Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09

Another Birdie For Tiger!!

I'll admit it right out front, I am a fanboy when it comes to Tiger Woods game. More than any other franchise I am completely and utterly loyal to this franchise. I thought this game was better than the norm, but it wasn't a hole in one, thus my "birdie" designation.

However, it is my opinion that this update, this year is well worth the $60 price tag. There are a number of updates that I really really like, and there are a few things that annoy me (as with any game).

First of all the visuals were redone and they are brilliant. The coureses in the game look amazing, especially on a 1080p HDTV. The details are second to none and are an obvious improvement from 2008.

I also really like the club features. Before the clubs you bought made you better, without consequence. Now, the more expensive clubs will still allow you to hit it farther, manuver it better and put the exact spin/loft you want. However, the "better" you make you club, the smaller the sweet spot gets. It follows the famous phrase "with great power, comes great responsibility", because the farther you can hit the ball, the more perfect you must swing in order to avoid firing it off at a 45 degree angle. It REALLY provides another level of difficulty for users who want to get longer gameplay out of the console.

My biggest beefs with this game are well, the same. There are too few courses (there may be less courses in this years game than last years). I completely understand the limitations of a console game disc, but just having more courses gives me the difficulty on longitivity that would allow me to enjoy the game for longer.

The other is the announcers. WHAT HAPPEND TO DAVID FEHERTY?? The announcers in this new game are: dry, boring, not funny, and devoid of any kind of enthusiasms. I guess Feherty and company demanded too much $$$ to do the gig and EA felt it wouldn't be cost efficient. That or he perhaps got sick of hearing himself talk (doubtful).

Another other issue, which they are improving on is the clothing/clubs in the editor. I really dislike the space suits and other weirdo stuff they put in there, but maybe that's because I'm a purest. What I think is interesting (and I will never do) is the ability to use your Xbox Live pts to pay for your clubs instead of the money you "earn" in the game. I'm sorry, that's lame of any user to that, but I can totally understand why EA would do this.

Overall, if you like the Tiger Woods franchise, or golf games in general, this is a definite buy. If you don't normally play golf games, or are new to the franchise, rent it first and find out if you like it before dropping the $60.