QUARTERBACK
14 Joe Bauserman (6-1, 233, Sr.)
13 Kenny Guiton (6-1, 190, rSo.)
5 Braxton Miller (6-3, 210, Fr.)
19 Taylor Graham (6-4, 225, rFr.)
+^2 Terrelle Pryor (6-6, 233, Sr.)
TAILBACK
7 Jordan Hall (5-9, 195, Jr.)
^1 Boom Herron (5-10, 202, rSr.)
4 Jaamal Berry (5-10, 200, rSo.) OR
24 Rod Smith (6-3, 220, rFr.)
34 Carlos Hyde (6-0, 238, rFr.)
FULLBACK
44 Zach Boren (6-0, 252, Jr.)
49 Adam Homan (6-2, 238, Jr.)
37 James Georgiades (5-11, 240, rJr.)
SPLIT END
18 T.Y. Williams (6-5, 218, rFr.)
^8 DeVier Posey (6-2, 213, Sr.)
FLANKER
80 Chris Fields (6-0, 185, rSo.)
6 James Louis (5-10, 176, rFr.)
SLOT RECEIVER
10 Corey “Philly” Brown (5-11, 170, So.)
9 Verlon Reed (6-0, 190, rFr.)
TIGHT END
11 Jake Stoneburner (6-5, 245, rJr.)
88 Reid Fragel (6-8, 260, Jr.)
48 Spencer Smith (6-2, 236, rSr.)
*86 Jeff Heuerman (6-5, 245, Fr.)
LEFT TACKLE
78 Andrew Norwell (6-5, 308, So.)
^75 Mike Adams (6-8, 300, Sr.)
LEFT GUARD
74 Jack Mewhort (6-6, 288, rSo.)
64 Ivan Blackman (6-3, 330, rSo.)
CENTER
50 Michael Brewster (6-5, 293, Sr.)
71 Corey Linsley (6-2, 298, rSo.)
RIGHT GUARD
79 Marcus Hall (6-5, 321, rSo.)
66 Ben St. John (6-2, 295, rFr.)
RIGHT TACKLE
76 J.B. Shugarts (6-7, 297, Sr.)
*72 Tommy Brown (6-5, 320, Fr.)
Legend
*Early enrollee
+Injured
^Suspended first 5 games of 2011 season
STRONGSIDE DEFENSIVE END
54 John Simon (6-2, 270, Jr.)
+91 Melvin Fellows (6-5, 249, rSo.)
90 Darryl Baldwin (6-4, 267, rFr.)
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
53 Garrett Goebel (6-3, 281, rJr.) OR
93 Adam Bellamy (6-4, 295, rSo.)
68 Evan Blankenship (6-3, 288, rSr.)
NOSE TACKLE
+54 Johnathan Hankins (6-3, 335, So.)
*51 Joe Hale (6-4, 310, Fr.)
95 Don Matheney (6-0, 310, Sr.)
WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE END (LEO)
43 Nathan Williams (6-3, 260, Sr.)
^98 Solomon Thomas (6-5, 255, rSr.)
50 J.T. Moore (6-1, 246, rFr.) OR
33 David Durham (6-1, 231, rFr.)
WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER (WILL)
42 Andrew Sweat (6-2, 238, Sr.)
11 Dorian Bell (6-1, 225, rSo.)
+38 Scott McVey (6-0, 218, rFr.)
MIDDLE LINEBACKER (MIKE)
32 Storm Klein (6-2, 230, Jr.)
39 Jordan Whiting (6-1, 238, rSo.)
41 Tony Jackson (5-11, 220, rSr.)
STRONGSIDE LINEBACKER (SAM)
6 Etienne Sabino (6-3, 240, rJr.)
55 Jonathan Newsome (6-3, 219, Jr.)
*10 Ryan Shazier (6-2, 210, Fr.)
NICKEL BACK (STAR)
2 Christian Bryant (5-9, 178, So.)
+26 Tyler Moeller (6-0, 210, rSr.)
20 Nate Oliver (6-0, 215, rSr.)
WIDESIDE CORNERBACK
7 Travis Howard (6-0, 190, rJr.)
25 Bradley Roby (5-11, 176, rFr.)
29 Taylor Rice (5-10, 177, rSo.)
SHORTSIDE CORNERBACK
5 Dominic Clarke (5-10, 190, rSo.) OR
8 Dionte Allen (5-11, 182, rJr.)
30 Donnie Evege (5-11, 180, rSr.)
FREE SAFETY
19 Orhian Johnson (6-2, 205, rJr.)
16 Zach Domicone (6-3, 211, rJr.)
*17 Jeremy Cash (6-2, 190, Fr.)
STRONG SAFETY
+4 C.J. Barnett (6-0, 190, Jr.)
21 Jamie Wood (6-1, 198, rSo.)
*28 Ron Tanner (6-1, 190, Fr.)
Legend
*Early enrollee
+Injured or coming off injury from last season
^Suspended first 5 games of 2011 season
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters Review
Golf's greatest tournament comes to golf's best video game series.
www.ign.com
Last year Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 used the Ryder Cup, an international tournament as its selling point, which was kind of underwhelming. This year EA Sports took another tournament to use as a focal point for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, and it's a hell of a lot cooler than the Ryder Cup. It's time for fake golfers to finally get to play in The Masters.
