EA returns for another update of their most popular franchise, Tiger Woods PGA Tour. But does the Wii version bring anything new over its more powerful competitors?
I will not mince my words on this one; Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008 on the Wii is the best golf game I have played. In fact its almost better than the real thing, no longer do you need to spend thousands of pounds on the best clubs and kit, get wet and spend days getting your handicap down. All you have to do now is clear some space in the living room, turn up the volume and enjoy the best golf game on any console.
The look and animations are great for the Wii, OK so the graphics can’t be compared to the PS3 and 360, but you did not purchase the Wii for the graphics alone did you.
EA have taken a new step in their approach to gaming, and I will say it’s a welcome one. Rather than going straight into a bunch of menus and getting lost as what to do next, on your first play you are taken through a well-paced, dictated tutorial, explaining the basics of using the Wii-mote and its many functions. Once you have gone through and completed the tutorial to a satisfactory level, the game will begin and will take you through to a well thought out menu screen, all navigated with the Wii-mote.
The game itself is played using the Wii-mote as the club, hold the B button down to tell the game to prepare for a swing and point the Wii-mote down, then swing like you would a golf club and away you go, a half swing and the power in which you swing changes the distance of the shot, tilting the Wii-mote to the left or right will apply draw and fade. To prepare a shot you can hold the A button to zoom into the area where your shot will go, then by holding the B button you can adjust the shot, a cool feature on this is that if you change the distance of the shot, maybe go for a better approach, the correct club is chosen for you automatically. You can also apply spin to the ball, when in the air use the d-pad to select which direction to spin in and then shake the Wii-mote to determine strength of the spin.
Putting is use in the same way, however you do not need to swing the club as far. The slopes on the green are represented by an easy to follow colour-coordinated grid.
The main game has you up against numerous players from the world circuit, each one you have to defeat in different scenarios on courses from all over the world, once you beat a player, you will be moved onto the next set of challenges and players, until you get to the top, Tiger Woods himself.
As well as the main game there are plenty of mini games to keep you and your mates entertained, the newest addition is Mini Putt, a great challenge with plenty of hazards and uneven putting greens to negotiate.
