Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 review

Sept 5, 2007

Anyone who's ever dragged a bag of clubs around a golf course in pursuit of a small, white ball knows how frustrating the game can be. Unless you're one of the few hundred people in the world who are actually good at the game, nothing humbles you like those eighteen holes. However, there's something incredibly wonderful that moment when, for whatever reason, everything clicks and you smash a perfect shot. You may send the ball all over the place the rest of the day, but that one fleeting moment of glory will bring you back another time.

In many ways, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 for the Wii feels the same way. Sure, you'll invent some terribly foul new curses when things don't go your way, become convinced that the gods are out to get you, and wonder just why you ever started playing the game in the first place. And then, as soon as your round is over, you'll start another one lickety split. Despite loads of frustrating moments, you won't be able to tear yourself away.

Naturally, the Wii motion controller is used as the virtual golf club as you pursue a career on the links (more traditional control settings are available too, but if that's your thing, you're better off playing on one of the other consoles). Most of the time it read our swings well, including nifty draw or fade twists that you can execute on the downswing. Our putting also came together quite nicely after a few disastrous hours learning the nuances. You'll need to learn to go very easy on the greens, as more than the slightest backswing will send your ball scurrying well past the hole. It does become easier, though, and ultimately we enjoyed it more than any other part of the game.

However, there will be times when you'll swear that the Wii remote has a mind of its own. On numerous occasions, it either failed to read our downswing at all, or went ahead and putted for us even though we barely had started our stroke. When it works, it works well, but if all the kinks had been worked out, we wouldn't have embarrassed ourselves so badly in front of our television sets.