Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 for iPhone
Only recently out on the bigger consoles, Tiger Woods 10 is something of a handheld triumph
Only recently out on the bigger consoles, Tiger Woods 10 is something of a handheld triumph.
Obviously it’s pared down, with the original 16 courses now reduced to 7, including St Andrews and Pebble Beach. The number of playing modes and star players has also been reduced although you still get decent player likenesses of the great Tiger, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and others.
Naturally you can choose to play as these guys or, more likely, get whipped by them as you go through the tour. However, your first task is to customise your player, whose basic attributes improve as you progress through the game.
Gameplay has been recreated surprisingly well from the larger versions, including an innovative swing action produced by dragging your finger down the screen to activate the Swing Metre and to add a touch of forward or backward spin.
Putting is controlled in the same way, although the way the landscape swivels while the pin stays fixed takes a bit of getting used to. Whichever shot you play you’ll find your caddy’s advice and club selection helpful until you get the hang of things, by which time you should be able to trust your own judgement.
Visually, TW10 is hugely impressive with fabulously lush greens filled with realistic contours, bunkers and hazards all nicely tracked by multiple camera angles.
Sadly the original’s changeable weather conditions have also been simplified, but it still plays a challenging if slightly less unpredictable game.
And although the commentaries have improved thanks to addition of Sam Torrence rather than the all-American teaming found on other versions, they still bear only a passing resemblance to what is actually happening in the match, so it’s lucky you can turn them off.
Despite this, the tranquil sound of club hitting ball with occasional applause provides a soothing ccompaniment to a tranquil and enjoyable game.
At £3.99, TW10 is superb value for money and proof that although EA Mobile doesn’t release many titles, they’re usually worth the wait.
Verdict 8/10 Featuring most of the original game, Tiger Woods 10 is an impressive effort for both golf and iPhone fans.
Written by Mike Anderiesz
Popularity: 1% [?]
for all the latest smartphone news, reviews and previews.
Tiger Woods 12 is a POS! It constantly crashes (ipod touch iOS 4.2.1). You have absolutely NO POWER until you upgrade after play for HOURS. I was so tired of playing St. Andrews OVER and OVER until I had enough money to upgrade. The interface is totally wrong and uncontrollable compared with Tiger Woods 11 (which had a great interface). When putting I can’t tell you how many times I had to 2-putt because I was a tap-in short of the hole (I have upgraded all the way up to 5 1/2 stars out of six on putting). Or if I increased the power of the putt by just a little bit it WAYYY over shot the hole and then often giving me a 0-0 to putt on the next shot. As if to make up for the error?? On hole 1 of TPC Sawgrass if you do a fade to the right it sometimes hit an invisible wall (Out of Bounds?) a couple of feet from the tee. WTF??? Making you lose the stroke and have to hit it again. Sometimes when you would roll the ball forward/side the ball goes crazy too far than what would be normal. The numbers are harder to read/see in some places (along with the flag stick). There is no option to practice with black, blue or white tees (you can only practice with the white tees). There is often a white square that appears in the lower right corner when the ball goes over the hole.
Yes, it looks great but if the physics are wrong and the interface sucks and you have no power until you spend hours playing and then upgrading what’s the point? Bring back the Tiger Woods 11 interface/physics and put in the new courses and graphics.