Customer Reviews

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I'll save a long review and just dive in on how to deal with the putting.

The putting is initially awful BUT, I repeat BUT you CAN EASILY fix it. For each putt you're given a maximum putt distance meter.

So if it's 10 feet to the cup the game sets your maximum backswing of 100% to go 10 feet. I.e. pull all the way back on the putt for a 10 foot putt and the ball will go 10 feet assuming a flat surface.

The problem is the game doesn't recognize grade. Just like in real golf that's up to you the user to control for.

If you push up or down on the d-pad you can adjust this putt meter. I do this for all of my putts because I don't want to get a 100% backswing everytime, there's no margin for error.

So say I have a 10 foot putt that is slightly uphill, I push up on the d-pad and this little aiming arrow that is above the cup will move away from my player and adjust the putt meter from 10 feet to 15 feet or 20 feet or whatever I want.

Say I stop the putt meter at 20 feet for my 10 foot putt now i can whack the putt at 80% to 85% (there's some touch involved it is golf--well video game golf--after all) and instead of barely rolling 10 feet with a 100% swing for the 10 foot putt meter I now have enough power to hit the ball 12 or so which if I've paced it right and aligned it right will be plenty to get the ball in the hole.

It's a long explaination that takes 10 seconds to demostrate in the game. Problem solved and a very good is saved from being ruined by crappy directions in the manual.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All Play for the Wii is an excellent golf simulation. I have read the complaints about the putting. Listen, putting was far too easy on ealier iterations. Putting on Tiger 09 can be mastered, but guess what? Doing so takes effort and practice and touch and hard work--just as putting in real life does. The satisfaction from becoming skilled and consistent is just what a golf game should demand. In like manner, mastering the full or partial swing takes time and effort. Good, golf is a difficult and demanding sport,a humbling experience. Tiger 09 for the Wii is terrific, a golfer's delight, if not a gamer's delight. Buy it, master it, and experience the satisfaction for learning how to do something difficult very, very well.

I have played dozens of golf games dating back to golf on the Commodore-64. Some games have been completely pathetic, while others have been relatively good. I bought Tiger Woods 09 for the Wii basically because I like to try most every golf game that hits the market. My expectations for this game were actually fairly low, as EA has not exactly put out killer software for the Wii.

Having put in over 30 hours with Tiger Woods 09 I can safely say that this is the most fun console golf game I have ever played. Not only is the game incredibly deep with an absolute ton of modes of play, but it also sports a great online component. The developers really did a good job of making TW09 a truly fun multi-player experience.

What makes Tiger Woods 09 such a great game is the control. The 1:1 swing mechanic can be tuned in a variety of ways. It takes some getting used to in terms of shot strength, but once the user gets it down the game is butter. As far as putting is concerned, this is the best putting system in a golf game, no questions asked. Yes, the putting system may seem confusing at first, but after spending some time with it the user will realize that putting in TW09 is as close to real-life putting yet seen in a golf game. Everything from the clearly visible slope on the greens to the depth of resources the putting system provides to the user makes hanging out on the green a joy.

As to be expected, the graphics of the Wii version of Tiger Woods 09 are not as detailed as those of the 360/PS3 versions, but they are still not too shabby. I particularly like the way the undulations and elevation changes on each hole are depicted.

Finally, EA smartly included an "All-Play" level of difficulty that allows inexperienced or less-skilled gamers to be able to be competitive. Of course, there are standard and advanced difficuly levels as well. This allows someone who has never played the game or is not very good to be able to play with a seasoned TW pro and still have fun without being blown out of the water. I like to play on the hardest difficulty level, but when someone comes over to the house they still have fun since they can play on the easier mode.

Overall, Tiger Woods 09 is exactly the type of sports game Wii owners deserve. It wonderfully takes advantage of the controller technology, offers a ton of modes of play and customizations, and has a high fun factor. Get this game and spend some time learning to play it properly. You will not be sorry.

The Good

There's finally online multiplayer and it works really well. The simultaneous shot mode present in online play is a great idea that allows up to four people to play 18 holes in a reasonable amount of time without being forced to watch everyone else's shots.

The party game mode is fun to play with other people who don't have the patience for a full round and the new All-Play swing system lets beginners pick up the game pretty easily. Finally, the menus are easier to navigate this year and Hank Haney is a solid, if somewhat gimmicky, addition to the franchise.

The Bad

The putting system is atrocious. Absolutely atrocious. I'm really confused as to why EA has made this feature worse and worse every year. I felt a pit in my stomach as I played through my first 18 holes because the putting system was ruining the entire game. We've put up with wonky chipping and short-iron play through the first two versions and I would have been able to begrudgingly dismiss it one more year except that the putting has now gotten so bad that it ruins the game.

