pavona21's Full Review: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2002 for PlayStation 2
Golf And Pav: A Wonderous Combination
Even though I may sound like the outspoken guy that makes up the soul of a "soccer mom" and the out of the control guy that puts together the heart of a "street baller", I'll admit something right now. Your's truly, The Pav is actually a golfer. Sure I love a rousing game of football, and the high paced tempo of basketball, but simply put, I'm best at golf. This works to my advantage and disadvantage when playing "real life golf sims" such as Tiger woods. On one hand, I can analize from my on the course experience, and truly feel the player. But on the other hand, I can also sit in front of the screen yelling "This is Crap! When you slice the ball it doesn't do that!" And that is exactly why I prefer not to use words such as "realistic sim" when playing a game, because that just gives me a green light to eat it apart while I'm playing it. In a war sim I can yell "That gun doesn't sound like that!" In a basketball sim I can rant about how Shawn Bradley could never slam it home on Shaq, and in "The sims" I can ponder, and assure myself that it isn't really that easy to get laid. But what's important about this game is that it is literally the only thing anywhere near a realistic golf sim out there. Sure, you have Mario golf, outlaw golf, swing away golf, and hot shots golf. But, none of those come even close to truly portraying the essance of golf.
The essance of golf in my opinion can be somehow produced from those who play it. To understand golf, you must understand what golfers feel on the course when they are hitting that little ball into a little hole 400 yards away in 4 strokes.
"If you watch a game, it's fun. If you play it, it's recreation. If you work at it, it's golf."
-Bob Hope
"Golf and sex are the only two things you can enjoy without being good at either of 'em!"
-Jimmy Demaret
"Golf is a game in which you yell Fore, shoot six and write down five."
-Paul Harvey
So now, even though at quite a random time, I hope that you all have a better understanding of golf. But, I must say that this review isn't quite on the essance of golf, so I can now back into Tiger Woods 2002.
The History Of Tiger In Video Games: 2 Shirts, 4 years
I've been playing, and enjoying the Tiger woods golf series for all 4 years that it's been around, but one thing, up until now has boggled my mind. In tiger 99, tiger wore a red and black shirt with black pants. In tiger 2000, tiger wore the same red and black shirt with the same black pants. And in tiger 2001, tiger once again wore the same onsomble. All I can say about this is that I hope to god that he washed that thing at least in his three reign of golf games. So, I almost had to purchase Tiger 2002 just to see if Tiger had finally changed clothes. And folks, what a surprise it was. While his pants remained seemingly unchanged, he did in fact put on a slightly different red Nike shirt, and I was so happy that I almost soiled myself.(not really) So, what was the point of this paragraph? Well, I generally don't just write to take up a massive amount of space, and I was just trying to show all you people that I've been with tiger since square one.
Starting Up The Game: Playing Golf For The First Time
When you finally get around to taking the game out it's package and booting it up, you are literally picked up by the neck, and thrown into a tutorial mode. Such a mode can be a good thing, or a bad thing. For me, it was like pulling teeth because I already knew how to play, and I had to sit around for 15 minutes being told how to play once again. "This is a putt?" Are you sure? But, for players new to the series, such modes can be a big help. Here, you are taught how to do basic things like hit the ball, read a putt, and recognize the game screens. Things that are very important to newbies, but another "nap time" for those that have played the games before.
Game Modes: 9/10-Everything but the kitchen sink...And a tour mode
For starters, this game has basically any kind of golf that you would want to play, and some that you wouldn't. Your first option of play is the stroke play. Basically, you pick a golfer and a course and go out and play 18 holes with yourself or with others. Then you have your match play. This runs very similar to stroke play except instead of counting score, you count holes won. Play against another person, or a computer player. Your next choice is the skins mode. Here, you battle for money. Each hole is worth a certain amount of cash, and whoever wins the hole takes it home. It no one wins it, it's carried over to the next hole. This mode can be played with 1-4 players. Then you have your tournament mode. Pick a golfer and play against the field at one of the many courses this game has to offer. After 4 rounds, you get to see if you suck, or if you're the a golf prodigy. You also have the "play now" feature which will basically sit your butt on some course and some hole, and you'll play it. What do all of these course have in common.(They're all in the same game? They all involve golf?) Yes those, and they were all here last year. But, this game also offers some more over the top fun modes as well.
First off, tiger 2002 features an expanded Tiger challenge mode. Here, you're up against 17 golfers trying win a big pot of cash. Earn cash not only for finishing well on holes and the course, but also for birdies, eagles, long drives, and the like. But, there's more to this mode than meets the eye. In the process of beating up on the 17 golfers, you get unlock new tournaments and golfers, as well as earn points to upgrade your golfers statistics. The one new game mode in Tiger 2002 is the speed golf mode. Here, you battle against another player to try to win some more cash. Basically, to win in this mode you need skill and speed and that's about all. This mode is set up in a split screen and there's even a humorous "running on the golf course" control where you have use your analog stick and the L2 button to hustle to the your ball. Good modes, good golf.
