You might imagine that there are few games that would lend themselves to the Wii's motion controls quite as well as a golf game like Tiger Woods. And you'd be right. Using the Wii remote as if it were a golf club, picking up, and starting to play Tiger Woods 11 feels incredibly natural - all you have to do is imagine there's a little golf ball on your living room floor, and that your Wii Remote's a little bit longer, and you'll be away. As the meercat off that advert might say, it really is "simples"
Tiger Woods 2011 - probably more fun that the real thing.
Bringing all the fun of the golf course, without the the prohibitive costs, the other snooty players, the hazards of the glorious British summer, and, most of all, the dangers of low flying golf balls to your Wii, Tiger Woods 11 is actually a lot of fun to play. Letting you take on an entire PGA Tour in the career mode, brush up on your skills in a number of "Skills challenges", or, new for this year, take on either the USA or Europe in the Ryder Cup, there's certainly plenty to keep you going here.
Thanks to the intuitive nature of the controls, and a great beginner control scheme (more on that later), Tiger Woods 11 is a game anyone can pick up and play. In fact, a large part of the game's appeal is in just how authentic the whole thing feels. Lining up your shot with the +Control Pad (making sure you take into account the wind), before swinging back, just as you would in real life, teeing off, and watching your ball fly down the course is a great feeling - and that's coming from me, someone who's hardly the most experienced golfer in the world, having never set foot on a genuine golf course in my life. Unless you count the crazy variety.
And while the standard Wii Remote does a fairly good job of making the game function on its own, there are times when it begins to break the illusion. If you try to do a proper swing, with the club/Wii remote behind your head, it actually just ends up confusing the Wii remote, as it won't realise that it's actually being held upside down. While it's not a major problem, and it's very easy to adjust to (simply don't go past being perpendicular to the floor), it is a bit off-putting the first few times - but luckily, this is where Motion+ comes in.
Here comes the putt - just trust your instincts, and do as you'd do in real life. In our case, that means we'll miss.
If you own one of the precision sensing add-ons for the Wii remote, the first time you try playing with it, it's almost spooky quite how accurate everything suddenly becomes. Especially when playing in the first person perspective, and looking down at your ball, it's amazing to see quite how precise the technology is, as the on screen golf club does exactly as you do - which helps a lot when lining up a tricky shot.However, there is a downside to the Motion+ technology, as at times, the game almost seems too accurate. It's far too easy to not hold the remote quite "straight" (or whatever the Wii thinks is "straight"), and accidentally end up putting a massive curve on your ball. On the other hand, it's a lot easier to make precise putts, and alter the amount of power behind your shot (by having a slower swing, or swinging back a smaller distance) if you're using the Motion+ add-on, all of which leaves you wishing there was a control scheme that let you have something in the middle - letting you enjoy the accuracy of Motion+, without the awkwardness of accidentally putting a spin on your ball. Either that, or you'll wish the Motion+ was easier to pop off.
Playing with, and without the Motion+ is like playing two completely different games though, and if you haven't already invested in a Motion+, it'd definitely be worth it for this.
Spot the ball. Answers on a postcard.
Of course, if you're looking for a simpler golfing experience, EA have even thought ahead, and included a mode that lets anyone pick up and start playing. All-Play mode makes making a shot, and predicting where it's going to land a lot easier, by drawing nice friendly line in front of your ball, showing you the exact path it's going to take. Allowing you to line your shots up with a clinical amount of precision, eliminating the guess work almost entirely, this is the perfect mode for kids who want to take on their parents (or adults, like us, who simply suck at golf games), as it completely levels the playing field. Its also the only mode we've ever managed to get a hole in one in, which should tell you all you need to know about how tricky the rest of the game is.
Much like the recent Xbox 360 release, the Wii version also features a levelling up system, that sees your golfer earning experience, and getting better the more you play. Thankfully, although you start out as a pretty rubbish golfer, so to do the people you're playing against, which makes keeping up with the pack a whole lot easier - especially with All-Play turned on.
Luckily, you can even turn All-Play on mid-hole, so if you feel like teeing off without any assistance, before switching All-Play to line up your putt, you can, and the game feels much better for it. Letting you effectively wean yourself off the beginner's mode, whilst also having it there as a safety net for when you just can't make that putt, All-Play saves a lot of the frustration of other games, and also lets you see exactly where you're going wrong with your shots, therefore helping you to improve your game.
If you prefer your golf games to be a little less stuffy, there's even the almost-necessary-for-every-single-Wii release, mini-games included here - although in Tiger Woods, they're a lot more robust than you may think. Along with the Connect mode, which works like a golfing version of Reversi, there's a whole plethora of other, golfing themed distractions, and even a mini-golf mode, which has you hitting the ball through a variety of themed, and slightly more unusual courses than the standard golfing fare.
Not the craziest hole on the course, but certainly more interesting than normal golf.
With a full range of mini-games, a great difficulty option that pits you against golfers who are only a little bit better than you, and a range of control schemes catering from novice through to seasoned pro (literally - if you subscribe to Tee Shot Live, you can give your created golfer in the game your real life stats. Impressive stuff), EA have created a golfing game that practically everyone should be able to enjoy. While a few niggles with the controls do let it down slightly, overall, this is a game that shouldn't be judged by its cover - despite how serious it looks, this is a golf game the whole family should be able to enjoy. Which probably makes it better than the real thing.
Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii
