Ok, well just to save someone else the money, skip Tiger Woods. It is a port and plays like one. All the features, games, PGA Tour, face modeling options are really cool, but the SWING is terrible. And really, you've GOT to get the swing right if you're going to make a motion detecting golf game.

The swing is more about timing than your stroke. Rather than mirroring your actions with the remote the way Wii Golf does, the player starts his swing when you start moving back and completes it when you start moving froward. This means hitting a shorter shot means pulling back then pushing froward QUICKLY, not stopping short in either direction or lessening the speed/power of your stroke. It also means you have to be looking at the screen rather than down at your imaginary golf ball. In short, the swing mechanic doesn't match anything like a real shot, and it has been thus far impossible for me to hit a straight shot consistently. I finally put the game on "easy" mode, which makes every shot straight, but now it's waaay to simple- I just point and shoot and the ball goes where I want. Not much skill to it.

I'd chalk this up to- "oh well, they'll need to refine it a bit in the next version", except that Wii Golf did MUCH better with the swing. In that game it really feels like you are playing golf, even if it doesn't look much like it (and if the whole "swing to hard and you'll hook it" thing is a bit contrived). I'd say of the two, Wii Golf easily beats Tiger Woods in the playability factor, and that is just plain sad.

I hope they'll figure it out in the next version, because Golf really is a natural game for the Wii. However, in order for it to be fun it has to actually playing something like golf, not like they mapped a stick timing control system to pseudo golf motions.


In other news, SSX has held up great. I LOVE it and am still playing even after having beaten it. DEFINITELY worth the time spent learning the controls, and now that I am comfortable with them I think the whole scheme is fantastic.