Original Wii golf game gets facelift and that’s about it…

As with every other Tiger Woods PGA tour title words like exciting, exhilarating, breath-taking and fun don’t spring to mind. It’s the same game with newer courses, younger professionals and a few extra features.

As I did do the review on Wii, I was expecting somewhat of a more enjoyable experience. I was sorely mistaken. Due to Wii’s lack of graphics processing the game looks quite horrible. PS1 would have given it a run for its money. It doesn’t look smooth and the green and the fairway look the same save the fairway being two tones of green. The golfers such as Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh can be identified but if they looked that bad in real life well then I hope their present or future spouses are the personality loving type.

Now I do realise harping on the graphics of the Wii is completely redundant as it was not designed to produce stellar images. So moving right into gameplay, the original Wii golfing game was simple to use and was on occasions enjoyable. This Tiger Wood’s PGA tour seems to use the same system with a few added aspects. Such as true view which is an over the ball view as you take your swing.

The ability to read fade or draw on the ball is useful when planning those precise shots. But it has the exact same feel as the Wii game.
Swing the remote as hard as you can and as long as you had aligned and chosen how the ball will be struck you just won’t go wrong. You can play sitting down, swinging backwards, on your knees and through your legs and all will achieve the same result, unless you change the settings to the most difficult.

It makes up just a tad with the family fun golf mode, which allows you and your family to play through a mini golf themed course. And another mode called “party mode”, no it really ain’t no party, allows you to play against your friends through a series of different holes from different courses.

For golfing enthusiasts this game really can be quite captivating, as you can choose your team for Ryder Cup or play as your favourite golfer or even rise from the bottom as yourself and take down the likes of Tiger.

With the hardest setting your swinging motion definitely determines your accuracy and distance. The realism is quite astonishing once you get the hang of playing on this difficulty setting. Besides the weight of the club and the impact against the ball your motion and swing height really do come into play.  These more realistic effects are where I can draw a distinction between this title and the Wii golf game, and of course the look of the menus and HUD whilst playing.

Tiger Woods PGA tour 11 definitely won’t be winning me over, and unless you have a family who are all golfing enthusiasts it won’t be winning you over either. However if you enjoy as close to realism as possible than this is a must have title. In the enthusiast’s case, the driving range is a mere 15 steps away from your bed.

Rating: 4/10

Josh “Swift” Sack
Gaming Editor

Related posts:

1. Review: FIFA 10 – It Makes 9-1 The Norm
2. Review: MAG – Massive Action Game… Seriously!
3. Review: Karaoke Revolution
4. Review: Microsoft’s Mass Effect