Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

For thousands of years, mankind’s most prolific thinkers have gone to task over the issue, their eyebrows wrinkled in perpetual thought and their hens exasperated by questioning. Each time an answer has seemed near, logic has prompted the rebuttal, “But if that’s so, from whence came the egg?”

Philosophers likely won’t concern themselves with the dilemma posed by iconic video-games developer Electronic Arts and their latest Tiger Woods game — they’ve been preoccupied with poultry for the last few millennia. But for gamers and Wii owners, in particular, Tiger’s spectacular controls and fantastic features advance a similarly ruminative philosophical debate.

Which is the real stunner, the game or the peripheral?

Sports games — particularly those from EA — have earned a nasty reputation in some circles for their annual sequels, most of which offer minimal change from their predecessors. In many cases, the yearly updates don’t seem like updates at all, but rather, they’re profitable rehashings of the same game.

Such is not the case with EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Shipped to retail this week, Tiger shines on Wii like he never has before, and it’s due in large part to Nintendo’s fantastic MotionPlus peripheral for the Wii Remote, a tiny plastic plug-in that dramatically increases the sensitivity of the controller.

Incidentally, the peripheral also makes Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 the most stunning, addictive and realistic golf game I’ve ever played on a console.

Yet the verdict isn’t quite as clear as it seems. For many Wii owners, Tiger will be their first experience with MotionPlus, and if they’re anything like me, they’ll be absolutely blown away, shocked by how responsive and realistic Tiger’s controls are. From slices to fades, it’s all there, and it’s incredible.

At some point within the countless hours I’ve spent with Tiger, however, I forced myself to drop the remote. Something wasn’t right. I swallowed my excitement over the game’s controls, an enthusiasm I hadn’t felt since Wii launched, and asked myself a question — am I blown away by the game or the peripheral? In a sobering moment, I realized I didn’t have an answer.

Luckily, I stumbled across a few philosophers who had given up on the egg and the chicken. They played several hours of Tiger in silence, inquisitively looking at the MotionPlus peripheral, before leaving me with a whisper. 

“Not so black and white is the world, my son. Greatness rests in both.”

Indeed, Tiger’s controls are nothing short of great. They’re the major story surrounding the game this year and, indeed, its biggest selling point. While Tiger offers multiple control options for players of varying skill, the game is truly at its best when played on advanced MotionPlus settings, when your swing in-game is literally a one-to-one replication of your actual motions.

For the first time with a Wii game, I felt my motions were being accurately represented on the screen. There is no power meter, arching line or grid-like target at which to aim — simply eye-up your shot and swing accordingly. The game calls this an “advanced” setting, but I found it much easier to play with these real-life controls than using the archaic meters and grids of so-called “easier” difficulties, functions typical of thumbstick-controlled golf games.

Want to hook your shot to the left? Twist your hands during your swing just as you would a real golf club. Need to really lay into your drive on a long par five? Just swing — the harder your stroke, the further your shot will soar. The game truly mimics reality for the first time on Wii, a symbolic shedding of esoteric gaming norms in favor of something better and, best of all, real. 

When friends ask how to play, five-minute explanations of the button layout won’t be necessary. A simple, eloquent “just swing” is more than enough.

Tiger shortens the gap between reality and simulation even further with real-time weather. Using current information from the Wii’s Forecast Channel, the game matches in-game weather to what is happening outside your window, a subtle and optional feature that makes the game even more immersive. 

EA could’ve stopped there, and they still would’ve created the most realistic golf game of all-time. To their credit, EA’s team went further, ensuring Tiger’s 2010 update is a unique product with enough features to separate it from its predecessors, avoid the “yearly rehash” label and justify a purchase. Along with the best motion controls on Wii, Tiger also features some of the most elaborate and innovative online modes Nintendo’s console has to offer. 

Speaking of reality, it actually lets you hit the links with Tiger. Sort of. 

A truly unique take on online gameplay, Tiger allows players to compete in real-time against professional golfers in real-life golf tournaments. Watching the Masters Tournament, for example, a player could instead load Tiger and play in the tournament as it is simulated in the game, with results streaming in at a slight delay. If Woods shoots a birdie on the second hole at Augusta, he’ll do it in the game, as well, and you’ll be tasked with keeping up. 

