There are two ways to play the game – a three-click power meter system like in Hot Shots Golf, and the more intuitive stick shot which relies on the golfer’s swing animation to determine power. You can switch between the two whenever you want. While I preferred the latter, with the swing animation being so fast, it becomes quite hard to manage subtle changes in power, although that’s probably how it is in real life.
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Online, there’s a neat Live Tournaments mode where you can not only compete with other players, but with real pros as they set scores in real-life tournaments currently underway. Four-player online co-op, which was introduced last year, also makes a return.
The biggest changes to the game since Tiger Woods 09 though have been the inclusion of dynamic weather – varying from sunny and overcast to drizzles and heavy downpours, and the inclusion of the Precision Putting system. Now, the game will pick the ideal putter for you and a power bar will guide you to the optimum power needed to make the putt. However, the system does not take into account the slope or elevation of the terrain or the weather conditions, so putting still heavily relies on your judgement. Rainy conditions do affect gameplay, slowing down the ball’s movement considerably. Very often you will move back and forth between dry and wet weather and you’ll be required to change your game accordingly.
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This year, Tiburon have also made huge improvements to the crowd atmosphere, especially surrounding the putting green. Spectators begin to get excited as you make your putt and the level of noise increases as the ball nears the hole, either ending in disappointed sighs or an explosion of cheers and applause, depending on whether or not you made the shot. You also hear crowds cheer and react to other players’ performances around the course. The cheerleader-like synchronised crowd animations have also been done away with, and different spectators react to events differently now. While player shot animations are great, celebrations after a good shot just look plain weird. You’ll see your golfer celebrate in ways that no self-respecting pro ever would, and it just feels out of place in a game that otherwise places so much emphasis on realism.
Visually however, the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series has always been a step behind other EA Sports franchises, and it’s no different here. There is little detail in the character models or the architecture surrounding the courses. But thankfully, framerates have seen a major improvement over last year’s effort. Menus follow the same design as other EA Sports franchises like FIFA and NHL, which I’m not a big fan of, but have got used to over the years. Commentary is pretty uninspired, with almost no back-and-forth between the two commentators. Music is mostly instrumental. It’s light, soothing and very Gran Turismo.
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Conclusion
If you’ve played a PGA Tour game before, then you know what you’re getting into with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. If you own 09, there are a few improvements this year, but probably not enough to warrant a purchase. If you’re completely new to the series however, I strongly urge you to give this game a shot regardless of whether you like golf (or sports games for that matter) or not. You don’t need to know golf to play it, and it’s thoroughly enjoyable on many levels. Like I mentioned earlier, you can approach it more as a puzzle game than a sports simulation, and if you’re looking for a challenge that’s a little different, this game won’t disappoint.
(+) Multiple ways to play, each of them equally fun
(+) Tense, edge-of-your seat gameplay
(+) Doesn’t overwhelm you with technicalities and jargon
(-) Not enough substantial improvements over 09
(-) Visually uninspiring
Note: This review does not apply to the Wii version of the game, which is drastically different
Title: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
Developer/Publisher: EA Tiburon/EA Sports
Genre: Sports
Rating: 3+
Platforms: PlayStation3 (Rs 2,499), PlayStation 2 (Rs 999), PlayStation Portable (Rs 1,599), Wii (Rs 1,999)
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