Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR News Post

Is Rory McIlroy PGA Tour a Sim, Or Something Else? (Video)

12:09 PM - July 7, 2015 by RaychelSnr

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour has gotten a bit of flak the past couple of weeks for its light (initial) offering of licensed golfers and courses. Of course, many aren't entirely happy with the game to begin with, as the marketing began with a battleship crashing onto the screen back at E3 in 2014.

The marketing for the game, thus far, has been weird and very light compared to other EA Sports offerings. Very few modes have been broken down in depth, and it seems like much of what the game is offering is less than what we had a generation ago. This is not a surprise, but the perception the game is creating, heavily promoting arcade golfing elements, hasn't helped perception that Rory is a stark new direction for EA's golfing franchise.

The reality is that the core golf game, from what we've seen and have been told, seems to be in good shape. Courses will play how they are supposed to on a regional basis, and the open courses will allow for a more realistic experience. And despite the limited number of initial courses, with content updates promised, it's likely the game will see its course offerings rise pretty quickly post release.

It seems that Rory will be a sim, and something else entirely all in the same package. We'll surely know more when we get our hands on the full version later this week.

Do you think these competing interests of trying to market to a more casual audience while maintaining sim elements are compatible? Are you planning on getting Rory McIlroy PGA Tour when it drops next week?

Game: Rory McIlroy PGA TOURReader Score: 6/10 - Vote Now
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Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR Videos

Member Comments

# 1 razorkaos @ 07/07/15 12:26 PM

i will be satisfied with it if "Rory will be a sim, and something else entirely all in the same package."

really, i loved TW PGA Tour on the PS2, i love Neo Turf Masters on the Neo Geo, so i can appreciate both styles of gameplay. It may be the kind of game i'll purchase when the price goes down and i will be playing it for years.

# 2 N51_rob @ 07/07/15 12:37 PM

Seems like EA has decided to let "The Golf Club" be the pure sim game, while they use this version of Rory to go after the Hot Shots crowd that still doesn't have a game on "next-gen" systems.

# 3 Ronoko @ 07/07/15 12:51 PM

They have a lot of work to do to match the physics in Hot Shots Golf. If that's the route they are going, I'd be surprised if they get as good reviews as that series.

# 4 Chairman7w @ 07/07/15 01:04 PM

Ancient proverb says: "Try and catch two birds, catch none."

# 5 pietasterp @ 07/07/15 01:52 PM

Nice concise summary, MMChrisS. Based on what we've seen (and also based on prior experience with the EA golfing franchise), I'll recycle my analogy from another post: this is the Las Vegas buffet approach to sports gaming. There's Italian, Chinese, French, steak, etc...take whatever you want, leave whatever you don't. In theory, it's great - but in practice, no one element there is particularly good. You can't do everything and do it all equally well. If you want the best French food, you're going to go to "Joel Robuchon", not the Luxor buffet. This game is the Luxor buffet.

(Pro tip: don't go to the Luxor buffet, by the way...if you must do a buffet, you're better off at Bellagio or Wynn. But if you're over there anyway, do Le Cirque or Picasso....wait, what was my point here?).

# 6 ImTellinTim @ 07/07/15 01:56 PM

I'm going to wait to see until people actually play the game because it's like people are so eager to pounce on EA for these PROMOTIONAL videos.

They know how to make a pretty damn good sim game - or have people ignored the options we had on the last game they made?

We'll see if it carried over I guess.

# 7 pietasterp @ 07/07/15 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImTellinTim


	I'm going to wait to see until people actually play the game because it's like people are ready to pounce on EA for these PROMOTIONAL videos. They know how to make a pretty damn good sim game - or have people ignored the options we had on the last game they made? We'll see if it carried over I guess.

To circle back to one of your questions from some other thread, I never played the very last one they made last-gen (although I heard good things). I think that was the one that had the sync of the daylight to your Xbox/PS internal clock, or something like that? I was turned off by that one because I always play at night after work, and so the course was always like almost pitch-black and that totally turned me off to the whole thing.

