Nintendo Wii Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10

Every so often a game comes out that gives gamers the surreal feeling of gaming in real life. If you’ve ever played Halo and heard one of your downed-online opponents scream, “Well if this was real life, like Call of Duty, you wouldn’t have killed me,” you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. Sometimes gaming experiences just get so immersive that you can lose yourselves for hours playing, while forgetting real world exists right outside your door – just ask any World of Warcraft veteran.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is just that game for 2009. I have been notorious for bashing Wii games in the past. Unresponsive controls, poor attention to online multi-player and lackluster graphics have made the Wii a dust-ball gatherer on many game shelves. Well Tiger Woods 10 blasts away those nagging caveats on several levels and more. The truth is I played for six hours straight one day, and totally forgot to eat. The game is just that good. Sure, there have been games like House of the Dead: Overkill and MadWorld, which have changed the way we look at the Wii, transforming it into an adult gaming machine. But, no game has been so completely intoxicating as Tiger Woods 10. By the way, this is one of the flagship Wii-Motion titles, and I can say that hands-down Wii-Motion is the best thing to happen to Wii since the console’s creation.

So, that’s my praise, and it’s well deserved. Now here’s the review.

If you’ve played Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, you probably won’t notice any immediate changes in Tour 10. The Tiger Woods franchise was taken over by the leaders in franchise-sports gaming design, EA Tiburon. They constructed an excellent golfing experience, coupled with enough party games to make even the staunchest “golfphobe” raise a curious eyebrow. However, like most Wii games, the controls didn’t feel nearly as responsive as you would expect. The result was a laborious golfing experience for people who lacked the patience to learn how golf worked Wii style.

When it comes to controls, Tour 10 is light-years ahead of 09. You can dive right into the action and play a round of golf with up to four people, as Tiger or one of the many other professionals featured in this game. If you played 09, the first thing you’ll notice is that the movements Tiger makes matches up exactly with your movements as you control your club (or Wii-mote). From the moment you pull your club back to the moment you swing, each movement feels matched frame for frame with your body. The Wii-mote matches your body mechanics when you drive, so you’ll immediately feel when you don’t put enough power in your drive.

Putting has been upgraded immensely, and golfers will respect the attention to detail Tiburon invested in this game. Once again you have the grid diagram available to you, so that you can see the slope of the green as you put. Precision putting has been added, so that gamers can get a real feel for putting. Both the length of your backswing and the speed of your forward swing affect your putt strength. Yes, it’s just like real life. Putting has never felt so good. And, if this review is beginning to sound like an endorsement, it should. The game is just that good.

Now the coup de gras: Wii MotionPlus. Yes, the controls are more in tune with your body physics in PGA Tour 10. But, with Wii MotionPlus you can expect a totally new and completely immersive gaming experience. Now with a twist of your hand, you can execute a draw or fade when driving. So, if you find yourself in the rough and need to avoid trees or a sand trap with your next swing, you can do it. And, it’s all executed with nearly flawless accuracy. As a side note, Wii MotionPlus is packaged with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for only a fraction of the cost of buying both separately, so it’s best to pick up the bundle.

Tournament mode is back. You’ll be able to create your own player. Then you can slowly build up your stats and skill as you compete through the PGA Tour Season, FedEx Cup and newly added U.S. Open. But, the real win here is the online component. The reality of Tour 10 is only boosted thanks to the wonderful world of the Internet. As you play on real world courses, Tour 10 will draw in weather forecasts from the Weather Channel to give you real-time weather conditions for that course. And, any golfing savant will delight in playing on the newly added Bethpage Black Course, one if the most difficult courses in the world. There you have it, another dose of real life in the video game world. One slight drawback is that you can’t use Wii-speak. But, in a real match you probably wouldn’t be talking trash anyway.

Gaming online in Tiger 10 is a seamless experience that is rarely, if ever, affected by lag. But, before you dive head first into the online world. You had best practice as much as you can in the local Tournament. The online experts are really that good, and can discourage even the most ambitious gamers. If you really feel like living on the edge, you can compete in the new EA Sports Live Tournaments mode. So while Tiger tackles the real world course, you can play right along side him and see how your stats match up.

All the Tour 09 Party games are bag with the inclusion of Disc Golf. This is almost like a game onto itself. Disc Golf plays just like the standard golfing game, including scoring system, except instead of using clubs and a ball you use a Frisbee. It’s actually quite fun, and you can waste several hours just playing this game. Plus, Disc Golf allows you to compete on all 27 courses. Unfortunately, you’ll have to complete the hard event in Tournament challenge to unlock Bay Hill Club & Lodge as well as the newly added Bethpage Black Course, Hazeltine National GC and a few others. Much like the golfing segment of Tour 10, the movements match up precisely with your body mechanics. So, you pick up the Frisbee, by pointing the Wii-mote at the ground and grabbing it with the B-button. Then you draw the Frisbee back across your body, and let it fly. The hardest part is trying to remember to not let the B-button go right away. But if you just think of this game as real life, because it’s damn near close, you’ll quickly overcome that mental hurdle.

The graphics in Tiger Woods 10 are comparable to 09 so don’t expect a big shift. However, there are some upgrades here and there you’ll notice in the textures of the field as well as the overall layout of the course. EA has added crowds to your Tournament experience for an added dose of realism. Admittedly, this only made me want to bean one of the spectators. Plus, there is rarely any clipping and I didn’t notice any frame rate issues. My only point of contention was that sometimes Tiger’s reactions were delayed. I’d miss a put, and then the cut-to on his reaction seemed to take slightly to long to sink in.

The game features broadcast style presentation from ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman. Most of the time, the commentary was a nice addition. But, don’t get a double bogey and Kelly will really drill it into your head that you’re a terrible golfer. The commentators have no amnesty, and it will slowly begin to affect your focus each time you put. The ambient sound is a nice addition and will flow with the natural setting of the course. But, one thing you’ll notice is that the bird noises in the background seem to be overdone.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is hands down the best game for the Wii, thus far, in 2009. I have yet to play a game on the Wii that presents such an immersive experience. The hardest part about playing it is deciding when to put it down. You’ll want to play the full 18 holes each time. And, you’ll really feel the pressure when you start to go too far over par. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is a must own for any gamer. Wii MotionPlus only makes this game that much more real. So grab the bundle, and get ready to compete against one of the best players in the sport.