Case in point; on advanced swing mode, you now have to eyeball every putt. No preview, no putting line, no nothing. The grid on the putting green does little to help you discern where your putt's going to end up, though. It's a leap of faith every time.

There is a putt preview feature if you use standard swing mode, but it's different from last year's version. Last year, you had a putt preview timer that allowed you to basically take a practice putt (or two or three). If you used up your putt preview timer before the end of your round, you had to eyeball it for the remaining holes. Some would argue that it made putting too easy.

Whatever the case, this year you have a putt preview that you can use once per putt. You basically line up your putt and hit the putt preview, which will show you your putting line. If the line leads straight to the hole, great, putt away. If not, you'll need to exit the preview and readjust your putt. You'll have already used up your putt preview, though, so you'll have to trust yourself.

So you end up not sinking as many super-long putts like you may have last year, but - BUT! - it's up close where the putting system really starts to fall apart. For some reason, EA chose to treat ten foot putts to a ten foot power gauge. So what would naturally seem like a nice, easy, soft tap-in now requires a full-bore swing just to get to the hole. You will, I promise you, miss putt after putt after putt. The short ones, especially. I miss putts in this game that I'd make in real life. That's just wrong.

The Ugly

This 1-to-1 natural swing feature is all hype. Search for "Tiger Woods 09 Wii" on YouTube to find a video starring a couple of the game developers. At the 1:17 mark, the guy says "What that's gonna do in Tiger this year is really gonna let you to place the ball where you want it on the course." Insanity. The partial swings are as broken in Tiger Woods 09 as they were in 08 and 07. Nothing has changed. You'll try to play a half-swing and you'll hit it at 80% to 90% power instead of 50%. These partial shots have never, ever worked on the Wii and they still don't, despite EA's claims.

The Super Ugly

Guess what feature EA's left off of all the marketing materials for the Tiger Woods franchise? They dumped Gary McCord and David Feherty as announcers and replaced them with - ready for this? - The Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman and Sam Torrance. All the same dialogue from the previous games are there, except now Tilghman's a comedian and Torrance sounds like a Scottish version of Robert on Everybody Loves Raymond (except not funny). Whether you liked McCord and Feherty or not, those two at least made the game seem realistic and they offered some funny one-liners every now and again. Tilghman and Torrance are just as bad, if not worse, as the decision to do radio style broadcasting for Madden 08 last year. It's really awful.

Recommendation

If you already have Tiger Woods 07 or 08 on the Wii and you don't care about playing online or All Play or the party mode mini-games, save your money. If you really, really, really want to play online but don't care about five- or six-putting every hole after you've launched a 30-foot chip over the green two or three times, then go ahead and pick this one up. If EA can patch the putting, you could get by with this game. If they patch the chipping, it'd be a no-brainer. They're not going to patch Tilghman and Torrance, though, so just get ready to turn that portion of the audio off right away.

All in all, a disappointing return after a year of development.

So, if you just read the top review you would probably be led to think that the putting is terrible. That is not the case. The putting is bad if you fail to take a few things into account, primarily multiple putters, and green speed (Which is mentioned nowhere in the manual or the tutorials, but is VERY important to take into account). At first I was having problems putting, especially with short putts, but once I realized that you will often have to adjust which putter you are using, and take into account the green speed when calculating how much power to use it became infinitely better. I now sink about 95% of my putts. The green grid is very easy to read and allows you to determine how much of a left/right break and how much uphill/downhill to account for. The new putt preview is a huge improvement over last years preview in my opinion.

People seem to be complaining alot that chip shots don't fly in the air long enough. Have you guys ever watched someone chip in real life? A real chip shot travels most of it's distance on the ground, just as it does in the game. I have sunk numerous birdies and eagles by chip, the key is to use a little more power than you think since the ball will be rolling along the green.

Driving and approach shots are just about the same as previous years, but if it ain't broke.....

I agree about the announcers though. The announcers are saying the exact same lines as last year (literally word-for-word), so there is 0 innovation on the commentary, and now the new announcers sound very dry and boring as well.

Documentation is practically non-existent. the game comes with a 5-page manual that gives very little if any useful information, and the in-game tutorials are not much help either. Green speed(Press + and go to course information to see the green speed), which is implemented for the first time this year, is not even mentioned in the manual or any of the tutorials, but if you don't account for it you will miss many putts.

Overall I think this game is great and a lot of fun, but a few improvements could be made (especially documentation).

I'm new to the Wii platform (love it) and new to the Tiger Woods series. Having said that, I intensely enjoy this game and highly recommend it.

What stands out for me most in this game is the fun that all the combined aspects create. The richness of building up your skills and seeing your game improve is really enjoyable, as are the various formats of play, party games, online play, and progression through the tour and challenge events.

For the gameplay, the full swing is great, but I struggle with the short irons, especially when a 50-70% swing is required. Those are tough to hit, but do-able with a few practice swings.

