Video game review
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
Nintendo Wii
2 out of 5 stars
Golf is a frustrating sport to learn. So it’s no surprise that a golfing simulation requiring you to swing as precisely as a pro golfer will have you tearing your hair out.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for Nintendo’s Wii Console is exactly that game.
Unlike its brethren on other gaming platforms, Tiger on Wii allows the gamer to grasp the Wii remote like a golf club and emulate the real swing pattern of a golfer.
This has been done before, with great success, in Nintendo’s Wii Sports Golf – a free game that comes bundled with the console.
Wii Sports Golf was a no-brainer experience, leaving gamers to have fun with the simple yet effective swing controls.
Unfortunately Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 uses a different swing technique and the results are disastrous.
Instead of a simple yet challenging golf swing that is forgiving to non-golfers, I couldn’t help but notice that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 tries to be too realistic – and fails at it.
It is far too easy to hook or slice – just like real golf. It is awkward to properly gauge your swing’s power – just like real golf.
But the question is, are video gamers and their friends after real golf, or more so the feeling that they can play real golf?
It should be the latter, but Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 amputates the fun factor found in Wii Sports Golf’s swing, crippling the technique into an embarrassing action.
Options are available to make the swing more forgiving, or even to revert to traditional analogue stick controls.
But both are far too easy, leaving only the awkward and disheartening ‘normal’ mode as the sole challenging option.
What’s worse is that the ‘real’ swing doesn’t even translate properly into the game.
The game rigidly enforces keeping the Wiimote as straight as possible – to the point where it does not allow me to flex my wrists for long drives – strange when my golf pro taught me otherwise.
So to keep the shot straight I instead felt as though I was launching into a putting backswing up to shoulder height, almost snapping my wrists in an effort to keep the controller straight.
Strangely, pictures on the box and the title screen show Tiger Woods with the club wrapped around his left shoulder after a big follow-through.
Take that direction in the game, and you will be guaranteed to hook the shot every time, leading to frustration.
Furthermore, a buggy aiming circle that gets caught in real-world obstacles, washed out graphics that remain bordered on widescreen HDTVs, appalling commentary and repetitive crowd noises do not help Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07’s cause.
Where Wii Sports Golf made golf accessible and fun for all, Tiger Woods PGA Tour makes it frustrating, boring, and almost a total turn off from Nintendo’s motion sensitive console.
Golf aficionados may enjoy it – there are plenty of real world courses and players to choose from, and even the option to create your own avatar and take on the pros.
But with sub-par controls and an uninspiring visual and aural experience, most golfers will likely head to the non-virtual green for a more pleasant experience.
