Customer Reviews

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fans of the big-headed, no talent needed to play, Hot Shots Golf series can stop reading. Tiger Woods 2002 is not for you. TW2002 is what I like to call a *great* golf game. The engine has been revamped, and gone is the ... [bad] swing meter (FINALLY!). To swing the club now, you use the analog sticks, and it works better than any tri-click method could ever hope for.

EA messed up last year by only including 3 courses, but remedied that this year with 7. The shining jewel in their crown is Pebble Beach. No other golf game has been able to mimic how difficult this course can be, or how important it is to place your approach shots under the pin. Sawgrass is also a thing of beauty. There's 2 more real courses, and then 3 courses EA dreamed up, and what wonderful imaginations their designers have.

What I love about the game (and what some may detest) is that the game has you create a player, and then build that player by beating challengers in the Tiger Tourney mode, or by playing in Scenario mode. Performing well in Tiger Tourney (basically its 17 eighteen hole matches...if you win, you earn the right to play as the person you beat, you get a ton of cash, and you open up other extras like another hole on Tigers Dream 18 course). The scenario mode is awesome as well. There's about 25 different scenarios that you must perform well in to earn gold, silver, or bronze. For example, you have to play the 4 Par 5s at SawGrass in 14 shots to get a gold, 16 for a silver, or 18 for bronze. Extremely entertaining and challenging.

The requisite other play modes are here as well: Tournament, Stroke Play, Match Play, and Skins. EA has outdone themselves, however, with the brand new Speed Gold mode. It enables you the chance to play 1 on 1 golf in splitscreen against a friend or enemy. The better you do, the more money your opponent loses. Great stuff to be sure.

Thanks EA, it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a golf game as much as this. And did I mention the new graphics engine kicks unspeakable [rear end]...butt? Yep. Enjoy!

Excellent graphics on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002... best visuals I've yet to see on a golf game on any system. Ocean surf pounding the rocks off Pebble Beach, beautiful desert buttes on Copper Canyon, birds chirping and flying by, trees sway one at a time as if a breeze is really touching them one by one, cameras following the speeding golf ball on its flight path over stunning hills and caverns. No swing meter - innovative and thanks to EA Sports for taking that step. Sure it's a bit tough to get used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, the old swing meter on every other golf game seems archaic. Six courses (also included are the famous Sawgrass and Royal Birkdale) and Tiger's DREAM course that needs to be unlocked hole by hole with each victory. One of these days I'll get to create my own course (it's an option). The speed golf option is down-right fun... but obtaining bronze/silve/gold medals is nearly impossible. This SIM also features a practice mode (where you can visit select courses), stroke play, match play, and skins. Announcers are good and fairly low key... and I appreciate them trying not to add humor (to my bad shots). Three things I dislike about this game... 1. Where is the "save" button? It is insane to have to play all 18 holes before being able to save your game, 2. The repetitive triple wave in the early matches after a good shot by Tiger or any of the other golfers, and 3. Hitting the power stroke could have been easier - it's awkward having to swing the club with either thumb back and forth AND repeatedly hit the L1 button for power (it's a coordination thing). I've found that playing a round (on just about any of the courses) will take 35-40 minutes... this includes some time to hit the replay button on your best shots. Listen to your heart... I don't care what my young teenage kids say ("it's boring"). You don't have to be a sports fan or even a golfer to enjoy this game... but by other PS2 games standards this game is kind of dull (there is no killing of any kind, no skateboarders, no running things over with your car, no knife thrusts, no kick-boxing moves, no bombs exploding). It's a realistic golf SIM... period. It's as relaxing as it is stressful... just like the real game of golf. Addictive. Fun. Huge replay value. Note: Hole #3 on Copper Canyon (a short par 3)... got my first hole-in-one here and a special "ball" (and $ cash) to go with it. Super shots will get you more money to go buy more attributes to improve your golfer.