Putting is tricky at first, and not at all realistic, but once you get the hang of it you can consistently line up and hit puts in from just about any length. I think this is one area where newcomers aren't burdened by what I understand are drastic changes from earlier versions. Tip: The putting backswing is very controllable and forgiving. To get your desired percentage, bring your backswing back very patiently and slowly; then swing forward firmly. If you mess up the backswing or go too far, just let go of B and try again. Tip 2: Never, ever use the previous tip on a real golf course.

I avoid the advanced swing because of the strange contortions required for draw and fade, and because of the unreasonable difficulty it introduces to putting. It is quite impossible to get a solid read on a virtual green with the visual aids provided, and the standard mode's putting preview is a clever and effective tool to help you while avoiding making every putt a gimme.

Even bearing its shortcomings in mind, I have tremendous fun playing this game and am fully addicted.

OK i'll agree that the Advanced Swing mode is not good. both the putting and fade/draw in Advanced Mode are not good. don't use it.

HOWEVER the All-Play mode is awesome for "non-gamers" AND "non-golfers" i had someone playing yesterday who has never played golf and never played a video game and she had a BLAST with All-Play.

i prefer to use the "normal" swing option and i think it's phenomenal! i think it's the best putting system so far in the Tiger Wii series. the full swing is amazing. and i even like the short game. i've chipped in two or three times already in only a few hours of gameplay. if anything the short game is too easy! so i don't know why so many people are having trouble with it.

another highlight is the amazing amount of customization allowed in this game. i won't go into details but it's impressive.

i gave this game 5-stars for fun and 4 overall because of the broken "advanced mode" ... just use "normal" and you will LOVE this game.

The interface and controls for setting up your character and navigating through screens are a lot better this year than last year.

We haven't tried the minigames or online play yet, but we're looking forward to that (my parents also have a copy of the game; I'm not sure if hubby and I can play against my parents, or if it'll just be one person at each house).

I like the challenge setups better this year; the short, medium, long descriptions give me a better idea what I'm getting into.

The club tuner is an interesting idea if you're just playing a video game, but seems like cheating if you're a real golfer looking for something to do when it's raining, so we don't use it.

Gameplay....

The manual settings for draw and fade are great because you don't have to mess up your hands artificially to play the game (the wiimote isn't as sensitive as a real ball and club, so we've always had to really overemphasize the fades and draws - it's awkward and fake).

The full swing shots seem a bit improved, though you still seem to need a steady tempo or it'll get confused.

The chips seem about the same.

Putting... they really messed it up by giving you a "5 foot putter" and a "10 foot putter" etc. What?? So to make a 4 foot putt with your 5 ft putter, you need to WHACK the ball. So unrealistic.

We've come up with some workarounds (put your arrow out to 60 ft to get a "real" putter, or move your arrow to the hole to figure out about the power you need to get there and use that... even if it is unrealistic).

So, it's not a total ruin of the game once you figure out the system, but it's definitely worse than it was in 08, and NOT realistic.

I like this game because it's one of the few games that hubby and I can play with my parents for hours; we have a lot of fun. Overall, with the better interface and online play, it's an improvement for that.

This version is an improvement over TW08

- Navigation through the Tiger Challenge is way better
- Overall swing is better, especially draw and fade
- Online play allows a full round that doesn't take hours to complete
- Good new courses

I would disagree with complaints about short game and putting. It took me about 30 minutes to figur out the new putting and now I putt as good as ever. With the short game, as your sklls imporve in the game, yor precision with short shots improves. Just like real golf.

I think EA is getting better with the WII interface and it shows with this verion of TW.

This review is solely going to focus on putting as that seems to be a big issue for many people, something I don't understand.

Just to give you'll a background, I'm playing TigerWoods O9 after mastering HotShots Golf on my PSP and if you've played it you will know that putting in HotShots is much harder than on any of the Tiger Woods game iterations. This is why putting in TW09 has been second nature for me. Here is what you need to know to get good putts.

- You have to focus on reading the green. You get only one putt preview (something I honestly think should be done away with entirely. It still makes putting pretty easy, at least for me since I'm used to games like HotShots golf where you have to read the green to make good putts). Here are some tips/suggestions on reading the green:

- Don't try to make rule of thumb approximations such as, if hole is X inches higher then I should up my power by Y%. It just doesn't work well enough beyond a certain point and it won't allow you to improve your game.

DETERMINING POWER FOR PUTT:

- First focus purely on the longitudinal slope of the green, i.e. the slope along the direction of the putt so that you can try to figure out how hard you need to putt. Move the putting arrow back/forward till the shadow lines up with the hole. This means that for a perfectly flat putting green, this is the amount of power you need to hit the shot so as to just make it into the hole. Now focus on the putting lines to read the slope of the green in the direction of the hole. If it is sloping downhill, then you need to lower the power of the shot, so bring the arrow closer towards yourself. Depending on how fast the beads are rolling uphill/downhill you will need to approximate how much more/less power to add on. This is hard initially but you will just have to practice to get a better feeling for this. You do have the putt preview which will help correct any initial errors in your power approximation. More on that later.

