Review
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 Review (Wii)
I’ve been doing some calculations, and (if Tiger remains constant with his licensed games) by this time next year we’ll be playing PGA Tour 10. The future will be our golf course. Fortunately for spendthrift gamers, we really only need to own one of Mr Woods’ many licenses.
It’s only been six months since Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 was released, which tells us one of two things. Either EA Sports decided it needed to address the previous game’s control issues with great alacrity, or a multitude of licensing deals conspired to force an updated version very quickly. Or some combination of the two. Whatever the reason, the first thing that needs to be said about Tour 08 is it’s not as “new” as the box blurb claims, though the one or two changes that have been made are certainly for the better.
The main point of contention players of Tour 07 loudly voiced was the aggravating inaccuracies of the Wii-mote during a swing (that is until they just discovered they’d actually paid to become beta testers of Tour 08, but that’s a bone of contention to take up with EA later). Since the mini-game extravaganza that came packaged with the console could manage to accurately mimic the physical movements of Nintendo’s tooth-chipping controller, it was reasonably assumed that a dedicated and expensive golf sim would be able to do likewise. After all, what’s the point of a golf sim on the Wii if you’re confined to a chair like some kind of Xbox or PlayStation owner?
The problems of random and full-on power drives after accidentally twitching the controller during a back swing seem to have been nicely refined, and although the animated on-screen feedback we’d really like to see hasn’t been implemented, the control of Tiger’s virtual clubs is far more true. While it’s perfectly reasonable to demand some care and delicacy from the player, mucking up the downswing with a shaky hand is much more difficult.
A swing now feels like a swing, and acts accordingly on-screen, while putting (which was previously impossible to do at anything less than a ball-blasting power drive) now features a time limited practice shot. This time limit spans the course, so unsure golfers will quickly use up their quota of practice putts if they use it on every attempt, but it soon becomes a vital weapon on the more difficult greens. A seated option is available, which requires only a flick of the Wii-mote, while a nun chuck control system goes one step further to minimising the movement required to play the game. Each method gets increasingly easier, while simultaneously less fun, but it’s no bad thing being provided with an option.
Naturally, there’s more than one way to play golf, and Tiger’s seen fit to include a great many variations on the theme. Again, the box makes bold claims as to the newness of these added features, but multi-console owners should be aware that the majority of these claims refer to them being new to the Wii only, and not the franchise in general. Still, this point is mostly moot, since there’s really no need to own more than one version of PGA Tour – across platforms or otherwise.
Elimination, battle, skill tests, mini-golf (particularly fun for people looking for light relief rather than a full on tournament) and team games are among the more arcade based options, while the full tour, tournament and league style games haven’t really changed (not that they particularly needed to). What more is there to say in terms of gameplay? Golf simulation was refined quite some time ago (remember Golden Tee?), so improvements beyond the revolution of the Wii’s controller are mostly superficial.
Being the processing wimp of the current generation, the textures and graphics aren’t exactly photorealistic, but this isn’t something Wii users (as I know them) are particularly concerned about – it’s the style of play that attracts Nintendo’s latest legions, and we’ve already covered Tiger’s well-received improvements in that respect. The audio could manage a few tweaks or, at the least, a little more user control. Perhaps this is simply a personal beef, but listening to perceptibly pre-recorded incongruous statements from the commentator (of which there seems to be relatively few) quickly becomes an annoyance that I was grateful to silence. A bit of light background music would be a far better stimulant than the dulcet tones of a professional mutterer.
The list of professionals has grown, while others have been removed; a matter which seems to have stirred some small debate across the internet, though the impact this has on the game is, as far as this non-golf enthusiast can tell, completely nonexistent. And, while we’re on the subject, why is it even assumed we’d so enjoy adopting the likeness of a sports celebrity class that’s not exactly known for its wealth of dynamic personality? Not wanting to denigrate the hard earned skills of professional golfers in anyway, but the list of over 20 pros could be changed to pretend names and a tenner shaved off the price of the game from the savings in licensing fees (not that EA would do that, but it’s annoying nonetheless). The PR coverage of these golfers is not a concern I share, and the rife product placement only causes player resistance when it comes to liking this otherwise enjoyable game.
Creating your own player is still an option, of course, and a particularly superficial front room golfer could spend hours surgically altering their on-screen likeness should they so desire. Personally, this is just another annoying menu to stumblingly navigate before getting to the real purpose of owning a golf game, but I guess EA have done their market research and I’m in a minority when it comes to the over abundance of personality which has been aggressively injected into Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.
But, it has to be noted that the profusion of annoyances found in this most recent Tiger game are all cursory, while the improvements are found within the core game engine and can be felt in all the right places. You only need one golf game, so if you don’t currently own one (on any system) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 comes highly recommended. If you do already own one, however, you’ll likely resent the minimal changes in this latest version and not gleam enough new fun to justify shelling out.
Top Game Moment: As an experiment, I invited a non-game playing golfer to join me for a round on the Wii. While I’d easily beat him at any other videogame, he won through a superior golfing ability. A fascinating development in the videogame world when actual sportsmen can put their skills to use in a virtual arena, eh?
