Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Wii)

Tiger Woods faces off against your Mii. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 for Wii is a lot like the game last-generation consoles, with the obvious motion-sensing capabilities thrown in. Although using the Wii Remote isn’t perfect, it does work very well most of the time and the game is the most full-fledged golf experience available on the Wii.

Tiger Woods 07 features the expected gameplay modes such as Tiger Challenge where you will be taking on fictional golfers and PGA Tour mode, which is the game’s season mode. The game still includes the typical game modes like stroke, best ball, skills 18, skins, real time event calendar, battle golf, etc. New modes include one-ball where you and another player alternate shots with the goal of setting up your opponent with a bad shot. The game also includes two team-based modes in bloodsome and greensome modes. Of course, you can still create your own golfer and task yourself with making him the best golfer in the world. You still earn money for winning rounds, which you can use to upgrade your character’s skill set.

Tiger Woods 07 includes 18 courses, 20 professional golfers and 15 fictional golfers. The professional golfers include big names like John Daly, Mike Weir and of course Tiger Woods. There are even some LPGA pros like Natalie Gulbis. The courses include some oldies but goodies like Pebble Beach, Bay Hills and St. Andrews. New courses include K Club, Las Vegas’ The Falls and California’s Aviara. EA also included some fictional courses like Safari Country Club and Central Park. The number of courses and golfers is slightly less than the PS2 version of the game, but more than the other next-generation versions.

Tiger Woods 07’s biggest differentiating factor on the Wii is the use of the Wiimote. To swing, you simply hold the Wiimote like a golf club and move it in a swing-like fashion. You hold the B button to let the game know you want to actually swing and not just take a practice shot. As expected, the farther back and quicker your shot is, the longer the in-game drive will be. Be warned though that you need to have solid aiming since a tilting a little will be reflected in your in-game shot. The game still uses the true aiming system although in the Wii version this is shown by a circle showing you where your shot will land.

If the control scheme proves too difficult, an easier swinging mechanism was implemented that lets you hit the ball in a straight line every time. The swinging mechanism doesn’t always work perfectly, and putting in particular will take some practice but it does work the way it’s supposed to the vast majority of the time. Lastly, there is a traditional swinging mechanism that uses the Nunchuk’s analog stick, which works fine but sort of eliminates the purpose of the Wii version of the game.
Visually, Tiger Woods is disappointing for a Wii game, with graphics about equal to the PS2 version of the game. The player models look fairly good and are definitely the highlight of the visuals thanks to solid character models and animation. The courses look okay but the low-quality textures and simple architecture leave a lot to be desired—even for a Wii game. While we aren’t expecting PS3-quality graphics here, the Wii is certainly a more capable machine than the 6-year old PS2.

The game’s audio package is also nearly identical to the PS2 version. For the audio, though, this isn’t as big of a drawback. It is still top-notch, accurately recreating the sounds of golf. The commentary from Gary McCord who provides well-meaning commentary contrasts with the comical arrogance of David Feherty. The game’s create a player tool allows you to choose one of give voices for your character. All of the voices are pretty good and add life to the character. Once again, it would be nice to hear some new sound effects or voice overs every now and then.

If you have already played the game for other consoles and are not interested in the motion controls, there is little incentive to purchase Tiger 07 for the Wii. However, if you loved Wii Sports Golf and were looking for more, this game will be exactly what you’re looking for as the game is undoubtedly the most in-depth and fun golf game on the Wii.