A hole in one!
Written By Ben Salter
The Wii is yet to reach its third birthday, and already we’re seeing the forth instalment in the Tiger Woods franchise. Thus far, the series has been decent, without being spectacular, and has used the Wii controls well enough without excelling with them. Introduce Wii MotionPlus, and not only do you have the best use of the peripheral to date, you have one of the most realistic golf games ever made. As far as golf in videogames goes it doesn’t get any better than this.
The new controls, thanks to Wii MotionPlus, are the biggest addition in Tiger Woods 10. Your movements are mapped between Wii Remote and screen as close to 1:1 as one could ever hope for (otherwise you may as well head out to the golf course). You stand as if you are actually playing golf and hold the Wii remote with two hands as if it were a club. Technically speaking you should keep your head down, but it’s so hard to keep your eyes away from the screen as you watch your movements being translated seemingly perfectly into the virtual world. As you raise your club Tiger will follow, if you hold your club inline with your hip, so will Tiger, if it’s almost hitting the back of your neck Tiger will take on the same stance. By twisting the Wii remote as you swing you can manually add draw and fade to your shots, and for once, it actually works well. The distance the ball will travel is determined by the strength of your swing, and to an extent the angle of your Wii Remote. In time you’ll find some loopholes, and the waggle will slowly make its way back into play, but for the most part the controls are relatively accurate and require you to play as if you were standing out on the golf course.
Last year’s game fell down when it came to putting. Fortunately EA have rectified their mistake by introducing the new ‘precision putting’ technique that once again is made possible by the improvements to the Wii’s controller. If you have experience putting then there’s no need to look at the screen once you've gauged the distance, as it’s all based on the weighting of your swing. A tap in requires an actual tap in and a 30-foot putt requires the same strength that you would use out on the green.
There are three levels of difficulty, each of which will influence the accuracy of the controls. The All Play mode is designed for beginners, and will allow you to see exactly where your ball will land, regardless of how much power you use. Standard puts MotionPlus to better use and feels like an authentic game of golf without being too harsh on the player's ability, and finally Advanced is for the serious golfer and is not at all forgiving when it comes to your stroke play.
Once you remember that Tiger Woods 10 is more than just new controls with a familiar face slapped on the front, you'll notice that there is a whole stack of content here that is going to keep you entertained until next year’s effort and well and truly beyond. The career mode is the bread and butter of the single player and allows you to play through a season of the PGA tour, FedExCup or in a challenge tournament. The player customisation is off the charts, as it allows you to create almost every aspect of your player’s appearance as well as their stats and tune their clubs. Play now has got you covered if you want to bypass all of the customisation and get straight into a round of golf. Golf party features 10 mini-games that are designed to be played with up to 4 players. Most of them have returned from last year including target practice and a game that requires you to smack the ball through rings. The game’s developer, Tiburon, has put a great deal of effort into prolonging the lifespan though additional multiplayer options. There is a whole range of additional multiplayer game modes that tweak the regulations of a traditional game of golf. Best Ball, for instance, uses a team score to determine the overall winner.
If you’re keen to play against real life opponents the online component is as solid as any other sporting game on the console. Most importantly there are no friendcodes. Thank you EA! If you’ve already set up an EA Sports online account you’re all set to go with your friend roster intact. It offers a traditional round of golf, or a fast-paced mode in which all players compete at once. This year EA has introduced live tournaments. Here, you can play in tournaments that occur either daily or weekly, or against pros who are playing in the real world. It's a very impressive feat as you can compete against the real life Tiger Woods, and even though my 80-year-old custom character may not quite be up to the challenge, it’s still a blast and more rewarding than playing against virtual Tiger.
How could I forget, exclusively for Wii owners Tiburon have thrown in frolf, or Disc Golf, as it’s actually called (allegedly). If you thought the main game was a great example of MotionPlus at its finest, wait until you play Disc Golf. For those of you who aren’t familiar - I suggest watching The Summer of George episode of Seinfeld – Disc Golf is essentially exactly the same as a normal game of golf, but uses a Frisbee and a net instead of a club and a hole. Quite literally I could have played for hours just standing there twisting my arm every which way and watching the hand holding a disc on screen map my moves to perfection. To play you hold down the B-button, swing the disc in any manner you please, and let go of B to release (lawn bowls style was not as successful as I’d hoped, we suggest Frisbee style). Surprisingly you can play through all 27 courses in the disc golf game. It’s so good, in fact, that I would have no problems purchasing Disc Golf as a stand-alone game. Even if you’re not into golf I recommend you have a go at Disc Golf in Tiger Wood 10. If nothing else it’s a great example of what MotionPlus is capable of, and a glimpse at the future of motion gaming.
The presentation is decent, without being fantastic. There are 7 new courses to try your luck at, bringing the total up to 27 this year. The graphics are similar to those from last year, and while some of the audience members and backgrounds appear a little rough, they’ve held up well enough to do their job this year. The custom character models look great, while the pros are reminiscent of their real life counterparts. The commentary comes from EA Sports, and while it’s not terrible it’s not too flash either. The audience sound effects are far better; they’ll let you know when you’ve scored a triple bogey. The menu music once again does its job, but is nothing to write home about.
The Final Verdict
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is the definitive golf game on the market not only this generation, but ever. It’s jammed packed full of content, with a great career mode, fantastic online and awesome multiplayer extras. On top of all that the Disc Golf mode is so good that I’d seriously consider buying it as a stand-alone game. The Wii version is the superior version of Tiger Woods 10, and features near perfect controls. It can be played by newbies through to golfing veterans. It has been a long time coming, but finally the Wii has triumphed, through the addition of MotionPlus, to become the superior version of a major multiplatform release via motion controls. Regardless of if you are a golfer or not, regardless of if you are into sports games or own multiple consoles this is one game I can whole heartily endorse that you at least try, if not buy, on the Wii no matter what type of gamer you are. This is a glimpse at the future of motion gaming, not to mention the best golf game I have ever played.
Gameplay
9.5/10
The best golf game ever made period.
Graphics
7.5/10
Character models look nice, especially the custom ones. Beyond that it’s the same as last year.
Sound
6.5/10
Audience sound effects are good, while the EA commentary is lacking a little. Overall, it’s not bad, but it’s not fantastic either.
Value
10/10
You’ll be playing for months. The career mode along would have been enough, but throw in online, multiplayer, mini-games and Disc Golf and this is easily worth every cent you pay for it.
Overall
9.2/10