My review:

The game gets a solid 7 from me, with the chance to grow with post-launch support, and the possibility that this could be an evergreen title that EA constantly adds to for a few years. While none of that is for certain, it is definitely worth speculation due to the lack of a number in the title; where all other EA SPORTS titles have one.

First I'll start off with the bad. It is lacking something new for being the first title of the current gen. It's missing something to wow us like an online career mode or even online leagues. It is also missing features that were great in the last iteration of Tiger such as Country Clubs. The lack of a punch to start us off on the PS4/XB1 is what really kills the score.

The lack of courses I can go either way on. I fully understand the fact that these courses were completely built from scratch with the Frostbite engine; which in the long run was a GREAT thing. There are only 8 licensed courses to start, with the 9th coming for free in September. Hopefully they have a DLC model that will make the long-time fans of this game happy. Giving the first course free is a great start.

The last bit of negative is the fact that the player creation is very bare bones. While there is room for this to be patched and be better, what we have right now is not great at all. It would have been great to see them use the same tech that the NBA Live team is using for their face scans.

Now on to the good. This game is BEAUTIFUL. There is a fictitious, but realistic course new to the game called Lighthouse Pointe that is extremely beautiful to enjoy a round of golf on. The graphics are phenomenal, and so is the atmosphere surrounding the golf course. This is a notable step-up from the past.

The fictitious courses are we welcome addition to the game as they are beautifully designed. I talked about Lighthouse Pointe previously, and there is also the Wetlands that is set up almost like your municipal course back home. Then there are the fantasy courses such as Coyote Falls that is carved into the Grand Canyon, and Paracel Storm that is taken from Battlefield 4. As far as fantasy courses go, these offer a lot of fun, and since Paracel Storm is 18 holes of all par 3's, you can work on getting those aces.

The gameplay is not completely different from the past, but amateur mode has a new wrinkle where the putt preview is gone and the putt read line is in its place. This makes you actually have to execute a little better and the amateur mode is not a gimme in online play. Offline play though there is a blue line that actually guides you and teaches you were the ball will land taking wind and elevation into effect.

The swing mechanic in the Tour mode is great as your swing has mechanics and feedback that are affected based on your back and down swing. I have really enjoyed playing Tour mode a lot, but there is also a returning shot mechanic in the 3-click swing. That is the old school way to play EA SPORTS golf, and it was a challenge jumping back into that swing mechanic.

Going back and forth between the three difficulties will add a lot of variety to the game, but also you can create a custom set of rules to mix a balance between Amateur and Tour.

Night Club Challenge is the new feature in the game where it's basically an arcade mode with a ton of challenges to try to complete. I like this addition to the game as it teaches new users how to get started; while offering a great challenge to try to get three stars on each challenge. I created a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR8d7YJfUWE on how to 3-star the first 18 challenges.

Finally, while career mode is basically untouched, the career progression system is a great addition to the game for your created pro. Based on your performance in the round, some of your attributes will automatically increase, and the game will show that to you at the end of each round, but you can also select "personality types" such as power, up and down, precise, and etc. to mold your golfer. Each type will affect ratings for the good and the bad, and eventually you'll have four types you can select with about 24 to choose from.

Overall, Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR is a great base with a lot of room to grow. There is a lot missing from the retail product today, but hopefully we will see some growth with this product in the months after.