The last PS2 version (and first in a hopefully long-running series) was excellent. I was trying to wait for PS2 on-line capabilities before I bought another golf game, knowing full-well that the good folks at EA Sports would take advantage of the opportunity and put out an online Tiger game as soon as the switch was flipped on the network. Then my best friends bought this game, and called me over to see it.
WOW!! It plays VERY different than the initial PS2 game - it plays much tougher, in a good way. You have to "build" your golfer by purchasing attributes with the money you earn in the game. You start off as a pretty poor golfer.... but after the first few golfers you defeat in the Tiger Challenge, you can be decent.
The game basically consists of three main gameplay modes where you can earn cash: Tiger Challenge, Scenarios, and Tournaments. The Tiger Challenge pits you against a golfer in a skins game. Very fun, very challenging. Each golfer is better than the next, which works out well because you are also "building" and improving as you go. You can earn some serious cash here, but don't be surprised if it takes you a few times to defeat the golfers later in the game. After you beat the golfer, you can use their character as your own body (you have to start as Tiger), and it unlocks a hole on the Tiger dream 18 course.
There are about 20 scenarios to choose from, where you earn money based on how well you do. The scenarios are different and challenging enough to be a lot of fun. The drawback is that you don't earn all that much money by playing them.
The tournaments are a happy medium. Usually 1-2 rounds can be played in about 1/2 an hour and you definately have to have your golfer built up well to compete.
There are many other modes, such as Speed Golf and Stroke/Skins play against friends/computer, that make this a great game.
Don't wait for the next version. Buy this one now. It is more than worth it!!

It doesn't look like much detail is really being addressed in these reviews so I will focus on the pros and cons in an attempt to really take a good look at the game. You may get the feeling I don't like the game when you get to the cons section but that is far from the truth. The game is fantastic but I want to give you accuracy and bring up some points you won't see in other reviews.

PROS:
*Fantastic Graphics and Presentation
*Analog Swing works perfect and gives a true to life feel

*Difficulty levels are well done
*Numerous golfers to chose and they play different
*You can play a career and build your golfer to whatever stats you want or leave him weak in some areas. Great idea because it is a way for the player to set his own difficulty in addition to the three different tee difficulty levels.
*Several game modes to keep you interested
*awards for doing well

CONS:
*No save options during a round
*Tournaments are only 18 or 36 holes even though a real tournament is 4 rounds or 72 holes and you can't save at all so if you play a 2 round tournament you have to play all 36 holes at once with no save option. That's terrible.
*putting is not very good. Not only are you relying on a caddie to tell you where to aim your putt (In other words you don't read the green like last year) but it is far too easy once you get onto it and the difficulty does not change like the rest of the game does at the higher difficulties. The problem is that there is no skill involved in putting like there is with the regular swing. You just pull back and push forward know you will get full and straight contact. All straight putts and anything with in 10 ft or so is a gimmie once you play a while. It is impossible to 3 putt because the distance is never affected by how well you swing the putter.
* Speed Golf is nothing more than a gimmick for 5 yr olds

Hopefully the putting,tournaments and save options problems will be addressed next year. Nonetheless, this is a great game overall. I especially like some of the camera angles where you can see the ball floating out into the distance like you would in real life. The game just FEELS good.

I just picked up Tiger 2002 yesterday and I must say it well exceeded my expectations! This game is soooooo much fun. Unlike previous PGA installments this one has endless possiblilities and things to unlock. One cool tidbit is that when you hit a really really good drive he does a Happy Gilmore!! One thing i will say is that I am a fairly accomplished golfer and this game did not offend me in any way, even the speed golf was really really fun. This is a game that truly bridges the gap between Hot Shots and previous games in this series. It is faithful to golf but fun and accessible at the same time. If you are worried about the swing, don't be. I picked it up in a few minutes, and i was horrible at the swing in last years' game. The graphics and gameplay jump off the screen, with lifelike realism, but not realism that looks painted on the screen. These characters are all over the place, they are not cardboard cutouts. One final cool thing...when i was in the woods one time, there were squirrels running around! Also, the waves crash at pebble, leaves fall off of trees and it rains on and off during a round...HOW COOL!!!

This is by far the most enjoyable sports game I've ever played. The controls are not as difficult as you might think, I got it down after a few tries. The courses are awesome, the announcers are good, the competition is great and the best part is there are so many different options to play. This game doesn't get boring. You can play tournaments, skins, practice rounds, match play in the Tiger challenge, and different scenarios. My only complaint would be the speed golf option, it would of been alot more fun to just play a regular match against a friend rather than no head to head option other than speed golf. Other than that if you are a golfer or enjoy sports games, this is a must buy, the game is great.

My favorite football game - SuperTecmo, favorite baseball game, Baseball Stars, you get the picture. Since Sega's PGA series, I have yet to find a console golf title worth mentioning, period. I played Swing Away Golf and just couldn't get past the Mickey mouse get up with the huge noggins. I haven't played Hot Shots but it sounds like much of the same. Yes - I'm sure that the game play is decent w/ HS3 and I read some very good things about the series ....

