Which came first, the chicken or the
egg?
For thousands of years, mankind’s
most prolific thinkers have gone to task over the issue, their eyebrows wrinkled
in perpetual thought and their hens exasperated by questioning. Each time an
answer has seemed near, logic has prompted the rebuttal, “But if that’s so, from
whence came the egg?”
Philosophers likely won’t concern
themselves with the dilemma posed by iconic video-games developer Electronic
Arts and their latest Tiger Woods game — they’ve been preoccupied with poultry
for the last few millennia. But for gamers and Wii owners, in particular,
Tiger’s spectacular controls and fantastic features advance a similarly
ruminative philosophical debate.
Which is the real stunner, the game
or the peripheral?
Sports games — particularly those
from EA — have earned a nasty reputation in some circles for their annual
sequels, most of which offer minimal change from their predecessors. In many
cases, the yearly updates don’t seem like updates at all, but rather, they’re
profitable rehashings of the same game.
Such is not the case with EA’s Tiger
Woods PGA Tour 10. Shipped to retail this week, Tiger shines on Wii like he
never has before, and it’s due in large part to Nintendo’s fantastic MotionPlus
peripheral for the Wii Remote, a tiny plastic plug-in that dramatically
increases the sensitivity of the controller.
Incidentally, the peripheral also
makes Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 the most stunning, addictive and realistic golf
game I’ve ever played on a console.
Yet the verdict isn’t quite as clear
as it seems. For many Wii owners, Tiger will be their first experience with
MotionPlus, and if they’re anything like me, they’ll be absolutely blown away,
shocked by how responsive and realistic Tiger’s controls are. From slices to
fades, it’s all there, and it’s incredible.
At some point within the countless
hours I’ve spent with Tiger, however, I forced myself to drop the remote.
Something wasn’t right. I swallowed my excitement over the game’s controls, an
enthusiasm I hadn’t felt since Wii launched, and asked myself a question — am I
blown away by the game or the peripheral? In a sobering moment, I realized I
didn’t have an answer.
Luckily, I stumbled across a few
philosophers who had given up on the egg and the chicken. They played several
hours of Tiger in silence, inquisitively looking at the MotionPlus peripheral,
before leaving me with a whisper.
“Not so black and white is the
world, my son. Greatness rests in both.”
Indeed, Tiger’s
controls are nothing short of great. They’re the major story surrounding the
game this year and, indeed, its biggest selling point. While Tiger offers
multiple control options for players of varying skill, the game is truly at its
best when played on advanced MotionPlus settings, when your swing in-game is
literally a one-to-one replication of your actual motions.
For the first
time with a Wii game, I felt my motions were being accurately represented on the
screen. There is no power meter, arching line or grid-like target at which to
aim — simply eye-up your shot and swing accordingly. The game calls this an
“advanced” setting, but I found it much easier to play with these real-life
controls than using the archaic meters and grids of so-called “easier”
difficulties, functions typical of thumbstick-controlled golf games.
Want to hook
your shot to the left? Twist your hands during your swing just as you would a
real golf club. Need to really lay into your drive on a long par five? Just
swing — the harder your stroke, the further your shot will soar. The game truly
mimics reality for the first time on Wii, a symbolic shedding of esoteric gaming
norms in favor of something better and, best of all, real.
When friends ask
how to play, five-minute explanations of the button layout won’t be necessary. A
simple, eloquent “just swing” is more than enough.
Tiger shortens
the gap between reality and simulation even further with real-time weather.
Using current information from the Wii’s Forecast Channel, the game matches
in-game weather to what is happening outside your window, a subtle and optional
feature that makes the game even more immersive.
EA could’ve
stopped there, and they still would’ve created the most realistic golf game of
all-time. To their credit, EA’s team went further, ensuring Tiger’s 2010 update
is a unique product with enough features to separate it from its predecessors,
avoid the “yearly rehash” label and justify a purchase. Along with the best
motion controls on Wii, Tiger also features some of the most elaborate and
innovative online modes Nintendo’s console has to offer.
Speaking of
reality, it actually lets you hit the links with Tiger. Sort of.
A truly unique
take on online gameplay, Tiger allows players to compete in real-time against
professional golfers in real-life golf tournaments. Watching the Masters
Tournament, for example, a player could instead load Tiger and play in the
tournament as it is simulated in the game, with results streaming in at a slight
delay. If Woods shoots a birdie on the second hole at Augusta, he’ll do it in
the game, as well, and you’ll be tasked with keeping up.
