Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Wii Motion Plus) Review

Golf video games hold a special place in my heart. They were one of the first sports games I ever played on the PC. My father needed something to pass the time during the winter when he couldn't play golf. Back then we had Mean 18 by Accolade. Then we got Links: The Challenge of Golf. The special thing about that was its putting grid to show breaks. Light years ahead of Mean 18, it was the standard of golf video games. But Accolade was not gonna be out done. They released the Jack Nicklaus series. Better in every way, Jack Nicklaus Golf & Course Design: Signature Edition is the best of the old style of golf games. But times change. As Jack Nicklaus was fading into the annals of history, a newcomer emerged to take his place. Tiger Woods was nothing short of amazing. With his unbelievable achievements came the big contracts. One of those contracts was from EA. The Tiger Woods PGA Tour Series has been the de facto standard for golf games really since its only real competitor, Links 2004 underwhelmed the consumers.


With this years Wii Motion Plus version. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 goes beyond what any golf game has ever accomplished. The controls are the most accurate and satisfying ever. I knew the Wii Motion Plus was working on the very first hole. My natural draw was instantly recognizable and I smiled because I was witnessing the future of video game golf. Now for younger kids or first time golfers EA has kept the ALL-PLAY control feature from last years game (Which makes the game play more like Mario Golf). With that said, I tell you now that after hooking up Wii Motion Plus to the Wii remote and playing a few rounds that I can NEVER go back to analog stick controls. Now that should be reason enough to recommend, but lets look at the rest of the packages beauty to see if it is only skin deep.

First of all this game is not beautiful. The lack of Hi-Def visuals is always a gripe the Wii games will have to deal with. (Note: If you have a standard definition T.V. you probably will not notice the lack of visual quality) But EA did something unique with its new Tennis game that I wished they would have done here. Make the golfers more cartoon inspired. I know some people would not like it but I feel the design would work well for the Wii. Also the announcers while serviceable defiantly are not of the same caliber as David Feherty and Gary McCord. These are not deal breakers by any means and the rest of the experience will makes you forget any petty issues you could have.

Lets talk courses. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for the Wii has 27. Since no one has the full list online I'll list them now. Banff Springs, Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Bethpage (Black Course), Cog Hill Golf & CC, Doral Golf Resort & Spa, East Lake Golf Club, Fancourt (Links Course), Firestone CC, Gary Player CC at Sun City, Harbour Town Golf Links, Hazeltine National GC, The K Club Golf Resort, Kiawah Island Golf, Oakmont CC, Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pinehurst No. 2, Riviera CC, Sheshan GC, St. Andrews Links, Torrey Pines GC, TPC Boston,TPC Sawgrass, TPC Scottsdale, Turnberry (Ailsa Course), Wentworth (West Course), Westchester CC, Wolf Creek GC. This is an impressive list (although I wish that EA would spend some money for Augusta so we could play The Masters). EA should be congratulated for squeezing so many onto the Wii disk. Also the single player experience is top notch with PGA Tour Season where you work your golfer up from Q-School to get his or her PGA Tour Card. After that you compete in tournaments Score good in these and your on your way to the FedEx Cup. Also available to you are the Tournament Challenges. These are events that that happened and you are trying to repeat them.



These come in 3 difficulties and you have to beat the hardest challenge to unlock certain courses. Other extras include Disk Golf which is a fun little addition for people who suck at golf. There is also a bunch of mini games you can try out. This is shaping up to be a huge package and if they stopped their innovation there we would have had an awesome experience on the Wii. But EA did us one better. For the first time we can have daily and weekly online tournaments. You can also play the Pros which is what I think is the coolest. So next week is the U.S. Open at Bethpage (Black), since that course is "in the game" you'll be able to play against the pros with the same conditions their dealing with. You post your scores online and at the end of the tournament you see how you compared to Tiger and the rest of the PGA. This is by far the coolest online feature and really adds to the replay value.

All said this is one of the most complete packages I have ever bought. The controls, the amount of content, and the online all come together to form a product that cannot be beat. Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the Wii (Wii Motion Plus Edition) is hands down the version to get. The lower res textures and questionable commentary are the only blight on this amazing product. What this game and the Wii Motion Plus does do for you is make you happy that your alive in a time where technology can achieve near perfect control and immerses the player like never before.