Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 Review

Better Than Most

By	DSpydr84
Genre	Sports
Players	1-4 (Online: 2-4)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
ESRB	E

TW:10 is loaded with game modes and goodies to keep you occupied for hours, with 12 different golf games that can play on 16 different courses (and currently one additional course that is available for download). For the math guys out there, that's 204 ways to play, and we haven't even scratched the surface!

There is also eight mini-games that you can partake in, ranging from target practice to longest drive competitions.

If your friends aren't available to stop by for a round (or if you don't have any), you can always take any of the above mentioned game modes online and compete with up to 3 other players on the world wide web to boost up your virtual macho-ness.

But that's not all the online mode has to offer. You can also compete in daily/weekly tournaments against people from around the globe and even win prizes. The odds of winning such a tournament is tremendous, considering the amount of golfers in the playing field, but it's always fun to see where your score ranks among the world's elite.

You can also "Play-The-Pros", which puts you in the course the PGA Tour players are competing at for the current week, with live weather conditions and accurate scoring. If Tiger makes a birdie on 16 in the pouring rain, that score and weather will be reflected in the tournament. This is a pretty cool feature that gives you the chance to play in tournament golf without actually being athletic.

Even with all of this, however, you'll still find most of your playing time coming from the bread and butter of the game: Career Mode.

This is where you'll create a golfer from scratch, controlling the way he looks to the way he swings, and work your way up the leaderboards and into the number one position.

The game's schedule is in conjunction with the PGA's schedule, and after each round you'll get an opportunity to build your dynamic attributes with private lessons from Hank Haney, Tiger Woods' swing coach.

He gives you incredible advice, such as "hit the ball here" and "do it again". The lessons can be a bit of a drag, and with the dynamic ratings system, they are practically mandatory.

Your skill level will fluctuate based on your previous performance, but in most cases, it will seem unfairly judged on why your attributes were changed. There are situations in a golf game that require certain shots, and the game does not take these instances into account when tinkering with your skill level.

Meaning, that hole that forced you to lay up on the drive and use your 3-wood instead of the big stick just costed you a few points on your distance rating.

That time you knew you couldn't stick the pin so you went for the side of the green to avoid the bunker just knocked your accuracy down a few notches. It's a shame that these intelligent plays are actually being punished by the game, but that's just how the ball bounces.

But as the famous saying goes: it's not about what you have, it's about what you do with what you have. And all these game modes really wouldn't mean much if the gameplay itself wasn't something to brag about.

Thankfully, TW:10 saves par in that department as well.

Every aspect of the golf game is covered and at your disposal with the controller. Every draw or fade, every loft or punch, every club, every shot, every putt. The new precision putter is an awesome feature that makes putting even more challenging and realistic than it ever was before.

The club tuner will get you playing with a set of metals that are perfect for your game, and the spectators (although generally lifeless) bring some excitement to the course, although they could use a little cleaning up.

It would be awesome to have grand-stands, and have the audience really get excited over a huge putt or chip-in. I've had two or three chip-ins already that got mediocre reactions from the crowd at best.

The spice of the game is the swing, controlled with the left-analog stick (although you can switch it to a three click approach if you have a weak stomach or a broken left thumb). Pull back, achieve desired power, follow through.

How straight you perform this motion - and how good your clubs are—will determine where the ball flies. Add some loft to create backspin, or maybe fade the ball into the wind. The practice swing is a great feature to use on those medium distances shots as well.

Taking a few swings and getting the distance down before unloading can be very beneficial to your score.

Once you've landed on the green, it's time to pull out your new putter. Luckily this year, you only need one. You will once again have to pick your landing area on the green like in year's past, the only difference is now you have a putting meter to the right of your screen.

Pull back on the left analog stick to get the putter head moving backwards, and push forward to knock it home. Any slight miss-hit at all could be the difference between a one putt and a four putt, so make sure you're practicing.

Reading the greens is a difficult task as it is, especially on the higher difficulties, so it's vital to your score to be a solid putter. The controller will vibrate if you really miss-hit the ball, which is a nice feature since sometimes you're really not paying attention to the meter.

The dynamic weather is also a cool new feature as well. Watch through the round as your opening hole has blue skies and sunlight, but that slowly fades into a cloudy drizzle. Or play in a downpour for a few holes, to have the rain finally stop.

The weather dramatically effects your shooting as well, since the ball will not roll as far or spin as much in the wet conditions. This is just another feature that adds to the juice and realism of TW:10.

The only problem I have with it is when you're used to putting in the rain and the next hole the rain stops, it really messes with your head on how hard you should strike the ball. There should be a smoother transition on the putting green.

At the end of the day, with a birdie putt on the line, I'll take Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 on my side any day of the week (but specifically Sunday). Because quite frankly, it's better than most.

Grade: B+

+ Tons of Game Modes
+ Online Tournaments
+ Addicting Career Mode
+ Precision Putting
- Spectators can be lame
- Dynamic ratings system flawed

DSpydr84 - VSN

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