Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07

When I first learned that a free video game featuring five different sports would be included with a Wii console, I immediately blew it off as a mediocre promotion with a likely substandard game. However, once I purchased a Wii (a couple months ago), I was instantly hooked to the simplistic fun that is Wii Sports. In particular, Wii Golf felt the most natural with the controller in hand, gauging the proper direction and force of every swing. Now, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 is hoping to take the green jacket from Wii Golf, delivering an experience that mixes EA’s quality franchise with innovative game mechanics only the Wii can handle. The real question now is whether or not Tiger Woods 07’s offerings can justify a $49.99 price point considering the free alternative that is Wii Golf.

The first thing you must do before starting the main game is creating a character. Creating your own unique character by changing subtle face and body features works very well and features 2D grids for which to augment these advanced features. After changing how your character looks as a person, you can decide how they play as a golfer with a wide variety of swing-types. This really adds to the uniqueness of the character. When you start playing with your created character, you don’t have much to work with. You will need to gain skills by completing training mini-games like competing with other golfers for best shot and race-the-clock, where you must earn a certain amount of money for successful shots under a specified amount of time. Whatever mini-game you choose will affect the type of attribute that will increase. Playing putting contests will boost your short-game skills while long-distance competitions will boost your long-game skills. The game has also integrated a significant portion of gaining skills in tournament play. If you win a pro tourney, your attributes will also increase. There is also a range to practice distance shots. I highly recommend taking advantage of these practice ranges as well as the available tutorials to figure out how to swing and improve upon your game.

Swinging the golf club requires the use of the Wii Remote. Grasping it with both or one hand (one hand works best, interestingly enough) with the button-side facing you, you swing it just like you would a golf club. Depending on how fast you swing and the direction of your follow through (how you tilt the controller), the ball can do all sorts of things including fly high, draw, hook, slice, and fade. Just like most Wii games, Tiger Woods 07’s controllability is hit or miss. Simply put, I felt I had much less control over where the ball was going and how far it traveled as opposed to using a standard controller. Unlike a real golf simulator, you can’t swing normally and must match up your movement to Tigers. For example, there were a couple times I began a semi-fast backswing and Tiger would immediately launch the club on the ball. These small glitches can really do damage to your once low-scoring round. Generally, however, golf swings worked as they should. I recommend making use of the practice swing option (press the minus button) to get a feel for the controls. As any golfer knows, where your ball is on the course will affect how the ball travels. Playing from the fairway is a lot different than playing in the sand traps. The lie indicator determines the percentage of distance the ball would take under usually circumstances. This is important in deciding the right shot to swing because the automatic club and shot setup is not always the best choice. The button-smashing game mechanic introduced in the Xbox 360 version to add power to the golf shot is gone. Power is now dependent on the force you put in your swing. It must be said that the game does not require you to take a full, strong golf swing to get ideal power behind the ball. By quickly flicking your wrist, you can gain the necessary power. While this makes Tiger Woods 07 easier, it’s not realistic.

Once the ball is in flight, you can add spin to the ball by pressing the D pad in a particular direction while wiggling the controller. Although this becomes especially useful when the ball lands on the putting-green and spins closer to the whole, it is very unrealistic (manually controlling the golf ball in the air is something the professionals have yet to accomplish). The True-Aiming system is comprised of a large circle covering a sizeable portion of the green that can be adjusted depending on the type of club used and the directional pad. The Wii’s unique positioning functionality has also been integrated into aiming system. Using an on-screen hand, you can actually grab the large circle and place it where you want. Sadly, the whole thing is a bit unnecessary considering the directional pad works much better. This circle does not necessarily guarantee your ball will end up somewhere within the vicinity. You need to adjust for multiple factors including wind and environmental barriers (trees, bushes, etc). When putting, a large grid will appear over the green showing you how the level it is. You will need to adjust the direction of aim to account for changes in slope. On the Wii, putting is one of the easiest things to do mainly because you don’t have to backswing as much. Unfortunately, even though the sensor can usually pick up putt shots better than a full swing, there were still times when my character would hit the ball way before I had brought back the club. One of the real pains of the game is after taking a long shot or putt, the screen narrows indicating the ball will be perfectly placed. The suspense is short-lived in some instances, for example, when not only did your ball not land near the cup but you were so mesmerized by the wide-screen view that you forgot to add spin to the ball!

There are many PGA Tour pros available to play as or against besides Tiger Woods, including Vijay Singh, John Daly, and LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam. Each golfer looks and plays just like their real-life counterpart. Besides the pros, the developers have thrown in some wacky characters (35 players in total) to unlock including an old-timer named Pops Masterson and a linebacker-sized player named Big Mo. Tiger Challenge utilizes these characters early on in a competition to beat all the top golfers in the world and eventually Tiger Woods himself. Training your player is very important, so practice the different mini-games offered to gain attributes. As far as golf courses go, there are 18 locations including the famous Pebble Beach, St Andrews, Glen Abbey, and Firestone Country Club and a few fantasy courses, all of which look great and detailed.

