Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 Review

BY Rabie Hassoun | POSTED: 26 September 2008

So good, it makes golf look like fun.



Every year and with every sports game, the only thing any review seems to concentrate on is the fact that nothing really changed in this year’s version. Well, we can say that about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 and get this review over with. But wait, those little tweaks made this year seem to have added a touch to the series. Challenging is what the game have become and perfection is what you are after with every shot you take. You will still manage to find some problems in this year’s version of the game though. Come to think about it, how can you create a sports game without any problems anyway?

To start off you have to create your very own character. You can either use the set options to create the awesome in-game you or use the Xbox Live Vision camera to transfer the image of not-exactly-as-awesome you. The face scanning is a bit more accurate this time around but you have to be precise while following the steps to complete the process. After you have edited the looks and accessorise on your character, you are now ready to join the tour. PGA Tour mode is the regular season events you can participate in. Another time consuming option is the Tiger Challenge mode, here you will have to beat certain milestones and targets in each tire to advance.  That is not all, the game offers a ton of different and customizable modes for you to enjoy and test your character in.

The attributes for your character will adjust depending on how well you perform on the field in every mode. Putt the ball in the hole every time and wait for a putting boost at the end of the round. Hitting your long shots with ease? Power and accuracy boosts coming right up. This system gives every shot a whole lot of importance adding a much needed excitement and entertainment boost to the normally dull to watch sport. As you progress through the game you will be able to buy items from the store to boost your attributes too. The game gives you the option to use in game money or Microsoft points to pay for the items, which brings us to a rather interesting point. The significant upgrades will only unlock after you have completed the majority of the game since you will need to beat certain characters in Tiger Challenge and get the money itself from the PGA tour to obtain them.  This brings us to the conclusion, that if you want to buy some of the cool stuff in the store without investing too much time into the game; you will have use real life money to do so (180 points per set of related items). Is that a good or a bad feature? Depends on how deep your pockets are.

After every match you play, you will be awarded with points based on your performance. If you messed up too many times at a certain shot in the round, the game will give the option to replay that shot in a post game training mode. Based on how well you do on the training ground, you will be awarded with a small sum of attributes boost. Another coaching related aspect added this year is the club tuner mode. Entering this mode you will be presented with the opportunity to tune every club in your arsenal. You will be able to adjust every aspect about your clubs (accuracy or power for example) to guarantee a big pay day at the end of the PGA season.

Since golf is not exactly a popular sport in the region (or anywhere really), people might back away from this realistic golf simulator. That is certainly a valid point, after all there are a dozen words and rules you need to get familiar with before you get going. Tiger Woods 09 however will take your hand and teach you each and every concept you need to understand slowly but surely. Before you start any game and right after creating your character, you will be taught how to use all four types of shots. The game than will give you the option to choose one from four levels of difficulty. Obviously pick the easiest one if you are new to golf. Moving on, before every course you will get a quick preview video showing you what to expect next.  Normally the game will choose the right position and club for you to use in each situation but with time you will learn to customize every aspect of your shot to be successful. This is why this game is such a solid pick up for any gamer; it’s fun to play and easy to control no matter what golf background or skill level you posses.

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