Rory McIlroy PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is a new beginning for the historic golf series from EA Sports. It's a brave move for sure, but there's a price to pay and it results in losses that previous episodes proposed in large quantity.

The courses look better than ever on consoles, even though the change to Frostbite also shows some significant hiccups. And while the mechanics are rock solid as always, hardcore fans might feel ripped off since content was scaled down. It is a solid reboot for a series stagnant on the old systems, but EA still has some way to go.

By and large, EA Tiburon have managed to release a golf experience that is a blast to play and features some brilliant looking courses. Granted, the limited PGA roster, only 13-courses out of the box, and some technical hiccups dampen the experience.

The tight mechanics and gameplay cannot be overlooked and EA certainly has made good on that ground. Is it as enjoyable as the previous titles? No. It lacks the depth which its predecessors possessed and as a result, you’re left with little will to return. Regardless, this is the first half-decent golfing game on the current gen consoles, and aside from the gimmicky Night Club Challenges and inclusion of Star Wars Battlefront-themed courses, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour offers a level of realism that you’re unlikely to find anywhere else right now.

I'm sure once EA gets a better grip on this engine and produces stellar next-gen golf, we'll look back at Rory McIlroy PGA Tour with a furrowed brow. Until then, it's the best golf sim for current-gen consoles, and it offers fans and newcomers alike a heck of a good time, warts and all.

The in-game experience is excellent, with beautiful scenery, accurate courses, and the true feel of a broadcast. The overall product is hurt, however, by a lack of courses, big name golfers, and stripped down modes. Gamers expect to be wowed after two years of development, not left with an empty feeling.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour plays better in many ways than when Tiger Woods graced the cover, but the removal of so many modes and continuous shortcomings with the short game make this a disappointing debut on new-gen hardware.

It's a good golf game. It plays well, has tons of content and it's fun, but it definitely is not the step forward we expected from a new generation of golfing games.

A half-finished game. [Issue#128, p.80]

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour isn't a bad game; there's just not enough of it.

Fans might wonder why they should accept all these missing features for an inconsistent visual update. Newcomers will be impressed by the lack of loading screens and rewarding gameplay, but series veterans who’ve played PGA Tour 14 will never crave Xbox 360 backwards compatibility more.

It's painful to see another game - particularly this series - so gutted of features. After hitting its drive very thin, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is facing a long second, even third shot before it gets back to the kind of variety and value its three predecessors offered.

By eliminating Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour does not have the same atmosphere as it did before. This makes the game seem incomplete.

Despite smooth gameplay and fancy visuals, this game is handicapped by a distinct lack of courses and players, leaving it feeling incomplete and rather bland.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is the perfect example of a solid game that's brought down by how it looks and handles. If you can get over the paltry career mode, there is some fun to be had here, though a few patches and refinements would do a lot of good.

The first game of the EA's golf series without Tiger Woods. PGA Tour Rory McIlroy is level. And it does so by the sheer neglect of the EA Tiburon studio when to launch half a degree.

A solid golf game that suffers from a lack of courses and little in the way of imaginative modes. A step backwards from the most recent Tiger Woods games, Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is not the series refresh we’d hoped for.

Although, it lacks some important gameplay modes, the basics are all there, and for most of the time it plays quite good. DLCs will probably fill some of the gaps, and next year's title will probably do so in a deeper way, but what we're left with today is just half a game.

EA Tiburon has managed to create a golf game with plenty of holes in it; just not the kind that fans will relish.

Rory McIlroy PGA suffers from the same issues that we’ve seen with many other EA titles over the years, particularly when new hardware is introduced.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is way above the par: the few good bright sides are not enough to cover its lack of contents and a far-from next gen graphics.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour is a good golf simulation, but it needs further refinements and eight real courses are too few.

Rory McIlroy PGA Tour brings back the franchise after a short hiatus and while it looks and plays great, the game itself feels like only a tease for the full potential that this series has shown in the past.

This should have been a glorious comeback for EA's golf series, but it is a let-down. Especially because it takes everything away that made the last games with Tiger Woods so much fun.