Courses & Golfers: 10/10-If It Only Costed $50 To Play All These Courses, The World Would Be A Different Place
Tiger Woods 2002 has by far the greatest selection of golfers and courses of any golf game on the market today. Play with golf favorites like Tiger Woods,(surprise, surprise) Justin Leonard, Brad Faxon,(Faxme as I like to call him) Vijay Singh,(funny name) Jim Furyk, Jespah Parnevick and many more. You can also visit great courses such as Pebble Beach, Sawgrass, Summerlin, Scottsdale, Royal Birkdale, and even a custom Tiger Woods compilation course. Aslo, in the beginning of this game you start only with Tiger Woods and a loser made up golfer and a few courses. From there you must unlock the rest of the guys and plots of land by winning tournies and completing challenges. This piece of added depth along with great multiplayer action really helps the replay value of the game.
Graphics: 10/10-Golf Is Truly A Beautiful Sport
I'm not trying to sound like one of those former hippies from a couple of decades ago, but golf is truly a great sport for those who want to be one with nature. Tiger 2002 shows just why that is. Everything from the oceans of Pebbles Beach, to the forrests of sawgrass look truly devine here with just the right amount of lighting and texturing. Also featured are life like, real time shadow effects that come and go based on the angle of the camera and the sun. And the sun truly does take an important role in this games graphics. You'll see a glare effect through the camera angles at time, reflections off the water hazards, and brightness turning to darkness as the clouds cover the course. The background aninimation will truly make any avid golfer wish that they had the opprotunity to play some of these courses. Even the course developers would be happy if they saw this thing in action.
The player animation, while not as impressive isn't horrible either. Each player has their own swing, and variety of many movements. For example, players stretch and warm up as they get ready to a shot. The player faces on the other hand, aren't so good. They often times look blocky and not so realistic, and they make me wish that EA would have spent the extra hour and a half that it would have taken to make the players look quality. The gallery naturally still looks like a bunch of moving cardboard standups, but it's been that way for so long that I wouldn't want it any differently. It's always humorous to see 2D objects in a 3D game, and even though it is quite ugly, it's not a huge deal. Supporting EA's current theme of animation, this game also features some of those signiture matrix like camera angles and effects. Camera angle rotation, blur affects, and rocket trials behing "ripped" balls(that doesn't sound good) are the norm here in Tigerland. They are used, but not over used, and that's respectable.
Controls: 9/10-Finally, Someone Uses That Analog Stick To It's Full Potential
The control scheme in this game is centered around the use of the left analog stick, and boy is it about time someone uses this thing right. Here, you pull back on your analog stick until you feel that you have enough power behind the ball, then you thrust forward on the stick to hit the ball. This truly makes golf feel more realistic than ever before. I've always had problems with the use of the X button is hitting golf balls because it had no feel to it. Here, on the other hand, you will eventually get a feel for the game of golf. As time progresses, you will develop a sense of how far back to pull the stick, and when to release. When hitting a chip shot from 15 yards, you will realize that you only must pull the thing back about 1/4 of the way to hit a solid shot. You can also use the L1 button to "charge up" your shot while swinging. This does cause a minor annoyance, and doesn't feel quite right, but is kind of cool once you master it. If you hit it right, a jet streak will follow your ball, and you will hit the ball very, very far.
Putting in this game is also very simplistic, thanks to the caddy tips. Unlike in the last edition, where you had to read puts based on a grid, a caddy basically tells you what to do here. He gives the arrow of the slope of the green, and the power that you must exert to hit the ball in the hole, and you follow his lead. I'm not sure who this "mythical" caddy guy is, but I thank him for helping me get the ball in the hole when I'm on the green. In other words, you don't have to worry about the math, aka frustration, involved in putting in the game. And that my friends, is a good thing.
Audio: 9/10-Hey, You in the gallery...shut the hell up!
The audio in this game gives players a sense and feel for the game of golf. Sure, it's quiet, but that's what this sport is all about.(boring!) The commentary is done by professionals David Feherty and Bill Macatee who essentially adhere to the rules of their profession and keep it quiet. Sure, this is no "joe the show", but they do it right. There are also some subtle and peaceful sound effects that vary from course to course. You'll hear the waves hitting the rocky beach at Pebble Beach, and some birds singing everywhere else, along with a "thwak" everytime a club makes contact with the ball. If it was supposed to be any different, I would bash this game to pieces, you all know it. But this is truly the sounds of golf done right.
Overall Thoughts
Unless you have some burning hate for golf, I would genuinly recommend that you at least give this game a rental. This is the best golf simulation ever produced as of now, and it will surely keep you having fun during the golf offseason. This game would even be exciting for those who suck at golf, or have never played it before. For now, this is one of my favorite games on the market, and I'm sure you would all enjoy it as well.
-Pav
Grab your bag and head for the links in the most realistic golf experience ever! Play as Tiger Woods or go up against him as you attack the pins of so...More at eBay
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