Honestly, and this is not really a fair criticism of the game, but to me, I just never liked the way the games "feel" since they came on to the last-gen consoles. I actually like the original PGA Tour that was on PS1 (pre-"Tiger Woods"), and I thought the original "Tiger Woods" game (the very first one with that name) on PC was pretty good. But since then, I dunno, I just feel like the games all played the same last gen and it didn't particularly strike a chord with me. The last console golf game I really got into was "Links" on the original XBox (the one with Sergio Garcia on the cover). I really wish they would revive that series...

# 8 ImTellinTim @ 07/07/15 02:10 PM

Like pretty much everything in that game, you could turn the time of day things off.

Due to how good their last effort played from a sim and options standpoint, I think they deserve the benefit of the doubt on this game. A lot will disagree with me, but whatever.

If it seems disappointing, I will just not buy and move on. Usually that simple for me. I'm not going to cry over not playing a video game version of golf. I do enough of that over my actual golf game.

# 9 pietasterp @ 07/07/15 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImTellinTim


	Like pretty much everything in that game, you could turn the time of day things off.

Yeah, I figured that out later, but by then it was college football season. Remember when that was a thing (in video games)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ImTellinTim


	If it seems disappointing, I will just not buy and move on. Usually that simple for me. I'm not going to cry over not playing a video game version of golf. I do enough of that over my actual golf game.

Sort of obviates the need for this forum, then, doesn't it?

# 10 ImTellinTim @ 07/07/15 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pietasterp


	Sort of obviates the need for this forum, then, doesn't it?

Haha, nah. Rory's game is not my hill to die on. I'll leave it to the experts!

# 11 DivotMaker @ 07/07/15 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N51_rob


	Seems like EA has decided to let "The Golf Club" be the pure sim game, while they use this version of Rory to go after the Hot Shots crowd that still doesn't have a game on "next-gen" systems.

TGC is not a "pure sim game". It is good at what it does, but lets face it, the only really challenging aspect of TGC is the putting. Tee to green is almost robotic. The short game is easy and the use of the lob wedge should be called a "gimme".

After 400+ rounds, I am 87% FIR and 85% GIR and average score of -7 per round with a handicap of 10+. I am seeing scores regularly in the mid-50's at TGC Tours on the PGA TOUR. Hardly a "sim", IMO. Tiger 14 in pure Simulation mode was much more challenging, again IMO. We won't be able to state what you stated until we see how the game plays and how the game plays at it's most "sim" settings......

# 12 DivotMaker @ 07/07/15 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronoko


	They have a lot of work to do to match the physics in Hot Shots Golf.

Opinions vary.....however, I have seen some evidence that EA has upped their game with respect to ball physics....

# 13 DivotMaker @ 07/07/15 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pietasterp


	Nice concise summary, MMChrisS. Based on what we've seen (and also based on prior experience with the EA golfing franchise), I'll recycle my analogy from another post: this is the Las Vegas buffet approach to sports gaming. There's Italian, Chinese, French, steak, etc...take whatever you want, leave whatever you don't. In theory, it's great - but in practice, no one element there is particularly good. You can't do everything and do it all equally well. If you want the best French food, you're going to go to "Joel Robuchon", not the Luxor buffet. This game is the Luxor buffet. (Pro tip: don't go to the Luxor buffet, by the way...if you must do a buffet, you're better off at Bellagio or Wynn. But if you're over there anyway, do Le Cirque or Picasso....wait, what was my point here?).

Going to go and disagree here. If your Golf engine is solid and your physics engine is solid, then you can dial up or dial down difficulty to fit NUMEROUS gameplay scenarios. If RM is anything like TW14 as far as the range of options with which you can choose to play, it will be just fine. I do believe they can be pretty much all things to everyone especially when you consider their taglines...."GolfWithNoLimits" and "PlayYourWay" or something to that effect.

