Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (Java)
Score:
75%
Ewan heads out onto the course with the golfing legend....
It's another golf game! Yaay! And it's from the big sports franchise of EA, and has Tiger Woods' name attached to it. And then you realise it's actually a java implementation and ignore it. Well that there was your first mistake. Let me explain why.
During that first glance at the java version of Tiger Woods, you might think there is so much missing when compared to the console versions, or even the hand-held variant running on the Sony PSP, that it will be less of a game than the bigger brothers. But the truth is far more interesting.
Tiger Woods '09 is a great golf game. You have the full range of clubs, you can set your distance and strength with the cursor pad, and either draw or fade (hook and slice) the shots with a single button.
By reducing the complexity of controls to something suited for a mobile phone, the designers have managed to leave all the playable bits in the code, while taking out the fluff. It may sound simple, but that actually takes a lot of skill.
One thing that had me going 'hmmm...' before deciding it was a good idea was the change to the traditional golfing controls. Other games (including the N-Gage's Pro Series Golf) have a three click system; one to start the swing, two to set the power, and the third to set the draw or fade on a swing (the accuracy). Not here. You toggle between aim mode, where you select a club and decide which direction to drive the golf ball, and shot mode, where you click once to start the power meter, and a second click will stop it between the 0% and 110% marker. I've no complaints about these controls, far from it. I think they're suited to the smartphone.
The graphics are not stunning when you look at other Tiger Woods titles, or even when compared to the aforementioned Pro Series Golf. But they serve the goal more than adequately. You get a top down view of each hole, as well as a 3-D view with your golfer at the bottom of the screen. While not making any attempts to be photorealistic, you get all the information you need to understand where everything is on the hole.
Once you reach the green, the view changes to an overlaid grid so you can tell where the hills and slopes are on the green, to help you in your attempts at putting. Like any good golf game, the old maxim of 'drive for show, putt for dough' holds true, and you'll need to put in plenty of practice on both disciplines to get a good score.
Packed inside the title are two real-world golf courses for you to play on – Wentworth and Bay Hill, the ability to customise the look of your golfer (or go with a Tiger Woods avatar, your choice), and either a quick start mode for a round of golf, a full tournament, or a number of challenges (e.g. do 4 par five holes in 18 strokes or less, i.e. 2 under par). There's a huge amount of gameplay packed in the title.
Partly because it's on a smartphone, partly because of the reduced graphical complexity, but mainly because it's a lot of fun, you can go through a round of 18 holes on Tiger Woods 09 in a very short space of time, and much faster than on other platform versions of the game.
Some people would have taken the approach that cramming in all the features available to EA onto the mobile version would have made the best mobile game ever. Far from it, by reducing the game to the essentials, the fun shines through. While you do need to be a bit of a golf game fan, you'll struggle to find a happier implementation for your handset.
You can get a hold of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 direct from EA Mobile - althouhh in some cases it will be available from your operator.
-- Ewan Spence, Feb 2009.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at