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Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Wii)
Score: 88
It's the world's leading computer golf brand - and now it's in its second revision on the Wii - does it live up to the top billing?
Pretty well, or at least the core golfing engine does, which is the bit that matters at the end of the day. What's critical for me is how well the movement of the Wiimote is modelled to that of your club in hand and the subsequent control of your shot. For this, Tiger Woods 08 really can't be faulted. The subtleties of what you do wrong with your clubs are accurately passed through to what happens to your ball, with super 3D physics throughout.
The downside is that errors in your swing will, just as in the real world, cause systemic errors in your shots - in my case a tendency to keep slicing the ball!
But the core golf is wrapped up in a fairly slick interface that's largely been lifted from other platforms. It's all there, from detailed changing of your player's appearance to the full PGA Tour schedule, course by course, hole by hole, with every option along the way fully tweakable. Quite overwhelming, and not helped by the way the Wiimote's keys are used in non standard fashion - in many places, 'A' accepts an entire form rather than letting you change the item that the cursor is on - you'll be using the cursor keys and '+' more than you'd expect through the long set up phases.
Before you're allowed out on any of the courses, there's a compulsory tutorial section, designed to teach you the basics of striking the ball and playing the different types of shots you'll need. In theory a great idea, but spoilt by the fact that at least one of the shot types ('draw') is too hard (at least for me) and it took me 50 or so tries to get the game to let me past onto the next screen.
You also have to watch out for saving your game. Make sure you do this after going through the tutorial, otherwise you'll have to do it all again. And, while I'm here, saving is very restrictive - you only get one saved game at a time - disappointing.
So how did I score PGA Tour 08 so highly, considering the above problems? Because the core game is so good, that's why:
- Glorious 3D real-time renderings, with plenty in 'TV style' - it really is like watching yourself playing in the PGA Tour on TV.
- Super digital sound. Turn the volume up and the stereo effects (wind, background noise, crowd, birds) are incredibly immersive. With a good TV sound system, you're there.
- Real courses, modelled superbly. No mickey mouse made up puzzles here - you'll contend with what the pros have to contend with, no more, no less.
In short, highly recommended. Buy it, play it for tens, if not hundreds of hours - you may not even need any more Wii titles. Heck, jog round the room a few times between shots and you'll get as much out of this as the real thing.