty the best you get.
The commentary in the game is generally one of its weakest points, with contributions both rare and repetitive, while the music is unobtrusive to the point of irrelevance. If there's an aspect to the series that continues to drag then it's undoubtedly audio, but it says much for the rest of its qualities that I'm picking on it.
Mostly, it's a case of subtle improvements across the board. This is best seen online, where country club memberships have been expanded to 100 players and you can now face up to 24 opponents at a time, with each shot represented in a ghostly arc, ensuring there's no need to wait your turn. Another year of such refinements, rather than significant development in playing style, and fans will justifiably start to get restless. But for now they add up to a richly rewarding gaming experience and, together with the variety of modes on offer, they make Tiger Woods PGA Tour the undisputed world number one.