Another of several obvious innovations, this mode highlights a common theme each of Tiger’s breakthroughs shares — from controls to incorporating PGA tournaments, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 was deliberately and carefully crafted to be the most realistic, detailed and immersive golf game possible, and each of these features plays a role in the execution of that vision.

You could think of Tiger as a delicious cake painstakingly crafted with layers of delectable goodness, but remember, we still haven’t applied the icing.

Proving one can never have too much of a good thing, EA added another new gameplay mode exclusive to the Wii version of Tiger. Believe it or not, it’s even more addictive and fun than the actual golfing experience, and it shows off the impressive technology of MotionPlus more effectively than does the main game mode. It doesn’t require golf bags or clubs, either.

In fact, all you need is a frisbee.

A supplement to the golf modes, the so-called Disc Golf may steal the show for some gamers. After picking up a plastic frisbee by pointing at the screen and pressing the B button, the objective is to toss the disc across the course and into a basket. It plays similarly to golf — each course has a par, and the game can actually be played on each of Tiger’s 27 real-life golf courses.

It’s a simple concept, but don’t mistake its simplicity for a drawback. The game plays beautifully thanks to MotionPlus, reading your frisbee-tossing gestures as realistically as it does your slice. The controls themselves feel remarkably realistic, requiring you to throw by gesturing a toss with the remote and releasing the B button just as you would a real frisbee.

It feels fantastic, and watching your on-screen hand match with precision your hand’s actual movements is extremely impressive. More than simply hot-shot technology, however, it translates to truly astonishing gameplay.

That’s the most important thing, and Tiger boasts it in spades.

Of course, when they weren’t changing the world, EA’s team included just about everything a fan would expect from the Tiger Woods series. The main My Career mode is as deep and detailed as ever, a personalized endeavor through the ranks of professional golf and some of its most recognizable faces and places. Play Now allows less ambitious golfers to get onto the course without delay, and Golf Party features more than ten minigames designed for raucous multiplayer breaks from the silence of actual golf. 

If playing online is your thing, EA has you covered with its own slick network that allows for smooth connections against friends without 87-digit codes.

As incredible as the game can be, Tiger still isn’t a hole-in-one. For all the effort EA clearly put into making the Wii version of Tiger the best across all platforms, the developer could’ve perhaps focused a bit more on the visual side of things — it plays better on Wii than any other console, but it looks no different than something you’d see on the nine-year-old PlayStation 2.

Once you start playing, though, it really won’t matter.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which is the real stunner, the game or the peripheral? I couldn’t get a definitive response from the robed philosophers before they walked away, and unfortunately, I only got a C+ in Philosophy 101 in college. I can’t speak to the intricacies of the prior, but in regard to the latter, one thing is abundantly clear after hours on the links.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 is the best golf game ever made. 

Would this be the case without MotionPlus? Perhaps, though the impact would certainly be lessened. But speculation is irrelevant at this point. The era of MotionPlus has arrived, and if the result is going to be innovation of such a staggering level even in a gaming genre as boring and stale as golf simulation, I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Wii owners.

When they’re not debating poultry, neither can the philosophers.

Gameplay: 9.0
EA has set the bar for golf games and, for that matter, all Wii games moving forward. There has never been a Wii game with such incredibly realistic and responsive control, and it marks a fitting beginning to the MotionPlus era.

Graphics: 6.5
Well, my mother always said it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Sound: 6.5
As with most EA Sports games, the music is painfully generic. During the game, the sound is about as exciting as absolute dead silence can be.

Difficulty: Medium
The controls are an absolute dream, and you’ll need that level of control if you want to trim strokes from your score. The courses can be challenging.

Concept: 7.5
If having Tiger Woods’ dominance-sweating face on the cover doesn’t entice you, what’s inside the package should have you reaching for your wallet.

Overall: 8.5
Across the game’s several innovative features, a common thread ensures Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10’s status as a landmark Wii title — from stunningly accurate motion controls to allowing players to compete with the pros, this game was made to be the most immersive golf game of all-time. And it is.