The game features a variety of multiplayer modes and matches. These traditional games include the normal Stroke Play, Match Play, Alternate Shot, and Skins that we are all familiar with. In addition, the developers have included three of the new game modes released this year. Greensome is a two-on-two game where your team plays the best ball each swing. Bloodsome is another two-on-two game where your opponent chooses the ball you will use, most likely the worst shot available. Both of these game modes are dependent on having good teammates. There were numerous occasions I was stuck playing with a buddy who couldn’t make a straight shot if his life depended on it. Battle Golf is a two-player match where the player with the lowest shot count wins the whole … and then removes a club of his choosing from his opponent’s bag (or adds a removed club back into his own bag)! This is easily the most fun mode Tiger Woods 07 has to offer. Imagine a tee-shot on a par five and the best club you have is an 8 iron. It’s rare to be in such a position, but you get the point. There are also a few arcade games for those golfers that want to play a quick round. Skills 18 places levitating rings in the path of a fairway that players must aim for during the course of a particular hole to earn extra points. T-I-G-E-R, Target, and Target2Target are all variations of a game where you earn cash by placing the ball in a targeted zone on a golf green. The most challenging and frustrating of these is One Ball. Your opponent and you take turns shooting one ball to the cup. Ultimately, only one of you will get that hole. Strategy is the key in where to position your shot. Every shot, the player must hit the ball inside the “Circle of Trust” or risk “Betrayal” where he would lose his turn. This becomes a devastating blow if you get close to the hole giving your opponent two shots to make it. Unlike its console competition, the Wii’s version of Tiger Woods 07 offers no online multiplayer. Also, the ESPN features found on the other next-gen versions which included sports news from ESPN.com and listening to audio clips of ESPN radio are non-existent.

Besides lacking the tremendous graphical power of the Xbox 360 for high definition, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 offers the same quality character animation and likeness that EA is famous for. The game also supports 480p-widescreen resolution for maximum Wii picture quality. Although there was a surplus of “jaggies” and an obvious lack of spectators that really added to the realism of the Xbox 360 version, I’m glad facial expressions and the impressive character-creation tool are back. The sound is okay. It suffers from the less than stellar commentary performances by David Feherty and Gary McCord. They often give out their opinion of a shot before it’s even close to deciding how the ball will end up. If you think this is just expert analysis with just some kind of advanced forecasting, you will be shocked and confused when their comments are directly opposite of how the ball plays. Sometimes good shots get negative feedback while bad shots are met with positive remarks. Also, the crowd noises felt unnecessary considering there were no people on the course. The rest of the sound effects sounded very authentic including the ‘ping’ of the club on the ball and how the ball interacts with the environment (breaking through trees, landing in sand traps, et cetera). The soundtrack is a mixed bag, sometimes feeling spot on and sometimes feeling as if it belonged at a rave party.

If you are already a Tiger Woods PGA Tour fan, you will surely appreciate the unique translation on the Wii. Compared to Wii Golf, Tiger Woods 07 is a lot more user friendly. You can really sink your teeth into what this game has to offer. The kinks in controller functionality aren’t completely smooth and you may even get tired of standing for long periods of time. But if you are golf enthusiast and want more out of your experience, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 won’t leave you in the rough.

Gameplay: 8.2
Generally, the Wii is receptive in executing the swings you perform with the controller. There were times, however, the sensor inaccurately read where the controller was and prematurely launched the golf swing.

Graphics: 8.6
Although it doesn’t compete with its next-gen console competitor, Tiger Woods 07’s graphics offer a great deal of facial and body detail as well as fluid animation.

Sound: 7.0
The commentary work is pretty rough, but the sound effects are authentic (the game even makes use of the Wii remote’s speaker that ‘ping’s when the club hits the ball. The soundtrack also feels misplaced.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard

Concept: 9.0
Tiger Woods helped revive golf; Tiger Woods 2007 may just have done the same.

Multiplayer: 8.5
There are many new multiplayer modes to keep you and your buddies busy for hours despite a lack of online multiplayer. The best mode, in my opinion, is Battle Golf. Try it!

Overall: 8.3
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 for Wii has attempted to make the most realistic golf video game even more realistic with the console’s unique control functionality. There are a few glitches which can really do damage to your course performance. But there is so much added content for gamers to enjoy compared to Wii Golf, any golf enthusiast will appreciate what this game has to offer.