Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
Platform: Wii
If you do not own TW07 for Wii, though, and you are a fan of golfing, I couldn’t recommend TW08 more.
Review by Leonhart

It’s that time of the year again. EA Sports cranks out another edition of their yearly Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise, with hopes that their small amounts of improvements will warrant annual purchases.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (abbreviated to TW08 from here on) can be purchased for the DS, Mac, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, WII, and Xbox 360. While this review covers the Wii version of the game, the differences between the versions are minimal. The PS2, PSP, and Wii versions are identical graphically, with the Wii version featuring a motion sensitive control scheme. The Mac, PC, PS3, and 360 versions have significantly improved visuals over the other versions. The DS version is very different and would probably require a separate review.

As I said above, this review focuses on the Wii version of TW08. Basically, if you’ve played other golfing games on the Wii, you have at least a small idea of what to expect as far as motion controls. You swing the Wiimote as a club, with the speed of your swing determining the power of the swing in-game. Unlike the golf game in WiiSports, however, you are not limited to a specific amount of power you are able to unleash. In fact, outside of putting, there is no power meter at all. Those familiar with WiiSports might wonder how to hook the ball in TW08 if there is an absence of a power meter (which, in WiiSports, also determined the curve). Well, simply turn your wrists with your down-swing as you would in real life. It takes practice, but TW08 features an extensive tutorial the first time you boot the game up, explaining how to hit the ball effectively. Eventually you’ll be able to hook your ball at will, allowing you to successfully hit around trees and other obstacles.

But how does it feel to hit the ball? Very satisfying. The golfer on screen will mimic the position of the Wiimote quite well, and the satisfaction of hitting a ball is as authentic as real life. The Wiimote’s built-in speaker will also resound different thuds of your club hitting the ball depending on how hard you hit it, which adds to the golfing experience. Putting is excellent in TW08 compared to other golfing titles. WiiSports and even Super Swing Golf had pretty frustrating putting. TW08, however, features a very accurate putting game that, with practice, will have you sinking record-breaking putts within a few hours. Many review sites have complained that the putting grid is “useless” in TW08. I think that is nonsense. They simply have no idea how to read a green or the grid. After a few hours of practice I was able to sink my putts with ease after simply reading the grid for five seconds and lining up accordingly.

To help you learn to putt, TW08 not only features a mini-putt course where you can improve your grid-reading skills, but also allows you to practice your putt before actually performing it. By a simple press of a button, you can putt your ball without being charged a stroke. If it goes in, great… now replicate the shot. If it misses, then you know to readjust your aim. Some people may consider this as cheating, but it’s actually very nice for beginners who may be having a hard time learning how to line up. EA Games figured some gamers would abuse this system, so they added a meter to the putt preview that gradually decreases as you use it. If the meter runs out, you can no longer use the putt preview for the remainder of the course.

TW08 features a wide variety of courses (both real and fictional) and a very large roster of real-life pros and fictional golfers. The pro golfers look quite similar to their real-life counterparts and share many of the same gestures and antics, but they are kind of dull to play as. If you want some real emotion, pick a fictional character (or create your own; more on that in a bit). The fictional characters will be dancing, showing exaggerated displays of excitement or disbelief, and some will even break their club over their knee or throw it into the woods after a bad shot.

A common feature of the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games that makes a return is the in-depth character creation mode. Anyone who has used this mode in past Tiger Woods PGA Tour games knows how easy it is to make a very realistic looking (or horrifying) character. If you spend enough time, you can even make an almost exact copy of yourself. Nearly every physical feature can be edited. After that, you can buy attire for your character. These created characters can then be used in any game mode, but will initially be very weak. Using them through the game’s career mode will improve their stats significantly and make them a more suitable opponent to other golfers.

Tiger Woods’ games have always been known to include a lot of game modes, and TW08 is no different. Alongside the normal stroke and match play and career mode, there are many party gametypes, including entertaining target courses, TIGER (a variation of the classic game HORSE), and an assortment of stroke play modes that will have you hitting the same ball as your opponent, hitting multiple balls, or even hitting your opponents ball. There is well over 20 game modes so TW08 will entertain you for quite a long time.

Visually, the Wii version features graphics equal to (or perhaps a tad better than) a PS2 or GameCube game. The only downfall I noticed was the framerate often dips when there is a lot on screen, which sometimes makes hitting the ball bothersome because of noticeable lag. However, this doesn’t happen often and will probably be overlooked.

The audio is realistic enough. As I mentioned before, the Wiimote will play sounds to add to the depth of the playing field. Birds sound like birds; wind in the trees sounds like wind in the trees; hitting the ball sounds like hitting the ball. Pretty standard golf affair. The music is much improved over other EA Games titles. Gone are the repetitive emo songs. TW08 features mostly hip-hop and dance songs that surprisingly add to the mood of the game quite well. Only complaint I have in the sound department is the commentators (who fortunately can be turned off).

But for those of you who have played TW07 for the Wii: does TW08 feature enough improvements to warrant a purchase? Well, not really. It’s only been roughly six months since TW07 came out and the improvements are minimal. The putting game is fairly better, more real golf courses are featured, graphics are noticeable sharper, and the putt preview mode makes a debut… but that’s about it.

If you own TW07 for the Wii, I suggest waiting for the inevitable TW09. If you do not own TW07 for Wii, though, and you are a fan of golfing, I couldn’t recommend TW08 more. If you own TW07 for another next-gen console, the Wii’s control scheme adds a layer of fun that can only be experienced on Nintendo’s system so, in that case, TW08 is a worthy purchase.

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Lasting Appeal: 9/10

Final Score: 9/10