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After playing Wii Sports' take on golf with the cartoony, under featured, 1 course representation of the sport, I've been looking forward to EA's attempt at bringing virtual golf to life with the Wii.
I picked up Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for the Wiii yesterday, and I haven't been disappointed.
One thing that needs to be said- because its YOU doing the actual swinging, this game takes PGA Tour games to a whole new level. You are responsible for the fades/draws/slices/pushes/power/straights...and unlike every other PGA tour game, its not as simple as a case of merely stopping the meter in the sweet spot. Its no longer a case of who has the best button/meter judgment.. Its all about the swing, its straightness (or not), and your ability to gauge how to take something off of your swing depending on the given distance.
I've come to realize that the game really gauges the length of your backswing, and power is mostly determined by the speed of your downstroke on the Wii controller.
Because of all of these features- the game is tough to master. In the past, it was merely "Meter" based... now its 100% based on your swing and figuring out the way that the game gauges your swing of the Wii remote.
Practice swings become a must to get your head right, and your backswing distance, right before each shot. EA handles this well. A report comes up saying how your practice swing was, as well as the distance the ball would have traveled (sans wind and non-flat terrain). This data is invaluable, as well as how it shows you what percentage of the full swing you'll need for that variable distance shot between clubs.
After my first 18 holes, I've crowned myself king of the double bogey. (I did get a pars on Par 3s...)
However, towards the latter 1/4th of the round, I started to "get-it" and was far more respectable than the hack-o-thon early on.
So far, the game is a blast- even though the graphics are far more "PS2/XBOX" like than they are "Next Gen". For a golf game, that's not so bad... because the game is focusing on distance of view far more than the detail of every blade of grass. Still, on a HD TV, the game looks really good. It's better than last-gen graphics...to be fair, but not by that much. (Welcome to Wii hardware.)
However..
As is typical with all Wii games so far.... no online play. Nintendo better get its head out of its ass about online play and get those protocol's up and running ASAP...otherwise, the much ballyhooed "Wii Revolution" will lead to some seriously turned-off gamers.
Console game head to head online play was state of the art..... in 2002!!!! Nintendo is STILL 5 years behind that curb. Of course, I knew this going into the Tiger Woods purchase- so its not like I expected it. But Nintendo better do something fast, or the "Free pass" at not having online play they've been getting is about to expire.
Regardless...Tiger Woods 07 Wii is playing like a no-brainer recommendation for fans of golf... as well as anyone who toyed with the Golf Wii Sports cartoony tech demo that came with their system. TW07 takes that to a whole new realistic level, and gives you 18 courses, including Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, and the ocean course at Kiawah Island. 35 real-life pros are also in the game for competition on your virtual tour. (I'm sure there's also plenty of EA made fake pros in there to round out the tourneys too.)
Lots of game there.
But be warned- because of the Wii remote swing mechanics...this one takes much longer to get remotely competent than any previous golf game. You can't fake it here with a quick button finger and mathematical deftness at partial swing button timing calculations like all golf games in the past.
Its your swing....for better or worse.
That may intimidate some people, while it may excite others. Expect a review soon.
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