# 14 turbineseaplane @ 07/07/15 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by N51_rob


	Seems like EA has decided to let "The Golf Club" be the pure sim game, while they use this version of Rory to go after the Hot Shots crowd that still doesn't have a game on "next-gen" systems.

The Golf Club is a "sim"? lol

# 15 CRIP4LIFE @ 07/07/15 05:06 PM

there hasn't been a "pure" golf sim on pc or console, imho, since Links for PC (when access owned it, before microsoft published it on the original xbox).

on any tiger pga game, scores of -20+ (even on the hardest difficulty) were commonplace. same goes for the golf club (looking at the leaderboards of the replica augusta course and the low rounds are in the 50's).

let's face it. NO GOLF GAME WE GET IS PURE SIM.

the best we can hope for is pseudo-sim. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that on the hardest difficulty possible rory pga will at least be challenging once you get on the green (like the golf club is).

# 16 DivotMaker @ 07/07/15 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRIP4LIFE


	on any tiger pga game, scores of -20+ (even on the hardest difficulty) were commonplace

Disagree. TW14 in Simulation mode was a beast and scores were nowhere near that low.

# 17 brandon27 @ 07/07/15 06:01 PM

Its 110% possible to combine both styles in one title. They just need to give you the options to play both styles completely separate from one another.

If they dont allow that, it will be a complete failure IMO.

I stated in another thread, completley get the decision to combine them since it's a small market, and has high overhead with all the licensing. Just give the arcade/goofy crowd their area to play, give the PGA tour golfers their area to play, and everyone will be happy. Similar to how I can play Madden the way I want, without being subjected to the Ultimate team junk.

As Offspring said back in the 90's.... You gotta keep em separated!

# 18 Danimal @ 07/07/15 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DivotMaker


	Disagree. TW14 in Simulation mode was a beast and scores were nowhere near that low.

I saw scores in the 50's in TW14 and there were routinely scores in the 60-64 range. So while -20 is an exaggeration I wouldn't say his point is invalid. To me a 12 under par round should be a "special" round not commonplace.

# 19 pietasterp @ 07/07/15 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DivotMaker


	Disagree. TW14 in Simulation mode was a beast and scores were nowhere near that low.

I don't think "sim" boils down to just low or high scores, though. I think there is more to it than that. One thing is the way you swing the club - that basically hasn't changed since 3-click went out of style, and it's not clear to me that rocking a thumbstick down-then-up is any more realistic than timing a meter. Surely there is a way to make this more skill-based or at least more interesting? What about weather conditions changing dynamically, during the course of a round? Maybe that was in later versions last-gen, but I haven't seen for example, drizzle, then overcast, then sunny during the course of a single round. What about standing water or damp bunkers after rain? Have there been changing green speeds during the course of a day? As we all know, if you start at 8 AM when things are damp, the greens roll differently than when you're finishing up near noon and the sun has dried things out considerably. These are just things off the top of my head that it seems like should be in a sim game at this point in the lifecycle of a product.

I guess the point is that it's a limited resource environment - if you spend a month working on one feature, that's a month you don't have anymore to work on another feature. Would you rather the month get spent on adding new arcade features or new sim features? I guess it'd be one thing if the sim features were basically maxed out at this point, but I don't think that's the case. And that's why I don't think you can do everything equally well.

I will leave the argument about things being in the game that shouldn't, but being able to turn them "off" on the table, since that's an agree-to-disagree type of issue. Anyway, the game will be out soon.

# 20 DivotMaker @ 07/07/15 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danimal


	I saw scores in the 50's in TW14 and there were routinely scores in the 60-64 range. So while -20 is an exaggeration I wouldn't say his point is invalid. To me a 12 under par round should be a "special" round not commonplace.

I didn't. I played straight simulation mode and low 60's were rare as I played Live Tournaments every day fo several months.

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