I rented TWPGAT2002 to test the new analog swing controls and I have to tell you - this is the best console golf game I've ever played. Finally, a golf title that a hardcore, old school gamer can appreciate. The analog swing control makes you feel the timing of the golf swing rather than just timing the pushing of buttons. And rather than calculating the strength of the swing based on a bar graph (or something of the sort), you are forced to gauge the swing force by keying on the golfer. This is more intuitive and feels more like golf. Its does seem a little too easy to hit straight however. With modest build up of your accuracy points, missing fairways off the tee is tough to do. I'm hoping that with more time and higher skill levels, there will be a need to be more aggressive in shaping shots to set up nicer for approaches. This should certainly make the game more challenging.

Graphics are good if not great (not sure how to compare since I haven't played Hot Shots 3) - just watching the hole fly bys and shot replays are a joy. Sound - just OK - I wish there was a way to turn off the audience noise as there seems to be too much. You hit a routine tee shot and the invisible crowd will go nuts like you just aced 17 at Sawgrass to take the lead on Sunday and some dude will shout "You the man!" - this gets old fast. It also sounds like you're duffing a lot on you're full iron shots. Other points where I hope EA improves on is the 4 day tourney (not available? - this is standard. Come on geek boys! ), game saves during rounds, camera angle options, putting - I'm still a fan of the grid reading of old vs. the caddy reading system in this game. Even with this, the putting interface does offer its own tests.

Overall a great game. If you're a golf nut, this is a definite buy. If you're not a golf fanatic, play something else - play something "fun" for crissakes - because as golfers know - golf isn't "fun" - it isn't "awsome" or "RAD" - its golf and this game comes some what close.

While I currently own several PS2 games, and enjoy them, none have impressed me as a genuine leap forward when compared to previous platforms ... Tiger Woods 2002 comes closest to demonstrating the potential of PS2. Obviously, if one is not devoted to golf gaming, these comments are meaningless; however, for those who enjoy the agony of the fairway and rough, Nirvana may have arrived. Perhaps it would be most helpful if I divide my comments into two catagories: graphics and playability:

Graphics are truly impressive. My impression is that the developers utilized topographical maps and aerial photography when re-creating the "real" courses: Pebble Beach, TPC at Sawgrass, Princeville and Royal Birkdale. Other than Princeville, I have seen the courses; the re-creations are most impressive. There are some "fantasy" courses which are a bit over the top: hitting from island to island, over mountains, etc. They are, nonetheless, fun to play.

For those of you who have played, and enjoyed, "Riven", the aspect of an immersive experience will be clear. This game comes quite close to that visual and auditory feel.

Naturally, "playability" is quite subjective. However, I feel that the designers have attempted to utilize the extensive attributes of the system, especially the controller, to enhance the user's involvement. Consider the swing function:

As opposed to a power meter, traditionally utilized in older games, the swing is initiated by the joy stick. Further, the path of the stick affects both the distance and direction (draw, hook, fade and slice). It is not difficult to learn, but challenging to perfect.

As one progresses through the stages of development, the need to eliminate any mistakes, and reach near perfection, increases. This underscores one of the few weaknesses of the game: the players are unrealistically capable; accordingly, so must you be. This is most noticeable on an approach shot. If you are not consistantly within ten feet of the cup, often five or less, you will have a long afternoon. Put another way, if you wish to advance, birdies and eagles must be commonplace. The reason for this is the excessive emphasis on "spin". The better computer opponents, and you at the appropriate level, can spin the ball in, literally, any direction. This is what permits a good shot to become "perfection". Even Tiger (the real one) is not that good on his best day.

The game, with some reservations, is challenging and exciting. It can also be frustrating, just like the real game. However, one does not lose even a single Titleist (in Tiger's case, a "Nike"). Finally, there are a number of humerous elements in the play, not the least of which is the commentary: "a flag molester!" Also, it is quite clear that some young males, with active imaginations, designed the game: the female golfers are not merely capable, but are, shall we say, aesthetically pleasing.

One warning: you may find yourself playing at three in the morning, thus lowering your productivity for the day.

This game was great until I finished all of the challenges and beat Tiger in the "ultimate challenge", it only took one day and now I'm thinking I should have rented it. It was fun while it lasted though.

I'm #1 starts the beginning of the 2002 Tiger Wood's experience. I was impressed with the graphics. The announcer in this game are David Feherity and Gary McCord. They make fun of water hazards sometimes. When you try to make the green sometimes, you hear the controller vibrating like your heart is beating. There is a Tiger Challenge mode where you play pros like Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Jesper Parnevik, Notah Begay III, and Brad Faxon. I have managed to beat all the players except for Super Tiger Woods. He is extremly difficult. There is also a scenarios mode where you have things you can do for gold, silver, and bronze. The speed mode is new. You play 18 holes as fast as possible. You can play a tournament with up to four players so you can invite friends to play. Over all I love this game and can't wait to see how they improve this flawless game.