Ever since “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” was released on the Xbox, I’ve been an avid fan of the series.
The game seemed so revolutionary for the somewhat dead golf genre.
Being a golfer myself, I fell in love with the game immediately. Many a night I spent with friends improving my chip shot or perfecting my putting.
Furthermore, ever since the Nintendo Wii hit the market, I’ve been anticipating Tiger to hit the console.
That day’s finally arrived, and I got my hands on this once again revolutionary game.
Of course, the biggest draw to “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007” on the Wii is the controls.
Your Wii-mote is your woods, irons, wedges and putter, all rolled into one.
If you’ve ever played “Golf” on Wii Sports, you’ll feel right at home here.
Simply pull the Wii-mote back like a real golf club, then drive it forward.
And unlike real life, you’re almost always rewarded with that glorious clank when metal hits ball at the perfect angle.
However, the controls in Tiger are much deeper and more sensitive than “Golf” on Wii Sports.
Essentially, this is a double-edged sword.
When you first pick up “Tiger,” even with the control difficulty set on Normal (It can be turned up to Hard or Expert to fit your style of play), it could take you a few hours to get used to the control scheme.
On Expert I still have that nasty slice that haunts me in real life, so the movements are quite accurate.
Once you master the controls, however, pure golf pleasure ensues.
The motion controls aren’t flawless, though.
There’s been more than one instance that an eagle putt of mine turned into a birdie (or worse) from sketchy motion detection.
Thankfully, these glitches aren’t abundant, but they are nuisances.
This year’s “Tiger” includes many returning features loved by fans.
There’s a cornucopia of game modes and courses to choose from, including a single Wii-mote multiplayer.
Also, the Game Face player editor returns better than ever.
Every year, it gets more and more disturbing how realistic you can make a character that resembles you. This year’s no different.
Hours of fun can be had from just messing with this customization feature, making models of your friends (or foes alike), laughing the whole way through.
Of course, the downside of “Tiger” on the Wii is graphics.
The grass is a huge improvement over the Gamecube versions of “Tiger,” but other than that, not much has changed.
So, if you’re a graphics junky, you’ll be writhing in pain as you bear the sight of these monstrosities compared to the capabilities of the PS3 and Xbox 360.
I guess there has to be a tradeoff: innovative controls or graphics.
“Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007” is definitely a “must-have” for any dedicated Wii owner.
If you can put the patience needed into this game to learn the controls (much like putting patience into real golf) you’ll find hours upon hours of rewarding, revolutionary gameplay.
However, if you’re simply looking for an easy to pick up golf title, stick with “Golf” for Wii Sports.
Nintendo’s definitely going down the right path here and working out the kinks in their motion controls game by game.
Sure, it’s not perfect. But when it’s this fun, does it really have to be?
The bottom line: “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007” for the Nintendo Wii: 8/10.
Click below to see a walk-through of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007.