Tiger Woods 10 Hands On [Wii]

23 Apr 2009 at 17:17:15 by

EA's Tiger Woods games have been around for almost a decade.  There's no denying the man himself made golf cool, challenging the stuffy attitude of golf clubs around the world, but the videogame franchise has achieved just as big a feat becoming one of the most successful sport games of all time.

But the pioneering Wii version, released in 2007, fell short of expectations, with the control system feeling clunky, clubs with no real weight and the putting experience a nightmare, even though this was the best feature of the game!  And last year's version was not much better.  Apart from a few tweaks to gameplay options the game controls felt unresponsive and unrealistic.  This, of course, is no fault of EA, but rather the fault of the Wii's control system - a control system that promised so much (like proper lightsaber fights) but has always been short at the delivery stage.  It's a shame because, given the potential of the controller, games on the Wii soon lose their appeal with the control system being the major bugbear for players which ultimately leads to a game just sitting gathering dust.  Tiger Woods on the Wii is no exception, and if you've played the game you'll know that swinging a golf club in the Wii world of Tiger was never much fun.  Somewhat problematic for a videogame.

But things are a-changing for the Wii, and the introduction of Wii MotionPlus means all those frustrating draw and fade moments are eliminated.  No, really, they are.  And the Wii MotionPlus doesn't just resolve the issue of draw and fade, but also includes that all important z-axis which has been missing from the Wiimote since its launch.  Instead of twisting your arms, legs and body to try to get that perfect hit, the twist of a wrist will now suffice, changing your straight shot to a slice or complete clusterf*ck, a thing of ease.  More importantly, the Wii MotionPlus is consistent, and it works, adding that dimension of realism which had been sorely lacking.

And realism is what the Wii version seems to be aiming for as you can only hit the ball with 100 per cent power.  No, there is no boost for your shots.  I'm not so sure that I like the decision to drop the power boost, but if it's for the sake of realism, then I'm happy to do without it.  And frankly, after a while, I didn't even notice.

The game itself has seen a little bit of a makeover too, with the user interface revamped, a new live scoring update system which keeps you informed of other players' shots, crowds which are supposed to enhance the atmosphere of the game, and the real-time weather system which utilises the Wii's Forecast Channel, giving you real weather on the course you're playing at.  I've decided that I'll never play at St. Andrews again.

But it's not just about the weather and the crowds that are supposed to give you a better sense of realism in the Tiger world, it's all about the swings and what the Wii MotionPlus brings to the streamlined putting experience.  It's not different, but now you have a gauge in the bottom left hand side of the screen which indicates the precision of your shot.  To help you, you have only one chance to have a look at the birds-eye view of the green to help calculate the path the ball will eventually take.  But the swing is where all the fun is, you can actually follow through, as you do in real-life golf, to give the ball that little more oomph; or you can punch the ball, or you can just simply swing like a maniac.  Either way the Wii MotionPlus responds, depending on the speed, location and movement of the Wiimote.

Of course all the previous multiplayer options are available, but there has been an addition to this iteration in the shape of a Frisbee type game, where you can play the whole game with "discs" as the developers like to call it.

The good news for anyone that wants to get their hands on Wii MotionPlus is that there will be a bundle for Tiger Woods '10.  My suggestion: get it.

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