Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 EA Sports PSP Golf Sim This is the first review I’ve ever written so forgive me if I made any errors. Anyway... Another year, another Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, this year's effort is a double bogey (pun intended). With Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, EA has somehow managed to take a great golf simulator (Tiger Woods 08) and turn it into a pile of mediocrity by excluding features present last year and worsening basic gameplay elements. I'll start with the missing features: Well, the mini-games found in last year's version (Putting Frenzy, Shooting Gallery) have gone. Also gone is the Confidence and Risk system, which in turn means the confidence boosting micro-games are gone too. And so is online play. Yep, you heard me. Despite online play being included last year, EA have puzzlingly decided to omit it from this year's game. You can still play locally, however. While the missing mini-games might not necessarily be a deal braker for most people, the lack of online play almost certainly is. The only significant new feature on the PSP version is the EA Sports Cup. This puts you in a league where you play a few holes from each course and then if you're good enough you'll move on to the next part of the competition. You can probably play it to the end in about 15 minutes. It works rather well and is good fun if you just want a quick fix of portable golfing. What is really irritating though is that EA have completely excluded some of the most compelling new features present in the home console versions from the PSP game. For example, there is no Club Tuner and Tiger’s own coach Haney will not be delivering customized feedback on your performance after each hole. This is extremely disappointing. Come on EA, the PSP is a very capable system and it deserves the same treatment as its big brother. Now, what’s worse: well, I’ll just come out and say it: the putting is awful. The percentage bar is gone and instead replaced by a meter in the middle of the screen which displays the shot’s power in distance. Thing is, the amount of precision required is way above what is physically possible with the PSP’s analogue nub. Not such a big problem on drives but when you’re on the green it’s really quite an issue and given that putting is largely about accuracy, it’s just plain frustrating. It’s not all bad though. The graphics have improved somewhat. Courses look more detailed, textures are crisper and the player models look great. Plus, you get the option of a 2/3 click system, a la Hotshots (Everybody’s in Europe) Golf. Also, there is an enormous amount of customization options available, especially while crating your in-game face. You can change everything from the shape, size and position of your eyes to the size and shape of your jaw bones. This does seem a bit like overkill. Nevertheless, it is nice having the opportunity to make an accurate depiction of yourself in the game, should you wish to do so. All in all, if you have last year’s Tiger Woods, there is absolutely no reason for you to spend your money on this year’s mediocre outing. If you do decide to, opt for the PS3, XBOX 360 or Wii editions, the latter of which includes the new ALL-PLAY mode for beginners which shows you exactly where a shot will land. My Scores: Presentation: Same old, same old. Menus are slick and there’s a wealth of customization options. Load times are decent, although you’ll be seeing the “Loading†screen quite often. 6/10 Graphics: Courses are rich in detail and player models look very good. Not much else to say really. 8/10 Sound: Environment sounds are OK and the commentary is, while sparse, for the most part good. No music while playing yet again.7/10 Gameplay: The putting really spoils the gameplay and will ruin your score. The rest just can’t make up for that. The added 2/3 click swing system will entice new/casual players, however. 5/10 Lasting appeal: Loads of courses and tournaments and the EA Cup is an added bonus but the lack of online play is a big letdown. 6/10 Total: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 gets a 32 out of 50.
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy This is a really good first review. Just a little note, portable versions will always be inferior to the console versions. If the portables were equal to the consoles, then we would have some very disappointing console games (oh wait, we already have those). I'm surprised they cut a lot of features out of the PSP version. Like you said, the PSP is very capable (and I doubt that they filled over 1600 MB for the UMD). No online play is fine I guess since most PSP games have their servers closed within 6 months of release. It's still a disappointment though. A lot of the PSP games have the local function, but not infrastructure mode. I pretty much think that game developers just don't know what the hell they're thinking when it comes to the PSP analog stick. A game should always (always, meaning 99/100) have the D-pad and the analog stick occupy the same function so that if one type of control fails like this one, the other will compensate. At least with a D-pad, you could make smaller increments on the backswing, instead of out of control swings. Edit: EA really disappoints me on the portable end. They take great games and turn them into complete crap on the portables (Need For Speed Underground/Underground 2/Most Wanted/Carbon/Pro Street). Sure you can never directly compare them 1:1 with their console versions, but these games don't even remotely represent what the consoles are all about. I feel the same way about this game as well, but it had some success with 08 so maybe EA actually has some talent in the portable industry. I can tell even from the highly reputable IGN screenshots (which are usually spectacular) that EA cut way too many corners when making this game.
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy n0thealthy nice job. Im disliking that it doesn't have online play. Great first review, hope you continue
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy Glad you both like it. Means a lot coming from you guys. insane: I completely agree about NfS. Frankly, it's a joke on the PSP. EA are very hit-or-miss when it comes to the PSP. I mean, the Burnout games are great, and so are some of their sports games, but then there's all that licensed junk and other bad ports.
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy Imagine if this were on the DS? Your missing features list would be double of what it is now. If it had wi-fi, it would only be local, and you might be able to play maybe one hole (and wouldn't make all of the holes selectable, mariokart anyone?). The stylus might actually be better though depending on how accurate they make it. I was just playing the homebrew portal game and it was pissing me off that it wouldn't get it exactly where I needed it to be. Luckily the fireball receiver thing is lenient. As far as our other conversation about NFS, EA made the racing games even worse on the DS. Whatever remnants that still stayed true to the PSP versions were completely gone in the DS ones. edit: By the way, you spelled Tiger, Toger on the title.
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy You don't even want to compare the PSP to the DS, they're completely different systems, although both portable, and you know it. Starting with th ecartridge size. I don't intend to start a flame war, or whatever, just to remind you. Good first review, n0thealthy! It's somewhat small, but i guess there's not much to tell about a golf game. I played Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006 (I believe) on the PS2, and it was complete crap (at least for me, I hate golf).
Re: [PSP] Toger Woods PGA Tour 09 - n0thealthy Thanks for the pointer. Can't believe I let that one slip by...
I seriously do not like golf. Along with cricket, it is the most boring sport ever created by a human being. Seriously. But I must admit the games are kind of fun Nice review man. Keep it up!!!
golf is fun as long as your good at it, I find that the games are boring. g00d first review n0thealthy