- While determining the correct power to use, make sure to take into account changing slopes of the green. For example, the initial section from the ball to midway to the hole might be sloped steeply downhill with the rest of it sloped uphill. In this case you have to remember that the downhill bit will add significant speed to the ball which the uphill component may or maynot be able to compensate for. The best way to guess in such cases is to (as mentioned before) place the arrow on top of the hole, then eyeball the uphill and downhill component and try to guess whether the uphill/downhill slopes balance each other out (in which case you can leave the power as is) or if one of the 2 components is stronger relative to the other, and by how much. Again exact power amounts will be harder to judge initially but at least try to get good at estimating whether you need more or less power than the default (default being the power reading for the arrow placed right on top of the hole).

DETERMINING AIM FOR PUTT:

- Assuming you've done all of the above, you should have some guess for the power to use. Now focus on the lateral slope of the green. Again, it will take practive before you can make very good initial guesses. However here are a couple of tips that should make things easier.

--The lateral slope of the green has less effect closer to the ball, and more effect near the hole. The reason being that when you hit the ball, it is travelling at a much higher speed. Because of this higher momentum it is affected less by the lateral slope of the green. However as it approaches the hole and slows down (I hope it is slowing down! If it isn't you didn't approximate the power for the putt very well) the ball is affected much more by the slope of the green. This is very important to keep in mind as we have a tendency to assume that the lateral slope at all points along the putting line have the same amount of effect on the ball.

-- If you are putting downhill (ie with reduced putting power due to the downward slope) the ball tends to be affected much more by lateral slopes. This is because in downhill slopes, you reduce the power and gravity and the slope of the green plays a stronger role in getting the ball to the hole. On the other hand, if you are putting uphill, you will notice that the ball is less sensitive to lateral slopes since you are powering the ball at a high speed (At least through the initial segment of the putt). In such uphill putts, the trajectory of the ball is much more sensitive to the lateral slope near the hole as the ball slows down when it reaches it.

PUTT PREVIEW:
So after all this, you know roughly how to read the green and make a guess on where you need to aim with the arrow (which indicates your guess for power and direction). Now hit the putt preview button to see what this putt would look like. IMPORTANT: Some sites mistakenly say that the putt preview shows the putt for the direction you chose at 100% power (and not the power you set with the arrow). This is NOT TRUE. It is a true putt preview for the given direction and power guess that you made by placing the putting arrow. Now it is a simple matter of looking at the result, then going back and tweaking the power by moving the arrow to the front or back, and moving the aim left or right to compensate accordingly.

- Remember, for putting (much like in real golf), it is most important to nail the power. You don't want to send a putt going 20 feet past the hole, even if you missed the hole by an inch (laterally). Practice will improve your putting, but till you get really good, you can still make a lot of PARs by focusing on getting the putting speeds right.

- Lastly, when you have very steep lateral slopes in the green, it is harder to read the green separately in terms of X and Y (ie lateral positioning and Power). If the lateral slope is very steep downhill from left to right, then even if the front to back slope is zero (ie the green seems flat front to back), the steep slope from left to right will impart more speed to the ball as it is riding its way down the slope of the hill. In these cases you need to be very careful with getting the putting power correct, hit uphill into the slope, and then let the slope gently roll the ball back down the hill towards the hole. Putt preview is key in these cases so that you can compensate for the power an aim. Try to just get it close to the hole, if you get it in, its a bonus!

PUTTING TECHNIQUE:
This is fairly simple. If you need to hit 75% Power, then just hit B, slowly raise the wiimote back till the powermeter fills up 3/4ths of the way and then bring the wiimote down quickly. The power meter bar is scaled linearly so with a little practice and mental math you can easily figure out exactly where a particular power percentage lies. Don't rush the putt, gradually bring the wiimote back till it fills the bar exactly where you want it and then make the putt. Not a smooth action, but it is a limitation of the wiimote not being sensitive enough and it is the only way to make putting work given the current hardware.

Phew, that was long. It really is simpler if you just give it some time and practice. Most of this is second nature to me. I've only been playing the game for a couple of weeks and I usually take a maximum of two putts to get the ball into the hole (Almost done with Tiger Challenge and I haven't lost a challenge in a while). For me, the putting system has always worked great. I never thought/felt that it was broken. I think that is more an artifact of people being used to EA making putting wayyyy too easy in the past so that even beginners expected to be 14 under par in one round of golf.

There you go, I hope this helps you improve your putting game. It really is a great game and tons of fun. I especially like the online component as it works quite well. Have fun!