Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 Wii

For last years incarnation of Tiger Woods, EA passed over the reigns to Tiburon, the talented studio behind the Madden NFL Wii Series, and they delivered a very rounded, wholesome package with last years Tiger Woods 09, and having proven themselves capable of making the most out of the marriage between the Wii Remote and Tiger, the studio was given the go ahead to make the next instalment.

Tiger Woods 10 is one of the first games to utilise the Wii Motion Plus, an attachment that grants the user full 1:1 control, be it accurately battling your way through a sword fighting tournament (ala Wit Sports Resort) or precisely sending a power volley cross court (EA’s other Motion Plus-centric game Grand Slam Tennis).

Graphics and Presentation

Right from the get-go you can see that EA have really tried to cram as much as they can onto the Wii disc, be it a slew of new modes, a fully fledged online mode, new tournaments or aesthetically pleasing menus that are easily accessible allowing you to hop right into a game mode of your choice.

Right of the bat you will notice that developer Tiburon has sunk a lot of resources into the in-game engine, players have been modelled realistically and animate with surprising fluidity. Elsewhere, the courses themselves have been accurately recreated hole by hole, from tree formations, to the crowds that gather at tee off (a first for a Wii Tiger game) it all helps to keep you immersed in the game world that has so evidently been sprinkled with that crisp EA polish.

Sound

Sound is normally the category that most people would skip when reading a review, (maybe even more so with a golf game), but the sound in Tiger 10 really adds that hidden layer of realism that you wont really think about but just accept. The only music in Tiger Woods 10 appears in the main menu, which is a shame for the composer, as it is the most funk riddled track to ever grace a videogame. 

When you drop into a game mode after the funk riddled title track, you are greeted to something even more powerful, silence. Well not technically silence, but you are indeed surrounded by the sounds of the course, from birds flying over head, to the wind whispering through the golf course, and the satisfyingly rich sound as you thwack your ball down the fairway, it’s the combination of all the above that really give Tiger Woods 10 the real world ambience you wouldn’t normally expect to find in a game, yet Tiger 10 comes up with spades.

Game Play

First off Tiger Woods 10 is best played with the Wii Motion Plus peripheral. In fact that’s an understatement Tiger Woods 10 with Wii Motion Plus is the definitive way to play any golf game to date spanning across all current-gen platforms.

Here is the set up. When you start your game you will be shown a fly over view of the course with a commentator suggesting the best way to tackle the hole in play, after which you will get the classic viewpoint of Tiger waiting for you to make him drive the ball down the fairway. A little prompt in the corner of the screen will ask you to hold your Wii Remote facing down like you are holding the club. Now if you hold down the B button on the back of the Wii Remote you will enter swing stance mode in which you can now swing and take your shot.

Now this is where Motion Plus comes into play, the slightest movement of your hands will affect the virtual club on screen with pin point 1:1 accuracy, swing back half way at a snails pace and the character model onscreen will mimic your every move in real time, twist your wrists and you can manually add draw or fade to your shots, it really is a marvel the first time you try it, very reminiscent of the first time you booted up and played Wii Sports.

It’s hard to put across in words at how much of a natural process it is to look at the course and gage the distance between you and the hole, whilst instinctively knowing how much power you need to follow through your swing with to reach the green.

It is so satisfying when you sink a putt via Motion Plus because you know it was pure unhindered skill, which gives you even bigger (and more deserved) bragging rights. It’s a game for me that has had people refusing to let go of the Wii Remote pleading for “just one more go”. And that is truly a testament to developer Tiburon for its creative game play mechanics mixed in with its flawless game design and motion control.

Now Tiger 10 is jam packed with game modes all of which will have you coming back again and again for months at a time. So obviously there is the Career mode which allows you to play through the expected tournaments such as the PGA Tour Season, the FedEx Cup and Tournament Challenge all of which are going to take even the seasoned golf pro months to play through. There is also a quick play mode which lets u hop straight in with up to 4 players and start sinking some shots on any of the available courses.

Tiger Woods 10 online mode is very robust and is easy and seamless to connect to thanks to the omission friend codes (praise your higher power), instead utilising EA’s very own online service.
Firstly there is one online mode that is for the hardcore Tiger Woods fans. Tiburon have included a mode that lets you play in real time (with a 3 minute delay), against a real life tournament in progress. So for example, Tiger Woods is playing a real life tournament on your TV, so if you boot up your Wii all current stats for Tiger Woods will be updated into your game, effectively letting you play in real time against Mr Woods himself.

Last years online 4 player mode is also back in its former glory in which all players’ progress through each hole simultaneously in real time. EA have really gone all out online for the Tiger community this time and it’s nice to see them taking the online capabilities of the Wii so seriously now.

Closing Comments

This is a game that could not be done better on any other console, and it is nice to see that EA have put the time and effort into making a ground breaking and immensely enjoyable Wii game that not only uses Wii motion Plus to such a dramatic effect, but to also put the EA polish that we all know into this game. Now they have the control nailed down it would be fun to have EA look into a few new things for the next instalment, for one I would love to see some really out there courses in the vain of crazy golf only on a much grander scale.

Also whilst the in-game engine for the Wii does its job well I really thing EA should consider building a new graphical engine up more in the vein of EA’s Grand Slam Tennis, as stylised games seem to suit the Wii better it would be nice to take Tiger out of his comfort zone and truly go all out for the Wii come next year. Take a chance and buy Tiger woods PGA tour 10 (Wii Motion Plus), its a fantastic game, which will have you coming back for more for months on end.

Aaron Cooper