Now, official content related to the PGA (Pro Golfer's Association) is no longer limited to a simple sticker that accompanies a name change. With PGA Tour 2K21, you will be able to immerse yourself in the world of professional golf, even if the whole is not yet at the level of what the Electronic Arts series offered in its time. First observation: the Americans who represent the bulk of the market for this type of game will finally find one of their compatriots on the jacket, since it is Justin Thomas who is represented on the official artworks, which should brush the patriots in the direction hair. Justin isn't the only pro to appear in the game, as most of the tricks on the circuit are present, although the modeling of the faces of these pros isn't always the most accurate. Indeed, we admit that we did not recognize everyone at first glance. In total, 11 pro players are present in the top 100 presented by the game, knowing that it lacks a lot of stars, including precisely Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
That said, we shouldn't worry too much, since if we can see the pros in action during replays, it will simply be impossible to embody them. The only golfers we can control are those we have created via the MyPlayer world. The creation tool is very extensive, and we will be able to create a hyper personalized avatar, with many knobs to modify its morphology. Attention, all this will be purely cosmetic, and we will not be able to hit a tee-shot at 400 yards by creating an avatar of 1m98 for 135Kg. Regarding the look of our character, know that we will be able to poach in the catalog of many brands that sponsor the PGA, including Adidas, Callaway, Puma, Taylor Made, Wilson and many others. On the other hand, be careful, each item of clothing must be unlocked beforehand by using the in-game currency, or by fulfilling sponsor objectives via the career. In-game money is also quite sparingly available, and we understand why when we find ourselves short.
MONEY FOR NOTHING
If ever the object of your desire is beyond your means, a window will open offering you many microtransactions to replenish your account. The deluxe version of the game has almost no difference in terms of content, and is limited to offering us a large sum from the outset, so that we can have fun in the store. What does it matter if all this is cosmetic you will answer me. Yes, except that is not the case here. Indeed, we will also be able to buy new clubs whose statistics are radically different from those included in our basic caddy. Of course, there is no absolute best club, and each modification will require concessions on one stat or another. But if the objective sought is for example the maximum range for your driver, you will have to save money and go to the store. It's a shame, and as the money falls quite slowly, we are quickly tempted to put our hands in our pockets to be able to equip ourselves according to our wishes. That said, know that if it is largely possible to win tournaments with the basic equipment during the career, it will be a little more complicated in multiplayer, against over-equipped players.
Moreover, be aware that this mode gives in the most absolute classicism, with 1VS1, 2 Vs 2 and a mode where in-game money is put into play. The problem is that it will probably be necessary to wait until it is daytime in the USA in order to find people connected, the player pool in Europe seems very limited. That said, if a friend has the game, we can create private servers very easily to find each other. The most creative among you will be able to take advantage of it to let your friends play on the courses created using the appropriate editor. Great strength of The Golf Club license, the tool is still just as rich and easy to use, even if you have to have a certain talent, and a lot of time in front of you, before you can make golf courses worthy of the name. Those who don't want to invest so much time can simply go on the internet where you can download the many creations of other players, even if the 2K platform is not the most intuitive in the world.
DRIV3R & PUTTER
Fortunately PGA Tour 2K21 progresses quite clearly compared to The Golf Club 2019 in its gameplay. The short game is much easier to approach, and if the timing system for the swing is still present (it has its fans and its detractors among the players), we can now measure the power of the shots much more precisely. Be careful, in the event of a badly executed movement, the ball will be more or less quick to unscrew from its trajectory, depending on the forgiveness statistics of our club. But the simple fact of being able to manage to the nearest percent the striking force does wonders on the green. While the putt was the Achilles heel of previous games, we can now consider putting holes at 50 yards or more, something that was pure luck in the previous game. The approach is also greatly facilitated by this new precision. Crisps and other hole in ones are however still just as hard to enter, because of the marked tendency of the ball to make lips outs (when the ball grazes the hole, to the point of seeing its trajectory modified, but without falling inside). Nevertheless, the gain in precision on approach shots is really nice, and when you play it not too aggressively, you can often afford a very easy putt allowing you to land a Birdie or an Eagle.
Of course, all ball effects are allowed by moving the hitting point on the ball via a dedicated menu. If everything is not super simple at first glance, the hyper-complete tutorial will take care of transforming all the noobs into rookies ready to do battle on the PGA circuit. Moreover, know that 15 real courses are included in the game, including the best known of the TPC network (Tournament Players Club) operated by the PGA. Golf fans will be happy to find the famous hole 16 of the TPC Scottsdale which offers the particularity of being completely surrounded by stands where 20 spectators can sit, which allows for a great atmosphere when you enter a birdie ( or an ace, like Tiger Woods in 000) on this par-97. Regarding the campaign, know that it is limited to advancing our avatar of the amateur world to the heights of the PGA, and to the title in FedEx Cup. We will therefore chain the competitions, while taking care to choose a sponsor for each event in order to unlock its products in the shop (cosmetics and clubs).
We had to run the game in Ultra and in native 4K, impossible not to have the impression of having gone back in time, the visual rendering is so cheap
Unfortunately, if the gameplay is good, this is not the case for the technical aspect which is always a big disappointment. However, the game is developed with the Unity engine, which we know has enormous potential, especially with regard to the quality of the lighting. But here, nothing will make you open your eyes wide. The textures are frankly average, and lack relief, while the animations of the characters take us back several years, and we are not even talking about the spectators made with the photocopier whose movements seem to be managed by a puppeteer. It was nice to run the game in Ultra and in native 4K, impossible not to have the impression of having gone back in time, the visual rendering is so cheap. Worse, after a few nice shots, our character will type stanzas completely decorrelated from his facial expression, which allowed us some nice laughs, so much we have the impression of dealing with a psychopath. The other disappointment comes from the commentators. These are only available in English, and they are capable of the worst as well as the best. The best comes in the form of very good anecdotes and analyzes concerning the official courses and the conformation of the ground.
Unfortunately, when the latter comment on the action, the result is catastrophic, with one voice explaining to us that we should go back to school, while the second is ecstatic about our swing. The number of recorded messages also seems very limited since we quickly go around it, therefore, the impression of dealing with a rambling parrot takes precedence over immersion, and we end up regretting having left the voices activated. However, the idea of making our game an experience that comes as close as possible to television rendering (with replays of the most beautiful actions of the course, not necessarily ours) was not necessarily bad, but the whole thing is too badly put together to grab us. Pity. We will also advise you to play with the title in English in order to save yourself several translation errors which could handicap a player who does not know anything about golf. However, the game is wide open to novices, with many accessibility settings available to make the job easier. You can thus have a maximum of aids, or deactivate everything if you are a pro of the greens.
