EA Sports today announced details on the “Legacy Challenge” mode in Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13. The mode features the opportunity to play through Tiger Woods’ career from childhood to legend status to a future attempt at breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. Continue on to check out a video preview and all the features for the “Legacy Challenge”! 

Tiger Legacy Challenge lets you relive Tiger’s most memorable golf accomplishments as he rises from a child prodigy to a golfing legend. Revisit each era of Tiger’s career, from his Toddler Years practicing in his backyard, to his first television appearance on The Mike Douglas Show, thru his epic victories at the Masters. Play through and complete each era to unlock bonus in game content.

•Toddler Years - The first era includes events from Tiger’s childhood in the late 70’s, which introduces players to the new swing mechanics found in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 13. During these events, you will play as Tiger between the ages of 2-6.

•Early Years – This era takes place between 1983 and 1986 between the ages of 7-10. You’ll participate in some of Tiger’s first golf tournaments including the Junior World Championship.

•Junior Years – Takes place between 1988 and 1991 at the ages of 12-15 and showcases Tiger winning each age group of the Junior World Golf Championships. These events incorporate various audio distractions while playing, which Tiger’s father used in real life to help him train and hone his skills.

•Amateur Years – This era focuses on Tiger at the ages of 18-20 and includes accomplishments during his Amateur golf career such as the U.S. Amateur Championships, his first trip to the Masters Tournament, and College Invitational.

•Rookie Years – Between the ages 21 and 22,this era encompasses Tiger’s first two years on the PGA TOUR, as well as his first major win at the Masters, his first President’s Cup, signing with EA SPORTS, and hitting a hole in one at TPC Scottsdale on the famous hole 16.

•Tiger Slam – Arguably one of Tiger’s most memorable accomplishments to date, this era focuses on his career between 2000 and 2001 at the ages of 24 and 25, when he won four majors in a row. It also includes a challenge to match Tiger’s snaking putt at the 2001 Players Championship on the 17th island green at TPC Sawgrass.

•Pro Years – The Professional Years include accomplishments between 2002 and 2008 such as various major wins, famous shots (2005 chip-in at Masters), and winning the FedEx Cup.

•Present Day – This era includes current events such as the 2010 Ryder Cup, 2011 Presidents Cup, and the beginning of fictional events that lead up to the ultimate goal of winning 19 majors.

•Future – This section includes major events that are in the future such as the 2014 U.S. Open at Valhalla and the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews.

•Record Books – The last era will end with Tiger chasing his 19th major on his way to breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record.

Previously EA Sports featured the social aspects of SSX in RiderNet and “Explore” mode – now the focus shifts to the online competitive elements in Global Event and “Geo Tags”. The Global Events are essentially constantly ongoing tournaments at each drop point – as well as custom ones to set up for going against friends – while the tags are to be dropped for others to collect with the goal being making it as difficult for them to get to them as possible. 

In an earnings call discussing the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 (October-December 2011) EA announced that through the first three months of release Ultimate Team mode in FIFA 12 generated $39 million in digital revenue. That represents an increase of 69% over the same period last year with FIFA 11. Combining with both FIFA 11 and FIFA 10 in the last year Ultimate Team mode has made EA over $100 million and the company expects FIFA 12 on its own to eventually generate $100 million in digital revenue.

The boasting over Ultimate Team’s success is still somewhat awkward considering how much it has been in the news due to the association with account thievery over the last four months or so. Both EA Sports and Microsoft will absolutely have to close the loophole that made FIFA such an attractive source of making money for those who gain access to the accounts of others.

After a four month void of new sports game releases – it’s hard to believe it has been that long – February essentially kicks off the 2012 season with a trio of offerings. The 14th brings UFC Undisputed 3 after nearly a two year gap in the series as well as EA Sports’ Grand Slam Tennis 2 (their first tennis title on 360/PS3) while the reboot of the popular SSX series arrives on the 28th. Vote in the poll on which game or games you’re looking forward to and plan to buy and leave any thoughts in the comments!

It’s no surprise that next month’s release of SSX will carry with it an “online pass” – a code that is given for free inside new copies to access online functionality and which requires those who obtain used copies to pay a fee to access the content in question.

Interestingly though EA Sports isn’t walling off everything online-related with SSX and everyone will be able to play online. Instead those who doesn’t have the “online pass” simply won’t be receiving the “credits” that are given based on performance or completing tasks. 

Game Informer received a statement from EA on the subject: “In SSX, players without an Online Pass are able to compete and play in both of SSX’s online game modes, Explore and Global Events with no restrictions. In Global Events, the top finishers from each event are awarded with in-game credits. These in-game credits earned during play will not be awarded to the player if they do not have an Online Pass; these credits will be stored so that at any time, if a player redeems an Online Pass code, all the credits that they had previously earned in Global Events will be immediately awarded to them.”

The credits are spent on things like additional gear or new events – but all that can apparently be unlocked through the course of regular play anyway. So this is a welcome change to the “online pass” in that it doesn’t come across as much as punishment towards used buyers but more along the lines of an incentive for those who buy new or find value in what is offered later.

