Tiger Woods PGA Tour DS review

I really enjoy a good round of golf. Whether it's a round for real or in console form. Of course, I'm absolutely rubbish at the game in real life but I'm a dab hand when it comes to consoles...allegedly.

Mulligan

One fault straight off the club would be the start up screen...you get a nice splash screen, typically of high quality from EA Sports but rather disappointingly, you're asked to select a language.

Now forgive if I'm wrong; and I'm not - I checked, but the DS has language settings, yes? So why ask every time you start a game?

Thankfully, it's easy enough to get past and after a while you forget it's even there, so keen are you to continue your game and wipe the floor with Tiger.

Par for the course

As you'd come to expect with EA, the menu system is simple and easy to use and you don't get into too much difficulty configuring your profile. Once you've selected your profile, there's all sorts of options to set up such as the look of your player, where you can select right or left handed play, your face type, a body type and a head type.

Next up is clothing. Whether you want to play in smart clothing just like your hero Tiger or want to don something more outrageous along the lines of Ian Poulter, you can do the lot (including the very latest chav wear) and you can change these at any time during game play if you're in the mood for a makeover.

Attributes are configurable as well; your golfing skills come in handy here. Essentially, your performance on the course is measured by cold hard cash. If you perform well, then you are handsomely rewarded - have a stinker and although you still earn money, you don't earn as much.

For the statisticians amongst you there are also plenty of figures to keep you amused. Not only does Tiger Woods PGA Tour keep a note of the usual career statistics and how you've fared on each of the courses but it'll tell you how many rounds you've played, how long you've been away from the Real World, your average round score and how much money you've earned…for example, I'm very proud of the fact that my longest drive, currently, is 397 yards and my longest putt is 62 feet. Yes.

62 feet.
Honest.

It's in the game

There are 3 modes of game play; quick play for those too eager to mess about with configuring their profile; Multiplayer, which sadly, I've not been able to try out since it requires multiple carts...not to mention a friend; and finally the Legend Tour which is where I've been doing most of my playing and quickly gaining a reputation for myself - watch out Tiger.

Once you've selected Legend Tour, there are 3 levels; Rookie, Pro & Legend - the later levels are locked until you complete all the challenges in the previous levels giving you a nice way of building your skills on your way to that Legendary status.

The Rookie levels are little more than tutorials to help grasp the intriguing new control method. Pro level though is somewhat more challenging - I've been playing this for nigh on 9 hours and I'm still being frustrated by the difficulty level.

As already mentioned, each of the levels has certain challenges; for example the first challenge on the Rookie level is to play Justin Rose in Match play on the front 9 of Pebble Beach.

Each of the challenges is different - as well as Match play, you've got Skin Play and the customary Stroke Play. What? Why the raised eyebrows? Oh. Snigger.

Moving on quickly - each game mode is against different opponents on different courses and with different number of holes to play so there’s a fair selection of challenges to keep you occupied for the long term.

Graphites whores

For those that like nice smart 3D graphics that test their machines to the limit, you're not going to be too impressed. The graphics are clear and even enough but you do tend to notice the odd bit of pixelation. The top screen displays the standard caddy view from behind the golfer taking the shot and the touch screen gives you a bird’s eye allowing you to plot the distance to the pin, organise which club to use, the type of shot you want to play and the direction you want the ball to travel.

If you're unsure which club to choose or how to play the hole, a pocket caddy is available via the touch screen with some useful tips...and by useful, I mean REALLY useful. I found them very informative and easy to understand. As with most golf games, the caddy selects the suggested club but this is easily altered if you want to take a different approach to your shot.

Taking the shot itself is the DS’s unique touch and can feel a bit strange depending on whether you're left or right-handed. Once you've opened up the touch swing controls, you're presented with a pulsing swoosh symbol which I've since discovered is actually your backswing control; the higher up the backswing you start, the more backswing you put behind the club. After you've driven through the ball (the downswing), you've got the option to draw or fade the ball - all of this within one sweeping, flowing movement.

I have to say that being right-handed, it took me a while to get used to it. I just felt that the swing was unnatural for me touching the screen from right to left in what felt like a backwards ticking movement. I can't help thinking that if I was left-handed I be much more comfortable making my shots. With this in mind it would've been a nice touch for EA to include the option to switch this the other way around if you so wished - having said that, after a few hours of play through the Rookie level, you'll get used to it and it will feel like second nature - I'm just a fusspot for detail.

After you've taken your shot, you've also got the option to put spin on the ball in flight - another EA characteristic and sadly one which, personally, I don't like.

Putting is easy and straightforward once you've figured out that the grid they give you is 6 feet squared. It took me ages to figure this out and at one point I nearly threw my DS at the wall - sacrilege I know but then I finally figured it out by reading the manual. Doh! Of course the caddy tips are doubly useful here and paying attention to the advice given will reap rewards.

Out of bounds

I have to say that this title has surprised me; not because I was expecting anything less but that the sound left me somewhat deflated. The title music is superb but the in game sounds are poor. Sure, you've got some good sound bites when you hit the ball for example and the odd bird that tweets or squawks but sadly they're let down by the crowd noises and the noise of the sea lapping up against the coastline which sound, frankly, dull and repetitive.

I have to say that for all the minor bad points, and they are minor, I am really enjoying this title and EA has turned out a well presented game which will keep you amused for hours on end. This reviewer is more than happy. Go buy it - you won't be disappointed.