Swing!!!! And a Miss????
Sure. Let me reassure you. These genres will work wonderfully on the Wii. There is one small nagging problem though. The control itself. In Wii-Sports, the game that was supposed to unite gamers and non-gamers alike, I've watched countless people vow to never play again, because the controller did not respond to their swings. Or maybe it responded to their backwards swinging motions and registered it as a forward swing. All the while I would say to them in frustration, 'You just must be doing something wrong.' Turns out it wasn't always them.
Tiger Woods is afflicted with the same spotty control. Don't get me wrong, when you Grip it and Rip it, you do it in a fashionable style, that you've come to expect from the Tiger Woods franchise. So really when the control works, it works well. You can correct your slice or your hook with reasonable effort as you can in the real golf counterpart. The real problem is apparent when the game 'misfires'. Sometimes you swing only to watch nothing happen. Sometimes you swing only to watch your golfer stuck in the backswing. Still other times you watch the backswing complete and start a forward swing, only to have nothing happen at all. This is very frustrating. However the most annoying thing about this game is when you don't swing at all and yet your on screen golfer lets loose with usually a very poor swing. It will leave you screaming in frustration at the motion sensing abilities of the box we are slowly growing to love. The game isn't all bad. In fact there are a number of great features that could keep a person coming back for more. A decent handful of game modes let you play as your favourite golfer, create your own, have a quick pick up and play game, PGA tour Season mode and a few others. As well the ability to increase your stats, proving that you, as a golfer and the virtual you that you've created are getting better, has been a welcome addition to the games franchise for a few years now. While the game doesn't break any real new ground aside from the control, it doesn't particularly fall short either. Graphically the game is not as bad as most site reviews would have you believe. The editors and reviewers on these sites tend to have a steeper curve when it comes to graphics. How could they not? They live in a constant world where the best games are offered to them on a platter, usually months before any of us 'commonfolk' get to try them. Just keep in mind that the Wii has roughly twice the graphical power of the Gamecube and you'll appreciate it more. Also don't forget the system is still very much in it's infancy on the market. Developers, even the big 'N' themselves, haven't figured out how to take advantage of the Wii's inner workings to its full potential. Think about systems such as the Gamecube, PS2, Xbox. Some of the best looking titles came out in later years on those systems. Don't discredit the Wii yet on this topic. Wait for it...it'll happen. Please I beg the media to stop reviewing games based on 1080p or any other HD formats. There are still quite a few people who don't have HD. Maybe rate the graphics based on simply graphics, not how HD compatible they are.
Audio is decent on this title. Don't expect any groundbreaking effects or even tracks on the soundtrack that will wow you.There aren't any. But really it's a golf game. The actual game itself of golf, does not usually have a lot of background noise. Do yourself a favour if you want good music while playing, throw on a cd, an Ipod or maybe just sing yourself silly.
__________________________________________________________ THE BOTTOM LINE
Worthwhile: The control. When it works it works well. The varied modes will keep you coming back for more. Doesn't look as bad as other reviews may have you believe. Golfers themselves have a good variety of solid animations.
Happy Medium: The putting is not revolutionary, and can be pretty tough at times, but overall is decent.
Unworthy: The control. When it doesn't work, you'll want to walk away in shame. The audio is not great and sometimes the announcers are just plain annoying. Lack of online playability. When Nintendo When?
Should you buy this game: You should buy this game if you can be patient, have no other console option and are a fan of golf. Final Advice: Rent it.
Rating: 6 out of 10. **LeperMessiahXX9 hails from Eastern Canada and is a Financial Advisor. I his spare time he plays videogames on the one console he currently owns, his beloved Nintendo Wii. He also doesn not believe in giving ratings with a decimal, how can a game be .3 better than another game. He thinks it's silly.**