I (Heart) Tiger Woods PGA ‘07 on Wii
Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 5:47am by Staff
Note: I haven’t been interested in EA’s Tiger Woods in a long time. I’ve played it over the years at friends house, but never really enjoyed it in favor of arcade style golf games (Mario Golf, Hot Shots, etc). That said, Tiger Woods PGA ‘07 for Wii is a great game. It’s a 9 in my book. Easy. And I don’t even care for golf games or playing the sport all that much in real life. Hitting shots feels so good on this, and it does a great job building suspense on your close shots. I’ve played with a few friends and all of us were shouting aloud after hitting eagles, long birdies, even a hole in one. The game is far from perfect, but the fun level, the depth, and what initially appears to be a very lasting experience with lots to learn, this is a no brainer for most. I don’t care if I every play another golf game on a traditional controller again. It’s that good. Though a bit too complex for non-gamers (menus, settings, etc), this is a great gamer game. Nice job, EA. (Though we need to talk about some of these minor glitches, i.e. NES-like deer graphics, funkie hole camera angles, and slight controller hiccups once in a while…)
March 16th, 2007 at 6:18 am
Yeah, I just got it… I had been waiting for this game to come out on Wii since it was announced. It is also my first “real” golf console game, Tiger Woods or otherwise.
I must say, as far as gameplay goes, I don’t see any other way to play golf on a console. Far deeper gameplay than Wii Sports Golf (of course!), and far more realistic than Super Swing Golf (another “oc” there).
Having said that, the big flaw I see are the graphics… The golfers avatars look nice enough, especially when you put the time into making your own avatar to look like you, which is no easy task with the touchy controls in the custom player section. But the environments, man, EA could have put a little more effort there. I know that Wii graphics are supposed to be on the lower end of this generation, but this is clearly a case where the publisher thought that Wii owners don’t care about graphics at all! Well, we care a little… The environment graphics in PGA ‘07 for Wii are sub-GameCube graphics. You can tell especially in the water, where even Pikmin and definitely Wii Sports do a much better job. Same thing with the trees and grass.
Other than that, the sound is pretty realistic and immersive (for golf), and like Blake mentioned, the controls are top-notch. There is no way you can go back to a double-joystick controller after you give this one a try!
March 16th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Cheers guys. That’s convinced me to go and get it after initially being on the fence from the reviews I’ve seen.
Looks like I will finally have to wrestle Excite Truck from my Wii’s disc drive - Hope the eject button still works!
March 16th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
first madden, now tiger — i can’t remember the number of times i’ve heard someone say ‘i never imagined i’d be playing (sports title) but the wii controls convinced me. that’s great news bc it means if momentum holds the games–and audience size–can only get greater.
March 16th, 2007 at 1:12 pm
Am having basically the opposite experience with this game, the control issues I constantly experience render it basically unplayable.
After playing for a few hours I finally managed to get my slice under control (however I don’t think most players are going to want to have that much patience) but there’s still a HUGE backswing issue. I’d say a good 1/3 of the time I swing, the remote swings forward before I’m even halfway through my backswing; from what I’m reading on reviews and other forums, a ton of people have this same issue. I’ve read tons of tips, watched the video reviews and tried everything imaginable and still cannot get this to behave in a reliable manner. It’s also tough to get used to the fact that it doesn’t replicate one-to-one movement like WiiSports does, considering the technology is clearly available this just feels like a step backwards.
Putting is also WORSE than WiiSports, by a large margin. The overall control issues are compounded by the fact that this is golf, a game of patience (I can only imagine the frustration of playing a great round only to have the controls screw up on the 17th hole). I have two golf games I enjoy more than this (WiiSports and True Swing for the DS) so sadly Tiger’s going back to the store it came from.
March 16th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
jonkendall,
Have you tried a slower backswing? I’ve found that solves almost 99% of those pesky early swings. Yeah, 1% sucks, but the other 99% just feels so good.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
While the putting in PGA Tour is more difficult than in Wii Sports golf, it is easier than in Super Swing Golf… Overall, it feels more realistic.
It did take me a little time to get my backswing right, but a lot less time than it took me to, say, learning how to pull off Uber tricks in SSX Blur.
I would say this game is good for those who want a more immersive golf video game experience, but it is not for the casual gamer…
March 16th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Ubertricks are hard? no way man. My little sister was pulling them a couple hours after buying it. And this might THE GOLF GAME everyone should get.
I’m starting to like EA again.
March 16th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
So, with all the discrepancy in the opinions about Tiger Woods PGA Tour on Wii, I got curious and went over to Metacritic to check what the professional reviewers had to say about it. The diversity of opinions there was even more confounding:
GameZone: “Compared to Wii Golf, Tiger Woods 07 is a lot more user friendly.”
Games Radar: “it’s nothing short of a tragedy that it doesn’t live up, both visually and in approach, to what came packed in with the Wii at no charge.”
GameSpot: “Tiger Woods 07’s excellent use of the Wii’s motion-sensing abilities makes it a worthwhile purchase for anyone looking to hit the links on the Wii.”
NGamer UK: “No matter how well-crafted these features are, they all boil down to gameplay based on a swinging club - the one thing the game can’t do.”
What’s going on here?? How can these opinions all be about the same game??
I guess liking this game is a matter of personal experience: either you “get it”, or you don’t…