Every year the Tiger Woods franchise attempts to significantly outdue itself. This is not an easy thing to do as Tiger Woods '09 was a pretty darn good golf game. If history has anything to say on the matter, this game will fall short of the lofty goals set forth by '09 (like '08 did with '07), but considering I am the eternal TW optimist, I was going to hope for the best.
Then, EA Sports released new screens comparing '10 to '09 and the difference looks like night and day. Anyone who takes even a brief glimpse will notice the improvement in graphics right way.
According to Reza Elghazi, the Art/Environments producer on the Tiger Woods game, " Golf is probably the one sports video game where the environments are essentially the game: you “play the course”, as opposed to simply golfing on top of it." And i couldn't agree more. Elghazi goes on to say that you can expect the utmost detail when it comes to areas like the sky, water reflections, shadows and my personal favorite, "flourishing vegetation" (his words not mine).
Also slated for the improvement block: the terrain, and in particular the grass. According to Elghazi the, "transitions between each grass type are a lot smoother especially along the edges of the rough. Our new 3D tall grass is noticeably optimized and animates more naturally." That way when you do skull your tee-shot off the fairway the grass will be nice and thick, making that scramble for par hopefully all the more difficult.
Finally, what would a great golf game be without increased emphasis on the one factor golfers and courses can't control: The weather. Elghazi says that they've been working on a new "dynamic weather feature" that will provide more than just, sunny, cloudy and rainy; including overcast lighting, striking cloudy skies and wind and rain effects that actually change the play of the game (because a downpour actually does alter your shot selection).
With these new graphical updates it is not surprising that Tiger Woods 10 has me excited again to renew my yearly subscription to the franchise. Hopefully, they'll be enhancing Natalie Gulbis next :-)
For more information on Tiger Woods '10 and all the EA Sports games, check out the Inside EA blog.
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