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| In comparison, the Wii never looks too hot on graphics, but the anti-aliasing is a bit overboard – it makes Tour 08 look like a love song video from the ‘80s | Putting has been improved by way of a practice shot an evolved power meter |
It’s only been six months since Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 was released, which tells us one of two things. Either EA Sports decided it needed to address the previous game’s control issues with great alacrity, or a multitude of licensing deals conspired to force an updated version very quickly. Or some combination of the two. Whatever the reason, the first thing that needs to be said about Tour 08 is it’s not as “new” as the box blurb claims, though the one or two changes that have been made are certainly for the better.
The main point of contention players of Tour 07 loudly voiced was the aggravating inaccuracies of the Wii-mote during a swing (that is until they just discovered they’d actually paid to become beta testers of Tour 08, but that’s a bone of contention to take up with EA later). Since the mini-game extravaganza that came packaged with the console could manage to accurately mimic the physical movements of Nintendo’s tooth-chipping controller, it was reasonably assumed that a dedicated and expensive golf sim would be able to do likewise. After all, what’s the point of a golf sim on the Wii if you’re confined to a chair like some kind of Xbox or PlayStation owner?
 |
 |
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| Just because folk stand in your way, there’s nothing stopping you from driving the ball at them. Watching them hop around afterwards is pretty amusing! | The picturesque scenery almost makes you want to go out and play real golf. Fortunately, that’s no longer necessary |
The problems of random and full-on power drives after accidentally twitching the controller during a back swing seem to have been nicely refined, and although the animated on-screen feedback we’d really like to see hasn’t been implemented, the control of Tiger’s virtual clubs is far more true. While it’s perfectly reasonable to demand some care and delicacy from the player, mucking up the downswing with a shaky hand is much more difficult.
A swing now feels like a swing, and acts accordingly on-screen, while putting (which was previously impossible to do at anything less than a ball-blasting power drive) now features a time limited practice shot. This time limit spans the course, so unsure golfers will quickly use up their quota of practice putts if they use it on every attempt, but it soon becomes a vital weapon on the more difficult greens. A seated option is available, which requires only a flick of the Wii-mote, while a nun chuck control system goes one step further to minimising the movement required to play the game. Each method gets increasingly easier, while simultaneously less fun, but it’s no bad thing being provided with an option.
 |
 |
|
| There’s some nice, smooth camera shots as you follow the ball down the fairway | Westchester is an impressive course, and from what I’ve read, it’s pretty accurate, too |
Naturally, there’s more than one way to play golf, and Tiger’s seen fit to include a great many variations on the theme. Again, the box makes bold claims as to the newness of these added features, but multi-console owners should be aware that the majority of these claims refer to them being new to the Wii only, and not the franchise in general. Still, this point is mostly moot, since there’s really no need to own more than one version of PGA Tour – across platforms or otherwise.
Elimination, battle, skill tests, mini-golf (particularly fun for people looking for light relief rather than a full on tournament) and team games are among the more arcade based options, while the full tour, tournament and league style games haven’t really changed (not that they particularly needed to). What more is there to say in terms of gameplay? Golf simulation was refined quite some time ago (remember Golden Tee?), so improvements beyond the revolution of the Wii’s controller are mostly superficial.
Being the processing wimp of the current generation, the textures and graphics aren’t exactly photorealistic, but this isn’t something Wii users (as I know them) are particularly concerned about – it’s the style of play that attracts Nintendo’s latest legions, and we’ve already covered Tiger’s well-received improvements in that respect. The audio could manage a few tweaks or, at the least, a little more user control. Perhaps this is simply a personal beef, but listening to perceptibly pre-recorded incongruous statements from the commentator (of which there seems to be relatively few) quickly becomes an annoyance that I was grateful to silence. A bit of light background music would be a far better stimulant than the dulcet tones of a professional mutterer.
The list of professionals has grown, while others have been removed; a matter which seems to have stirred some small debate across the internet, though the impact this has on the game is, as far as this non-golf enthusiast can tell, completely nonexistent. And, while we’re on the subject, why is it even assumed we’d so enjoy adopting the likeness of a sports celebrity class that’s not exactly known for its wealth of dynamic personality? Not wanting to denigrate the hard earned skills of professional golfers in anyway, but the list of over 20 pros could be changed to pretend names and a tenner shaved off the price of the game from the savings in licensing fees (not that EA would do that, but it’s annoying nonetheless). The PR coverage of these golfers is not a concern I share, and the rife product placement only causes player resistance when it comes to liking this otherwise enjoyable game.
Creating your own player is still an option, of course, and a particularly superficial front room golfer could spend hours surgically altering their on-screen likeness should they so desire. Personally, this is just another annoying menu to stumblingly navigate before getting to the real purpose of owning a golf game, but I guess EA have done their market research and I’m in a minority when it comes to the over abundance of personality which has been aggressively injected into Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08.
 |
| I resent paying his franchise fees, but Tiger’s looking pretty good as his digitised self |
But, it has to be noted that the profusion of annoyances found in this most recent Tiger game are all cursory, while the improvements are found within the core game engine and can be felt in all the right places. You only need one golf game, so if you don’t currently own one (on any system) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 comes highly recommended. If you do already own one, however, you’ll likely resent the minimal changes in this latest version and not gleam enough new fun to justify shelling out.
Top Game Moment: As an experiment, I invited a non-game playing golfer to join me for a round on the Wii. While I’d easily beat him at any other videogame, he won through a superior golfing ability. A fascinating development in the videogame world when actual sportsmen can put their skills to use in a virtual arena, eh?
