Even though the real Tiger Woods is currently recovering from knee surgery, that doesn't mean his season is over. Video game golfers can still take control of him or a number of pre-selected PGA Tour golfers this August when Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 arrives on store shelves. Like previous games in the series, this game makes you feel as if you're right there on the links, swatting away at that little white sucker. However, several refinements promise to make this edition the best one to date.
Woods isn't the only real-life golf influence this time around. His personal coach, Hank Haney, provides you advice in four areas to improve your overall golfing performance – short game, putting, power and accuracy. Short game is your approach to the green from chip shots or bunker shots. Putting is as expected, depending on how well you hit the ball. Power and accuracy speak for themselves, not only focusing on the drive you put behind your club, but where you aim it. Haney teaches these skills through an individual set of brand-new Challenges, which you must complete in order to get his approval. For instance, the Power mini-games require you to hit the ball a certain distance before you go on. These tasks are intimidating at first, but far from impossible. You can take them in any order you wish, in case you feel you'll have better luck with the Putting games than the Accuracy ones.
Along with advice from Haney, you'll can also fine tune your clubs. You're able to step onto a virtual driving range at any time, testing out your individual clubs and getting the coach's advice on what you should do. From there, you can modify your clubs any way you see fit, toying around with their loft and angling if you feel the ball has a tendency to slice left for some reason. This is probably best recommended for seasoned pros, though. Mess with a club the wrong way and you're likely to end up with a back-swing that leaves your ball in an undesirable spot almost every time. If you're stuck with default choices, it won't ruin your game. Just deal with what advice Haney gives you and go from there.
Furthermore, a new swing analyzation will be available, reading your swing from start to finish. If you're drifting a little bit on your backswing and ending up with a slice a result, the swing meter is there to tell you. Other than that, the analog-sensitive swing mechanisms appear to be back in place this time around, along with the option of using the "old-school" three button tap gameplay.
Tiger Challenges are back as well, with major improvements in every way. Several PGA players and fantasy players are available to challenge. Although EA Sports hasn't provided an official list of in-game characters yet, you can expect a few PGA elitists to show up and oppose Tiger. The tasks are quite linear this time around, calling you out to out-drive your opponent on the fairway one minute and get more accurate shots than them the next. The medal system is gone and replaced by a succeed/failure system. you Either you make the grade with your Tiger Challenges or start over again. Best of all, these challenges are interactive through EA's online GamerNet service. If you beat a particular record, you can upload your record to EA Sports' servers and see how others stack up.
EA Sports also threw in the option to get together with three buddies for an online multiplayer foursome. Through Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, you can hit the links and compare their performance to yours with ball grids and power meters. The player customization options are back yet again, so you can show off your personified golfing pro to your friends. Other outfits are available through a gift shop, including such obscure get-ups as an astronaut's suit and a puffy bunny rabbit costume.
Past that, the visuals show some nice touch-ups, although it doesn't really go leagues beyond previous releases. The sound should be right back on track with golf sound effects (such as the "thwip" effect when your ball takes a beating) and the commentary team of Gary McCord and David Feherty gives constant feedback on your performance. Most of the other swing mechanics are intact as well, including the ability to preview a putt with an overhead camera and adding top-spin and back-spin to a ball upon contact.
Will all make Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 the best in the series to date, or is it doomed to run into problems like last year's edition? So far, it sounds like it'll be fun, but we'll hold our judgment for the final release when it ships on August 26th. In the meantime, get your clubs ready and measure yourself to see how well you fit into a bunny suit.
Related Links
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 PlayStation 3 Game Guide
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