That is really how it should be but don’t expect this to be a widely adapted change. The high-profile yearly licensed titles will keep the more restrictive online pass and, if anything, are likely to shift even more features under that umbrella over time. Those titles that aren’t so front-loaded due to time sensitivity may get consideration however for more welcoming terms such as SSX here.

WWE 12 released back in November with a number of issues – the most publicized of which was the completely unreliable online servers. Today THQ announced details on a patch that will release next Monday on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. In addition free DLC is being given away as an apology for all the problems in the form of a retro masked Kane which will be available for download on Tuesday. Continue on for the complete patch details. 

General Gameplay

• Fixed an issue where the ring texture would flash black or different colors
• Addressed multiple Finisher system bugs in which players were awarded too many or too few Finishers
• Fixed an issue where the Defender would freeze if the Right Stick was pressed in any direction while being Irish Whipped
• Fixed an issue where two Superstars in a pin sequence swapped positions when an interfering Superstar woke the referee as he/she was standing
• Fixed an issue where Superstars would freeze if certain running corner attacks were performed in the Royal Rumble
• Both attacks in the Running Strikes and Running Grapples categories should now trigger consistently
• Fixed several situations where a created Superstar’s move set was being improperly reset to default settings
• Fixed several instances where players could Irish Whip their opponents through the Cell and/or Barricade
• Fixed an issue that caused Superstars to freeze when a Finisher was performed
• Sound is now working correctly after restarting a Brawl
• Tuned pin escape mini-game in Elimination Chamber matches. Players can now escape after being hit with a Finisher.
• Fixed a problem where tables were not properly re-spawning in Tables matches (PS3 only)
• Fixed cameras for environmental weapons attacks
• Various gameplay bug fixes

Universe Mode

• Brands can now consist entirely of created Superstars.  However, match card creation still requires players to use Superstars with at least one of each crowd reaction setting (‘boo’ and ‘cheer’) to properly book matches.
• The Draft option now functions properly
• Lowered the frequency of injuries in Universe Mode
• Addressed issue where Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank winners were not getting their title shots at WrestleMania and/or the option to cash in Money in the Bank
• Fixed various crashes to help improve overall stability of Universe Mode
• Various Universe Mode bug fixes

Online

• Made numerous improvements to help improve stability and reliability of Community Creations.
• General stability improvements in Royal Rumble matches

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where the DLC versions of Edge and Christian’s entrance animations were replaced by Alberto Del Rio’s animations if edits were made to their music and/or mini-tron
• Players can now edit a created Superstar’s move set after viewing the model in Community Creations
• Resolved several issues with Divas entrances
• Props can now be disabled during entrances
• Fixed several issues with Custom Soundtracks
• General stability improvements in Story Designer Mode

Considering the failure of FIFA Street 3 in 2008 and the rapidly degrading perception of arcade-style games as viable products under the current market conditions and due to league license imposed restrictions it was initially a surprise that the return of FIFA Street would be a full $60 retail release. As the feature reveals are made though it is clear that EA Sports is putting resources into the game that could potentially give it the necessary value while reaching a level of quality that would justify a purchase.

The company has now announced a feature known as the “Street Network” which acts as its own social network of sorts. It will provide the ability to capture and share highlight videos as well as track and compare progress with friends in World Tour story mode and Online Seasons.

While FIFA Street still looks to be a tough sell on the surface with how successful the sim FIFA franchise has been in the past four years it may now have an opportunity to capitalize on all the popularity. It seems like a risk in domestic terms, given it wasn’t until recently that FIFA gained serious traction, but overseas it could flourish particularly given the more authentic approach being taken.

In a recent preview ESPN broke down the implementation of Kinect for Xbox 360 in the upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 and EA Sports has also rolled out a trailer of the features in action. For the first time a sim title will fully utilize the motion-device both in capturing the swings as well as taking advantage of voice capabilities.

Interestingly swings will take place parallel to the TV screen/Kinect placement rather than facing it with the side of the body – that will allow for the camera to capture the entire body and movement and apparently will translate with a much more accurate on-screen representation.

As far as voice commands it’ll be a lot like what I wrote about coming out of trying the functionality in Kinect Sports: Season Two. Voice can be utilized to make on-screen selections such as club changes, camera setup, or to ask for caddy recommendations. 

Three pure gameplay videos have arrived for SSX that feature footage of two of the central modes (‘Race It’ and ‘Trick It’). These are especially valuable as they represent some of the first directly-captured and unedited lengthy looks at the game in action and the result is impressive. Continue on to check them out and leave any thoughts in the comments! 

EA Sports has released a new developer video which begins to detail various online features found in SSX. This particular video focuses on the social elements and includes an “Explore” mode which is centered on competing against scores and the ‘ghosts’ of friends and “RiderNet” which is similar to Need for Speed’s “Autolog” by highlighting the latest happenings and opportunities. Continue on for the video and leave any thoughts in the comments!