Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 | Teen Ink

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010 MAG

December 31, 2009
By Shaunyboy94 GOLD, Novato, California
Shaunyboy94 GOLD, Novato, California
13 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life is like an onion: You peel it off one layer at a time, and sometimes you weep."--Carl Sandburg

"If you can laugh at yourself loud and hard every time you fall, people will think you're drunk."--Conan O' Brien


“Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010” for the PSP is simple to play. Anyone can pick it up and start enjoying virtual golf. Swing mechanics are rudimentary, like other golf games. Using the analog stick is the best way to play, but the three-click or two-click method works as well.

In terms of game play, many new features make a huge difference from previous Tiger Woods PSP games. Now you can hear crowd reactions. Whether groaning or cheering, you can feel the atmosphere intensify whenever you play. Confidence boost is also a great feature. Depending on how you play, you gain or lose confidence. Want to hit a 230-yard shot over a lake and some bunkers? Go ahead. Whether you succeed or fail will affect your morale and how far you can hit shots.

Besides all these, Tournament Challenge is a big improvement to the PSP. Ever tried to hit that shot in 2000 when Tiger Woods stuck his approach shot on the 18th hole in the final round at Firestone? Now you can recreate that moment. In Tournament Challenge, you will relive every great moment from TPC Sawgrass to Bethpage Black, and experience the thrill of making the clutch shots. Tiger also discusses some of his most memorable shots and tells you in his own words what it felt like and how he pulled it off.

I do have a few gripes. For one thing, the broadcasting team is still bland. Kelly Tilghman and Scott Van Pelt comment on the golf course, but the lack of enthusiasm and scripted sentences bother me. By now I would have expected a significant improvement. Had Gary McCord, David Feherty, Johnny Miller, and Dan Hicks done the commentary, that would have been awesome.

Another negative is the PGA Tour Career mode. Playing as a rookie on Tour is challenging, but as soon as you improve, you're the most dominant player. Seriously, who wins the US Open at 84 under in four rounds, with the closest competitor at 20 under?

Also, with tournaments almost every week, I would like it if there were a stamina or health bar. Injuries plague golfers, so why can't there be a bit of realism in the game? If Tiger can win the US Open with a torn ACL, shouldn't the virtual golfer get the occasional broken hand or bruised rib? Golfers are vulnerable too.

These are my minor gripes, but I have some big ones too. When I first played, I was appalled to see what happened to the holes. At first I thought it was a glitch, but I'm beginning to believe EA made a major mistake. The holes and yard­ages are off. At Westchester why is a 188-yard hole a par 4? That is abysmal.

Another complaint I have is the crowd. If you're going to make a crowd, can there be at least more people? The crowds feel rushed and were implemented just for presentation.

Besides this, I am also discouraged about the characters and golf courses. Now, I'm not sure whether it's due to the PSP and its limitations, but I was expecting more. The 360, PS3, and Wii have many courses, so why couldn't we have some of them? Where is Bay Hill, Hazeltine, or Turnberry? Also, what about the characters? Can't EA license a few more? Why can't they get Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, or Kenny Perry? I want to play a Tiger Woods versus Phil Mickelson duel at Bethpage and see who comes out victorious.

In the end, “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2010” doesn't live up to 2009, but remember, this is just for PSP. I have heard many other good things from the 360, PS3, and Wii; particularly the Wii Motionplus, and online tournaments.

My score for this game is a 7.6 out of 10, with flaws.



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