Another of
several obvious innovations, this mode highlights a common theme each of Tiger’s
breakthroughs shares — from controls to incorporating PGA tournaments, Tiger
Woods PGA Tour 10 was deliberately and carefully crafted to be the most
realistic, detailed and immersive golf game possible, and each of these features
plays a role in the execution of that vision.
You could think
of Tiger as a delicious cake painstakingly crafted with layers of delectable
goodness, but remember, we still haven’t applied the icing.
Proving one can
never have too much of a good thing, EA added another new gameplay mode
exclusive to the Wii version of Tiger. Believe it or not, it’s even more
addictive and fun than the actual golfing experience, and it shows off the
impressive technology of MotionPlus more effectively than does the main game
mode. It doesn’t require golf bags or clubs, either.
In fact, all you
need is a frisbee.
A supplement to
the golf modes, the so-called Disc Golf may steal the show for some gamers.
After picking up a plastic frisbee by pointing at the screen and pressing the B
button, the objective is to toss the disc across the course and into a basket.
It plays similarly to golf — each course has a par, and the game can actually be
played on each of Tiger’s 27 real-life golf courses.
It’s a simple
concept, but don’t mistake its simplicity for a drawback. The game plays
beautifully thanks to MotionPlus, reading your frisbee-tossing gestures as
realistically as it does your slice. The controls themselves feel remarkably
realistic, requiring you to throw by gesturing a toss with the remote and
releasing the B button just as you would a real frisbee.
It feels
fantastic, and watching your on-screen hand match with precision your hand’s
actual movements is extremely impressive. More than simply hot-shot technology,
however, it translates to truly astonishing gameplay.
That’s the most
important thing, and Tiger boasts it in spades.
Of course, when
they weren’t changing the world, EA’s team included just about everything a fan
would expect from the Tiger Woods series. The main My Career mode is as deep and
detailed as ever, a personalized endeavor through the ranks of professional golf
and some of its most recognizable faces and places. Play Now allows less
ambitious golfers to get onto the course without delay, and Golf Party features
more than ten minigames designed for raucous multiplayer breaks from the silence
of actual golf.
If playing
online is your thing, EA has you covered with its own slick network that allows
for smooth connections against friends without 87-digit codes.
As incredible as
the game can be, Tiger still isn’t a hole-in-one. For all the effort EA clearly
put into making the Wii version of Tiger the best across all platforms, the
developer could’ve perhaps focused a bit more on the visual side of things — it
plays better on Wii than any other console, but it looks no different than
something you’d see on the nine-year-old PlayStation 2.
Once you start
playing, though, it really won’t matter.
Which came
first, the chicken or the egg? Which is the real stunner, the game or the
peripheral? I couldn’t get a definitive response from the robed philosophers
before they walked away, and unfortunately, I only got a C+ in Philosophy 101 in
college. I can’t speak to the intricacies of the prior, but in regard to the
latter, one thing is abundantly clear after hours on the links.
Tiger Woods PGA
Tour 10 is the best golf game ever made.
Would this be
the case without MotionPlus? Perhaps, though the impact would certainly be
lessened. But speculation is irrelevant at this point. The era of MotionPlus has
arrived, and if the result is going to be innovation of such a staggering level
even in a gaming genre as boring and stale as golf simulation, I cannot wait to
see what the future holds for Wii owners.
When they’re not
debating poultry, neither can the philosophers.
Gameplay: 9.0
EA has set the
bar for golf games and, for that matter, all Wii games moving forward. There has
never been a Wii game with such incredibly realistic and responsive control, and
it marks a fitting beginning to the MotionPlus era.
Graphics: 6.5
Well, my mother
always said it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Sound: 6.5
As with most EA
Sports games, the music is painfully generic. During the game, the sound is
about as exciting as absolute dead silence can be.
Difficulty:
Medium
The controls are
an absolute dream, and you’ll need that level of control if you want to trim
strokes from your score. The courses can be challenging.
Concept: 7.5
If having Tiger
Woods’ dominance-sweating face on the cover doesn’t entice you, what’s inside
the package should have you reaching for your wallet.
Overall: 8.5
Across the
game’s several innovative features, a common thread ensures Tiger Woods PGA Tour
10’s status as a landmark Wii title — from stunningly accurate motion controls to
allowing players to compete with the pros, this game was made to be the most
immersive golf game of all-time. And it is.
