Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07

"Seems broken at first, but give it a chance!"

This game promises a new, innovative and fun way to play EA Sports' golf game franchise, Tiger Woods. But does it deliver on this promise?

Have you ever met someone that you didn't like at first? Somehow you "got off on the wrong foot" with them, but you soon grew to realise that they were actually OK and you ended up liking them a lot? Well, this game is like that! While initially seeming cold and unfriendly, this game will grow on you until, like a dear, old friend, you will love it while being able to fondly laugh at its imperfections.

GRAPHICS: 8 - Well, the graphics look pretty good to me (but as the first golf game I ever played was Spectrum Golf, I'm perhaps easily impressed). The fairways and greens aren't as bright and garish as in Wii Sports Golf, but as a result they look more realistic and each course's grass varies in colour as no doubt it does in real-life. The golfers move fairly realistically and there is a good amount of facial detail and movement. It's not all good though - some of the graphics are laughably bad. Still bodies of water look a bit flat and lifeless, thistles appear to pop up out of nowhere as the camera pans over the course and trees seem to waggle in the breeze instead of bending gracefully. Birds, deer and some of the vegetation appear to have been stolen from a SNES game and the hippos are hilariously badly animated. But these things make me laugh and add to the enjoyment of the game, rather than detracting from it. The only real problem I have with the graphics is that the numbers 6 and 8 are quite hard to distinguish between, which can make for unfortunate club selection if you're not paying attention. Perhaps the graphics could have been more polished, but overall they are fine.

SOUNDS: 9 - I include music and commentary/sound effects in this category. Music first - personally I really like the music in this game - it's dance orientated with different genres represented. There's a bit of chill-out, some house, break-beat, what you might call trip-hop and other tunes that I couldn't even begin to classify. If a song truly disgusts you, there are sound options where you can turn off any offending tracks.

I find the commentary to be mildly amusing at worst and hilarious at best. At first it might seem somewhat repetitive, but after you've been playing for a while you'll hear random bursts of insanity from the commentators which I find very funny. But humour is subjective, so you may not find it amusing at all. There are some comical sound effects too, from flushing toilets to someone doing a Tarzan cry just as you're about to putt. Some sound effects are disconcertingly real - I often find myself wishing that the airplane overhead would go away or that the blasted woodpecker would finish pecking his hole, only to realise that they're in-game sounds. A satisfying "thwack" sound emanates from the remote when you hit the ball and the ball makes a nice thud as it hits the fairway.

The only sound effect that could grate on one's nerves is the crowd. They seem to be a little over-the-top most of the time. They're usually ecstatic, even after a mediocre effort, although if you play badly, they will boo you as you're about to hit your tee-shot - how encouraging! This is the only thing that stops this category getting a 10.

CONTROLS: 8 - The user interface is horribly confusing and counter-intuitive. I'm not sure if it was designed with non-gamers in mind, but gamers who know what a menu/interface should look like will know that it shouldn't be like this. Customising your golfer's appearance is a tortuous experience - click the wrong button by mistake and you're done for. And don't expect any help from the manual - I thought three-quarters of my manual was missing when I opened the game, but no, that's it. You will finally get the hang of the menu and customisation screens, but until then, be prepared for much gnashing of teeth and don't use the pointer unless you have to, but simply use the directional buttons.

Once you have passed the trial of creating your golfer, the game's controls proper come into the equation. This is where you will think the game is broken, rubbish etc., but only at first. Putts will mysteriously take off mid-swing, the ball that appeared it would travel at 110% during all your practice shots will inexplicably only travel 77% and land in the water when you actually go to hit it. You will think "I hate this game! It's so glitched!" However, invest some time and effort in the game and as you get better, you will notice these things happening less and less and on the odd occasion that it happens, 9 times out of 10 you'll know that your finger slipped off the B button slightly, or that you put an extra movement somewhere in your swing. What I'm trying to say is that the game isn't as glitched as some people would have you believe.

That's not to say that there aren't some real glitches - I've had trouble on the green a few times where despite being on for a putt, the game refuses to recognise that I'm on the green and displays a yardage distance instead of feet and inches and still shows the flagstick in the hole. I've had slow-down on the greens which have ruined a putt. A more comical glitch is that the occasional chip-in shows as being Out of Bounds and the crowd groans (it makes a welcome change from the usual hysteria that accompanies such a shot though). But these glitches are a rare occurrence.

Swinging the Wii-mote to hit the ball is a real joy. There is an option to use a nunchuck and remote button combination for a more "traditional" experience, but hey folks, that's not why we bought a Wii is it? As with any game, you might be a bit rubbish at first, but stick with it and soon swinging will become second nature. There are plenty of difficulty settings for both the courses and the controls. You can choose to only hit the ball straight every time or increase the difficulty to allow the ball to be hooked or sliced.

FEATURES: 10 - There's a lot to do in this game. You can play a 5 year PGA season, there are Tiger Challenges that will give you vital experience points to spend on increasing your golfer's stats and an abundance of multi-player games. You can customise your golfer's clothes, jewellery, clubs and balls and tinker with their face and body. There are trophy balls to be won and you'll always be trying to beat your own records.

OVERALL: Scratch the surface and underneath is a solid game with eons of longevity and oodles of fun - my personal rating is 10/10, but 8/10 is a more objective score and takes into account the glitches, the messy interface and the fact that there is only space for 4 profiles on the Wii's memory.

RENT OR BUY? Rent if you're still unsure, but be aware that you might not like it at first, so maybe a few nights' rental would be better to really help you decide? If you are able to overcome the game's initial feeling of frustration and difficulty you should definitely buy it - it'll keep you occupied for months.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/07