Everything in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 is themed around The Masters, and the prestigious tournament is included in all three versions of the game. The Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii versions all have different control schemes and game modes, but the big things are the same across all three versions.
The entire career mode has been built around working your way up to competing in The Masters. Your character has to progress through amateur leagues, and pass the Q school, a tournament series that golfers have to complete to become pros. After that your golfer competes in a variety of professional tournaments until he or she is invited to The Masters. The new structure is a significant improvement to the career mode. The constant goal of going to The Masters is a nice change of pace from the general tournament structure and all the other major tournaments are in here as well.
Outside of the career mode are even more Masters themed elements. You can recreate nine different "Masters Moments" based on iconic shots from previous tournaments. There's also a mode where you play as Tiger Woods through his four Masters Tournament wins, having to match or beat his scores for each round. As a simulation these extra modes are good additions, though because they all take place on Augusta National, the one golf course that the Masters is played on, they can get tedious if you want to play all of them.
Included with the Masters packaging comes a new commentator, Jim Nantz. It's great to have Nantz in the game, because his voice is iconic to the sport of golf. There's a ton of commentary both from Nantz as well as his co-commentator David Feherty. It does get repetitive, especially when you're putting, but it's very well done. However, I wish they had put in something more exciting when you win The Masters. There should be something to indicate what a momentous occasion it is, instead of just commenting casually about my Par on the 18th.
The actual mechanics of the game haven't been changed much since last year, but there is a noticeable gameplay addition: an in-game caddie. Before nearly every shot, your personal caddie will recommend a couple options. If selected, the game automatically chooses your club, adjusts your angle, and aims, but it's just up to you to take the shot at the power he suggested. For the most part the caddie works great. He's not designed to be perfect, so sometimes his shots aren't the absolute best shot you can take, but if you follow his advice you will golf a good game. Plus he's fully voice-acted and though he gets repetitive, he's well done. Ultimately though, he's a glorified help system, albeit a really well done one. It would have been nice if the caddie explained everything he did to alter the shot so that newer players could learn about the game mechanics, and graduate from having to use him. It's a great new feature though that really opens the game up and makes it more accessible for new and old players alike. There are still plenty of things you have to do yourself, like putting spin on the balls, and power shots, so it's not like the game is playing itself. And you can always choose to turn the caddie off entirely.
The previous improvements to the game have been kept for PGA Tour 12. Features like the use of focus to increase aim, and the experience system will be familiar to those that played the game last year. That said, annoying things like the need to grind your created character for hours if you want to have any hope of competing in an online tournament are also still here. The Wii version has a more limited online mode, without GamerNet, but the bonus features like disc golf and mini-golf are in here still too. I actually prefer disc golf to real golf half the time, but unfortunately you can't play it on the Augusta National, which is a missed opportunity.
On Xbox 360 and PS3 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 features 16 courses on the disc, and 20 available as DLC. The game finally incorporates DLC courses into the career mode, though in an awkward way. As you play the career, you'll try to enter a tournament attached to a DLC course. The game will stop you and inform you to go purchase the course from the store, or skip the event. Having a good chunk of my career mode blocked off sucks, and comes off as crass. By comparison, the Wii version of the game, which features no DLC, comes with 25 courses. If course amount is a deciding factor in your purchase, the cheaper Wii version has nine more courses than its HD counterparts.
MOTION CONTROLS
There are now two versions of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 that feature motion control. Using the PlayStation Move or Wii Motion Plus you can swing your remote as if it were a real club.
Both versions have TrueAim, the first-person golfing mode that has you look down at the ball as you swing, and keeps the camera in first person so you watch your shot sail off into the distance. The controls for both versions are nearly identical, and they both work very well.
The Wii version includes a couple of new additions, most notably Balance Board support to measure your feet placement. It also has the extra motion-control modes like disc golf, mini-golf, and party games.
The PS3 version is in HD and has a more robust online mode with GamerNet, the persistent online challenge mode.
Closing Comments
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 doesn't play much different than last year's game, but the additions of a more fleshed out career mode focused around the long-awaited Masters Tournament and a caddie system that welcomes new players round out the game more. All three versions are great, so you can't go wrong with whichever you choose. I prefer the PS3 version because of it's balance between the motion controls online play. If it featured disc golf like the Wii version it'd be the premiere version of the game.
.IGN Ratings for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (PS3).
Rating Description
out of 10 Click here for ratings guide
8.0 Presentation
The Masters serve as the foundation for the entire game, and a lot of love is paid to the tournament.
8.0 Graphics
The courses look great, and the golfers have gotten an upgrade. There are still some issues with jaggedness.
8.5 Sound
Jim Nantz is a great addition to the game, and there is a ton of good voicework. There needs to be something more exciting for winning, though.
8.0 Gameplay
The classic Tiger Woods formula is kept intact, and strengthened with a new caddie feature.
7.5 Lasting Appeal
The career mode is a solid length, though too much of it is locked behind DLC. Lots of extras to play, though mostly tied to the same Masters theme.
8.0
OVERALL Great
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