Tiger Woods 2008, released on multiple platforms this past September by
EA Sports, has endured a beating normally reserved for rent-a-cars on most forums. Most of the complaints revolve around game freezes, instable
EA online servers, lack of character clothing options and most importantly the hair-trigger analog controls. To the delight of old-school gamers, and possibly a welcomed addition to frustrated analog video golfers,
EA (Electronic Arts) has brought back an old friend, the
3-Click swing meter. This article is not necessarily a full review of
Tiger Woods 2008, but more of reflection on the reintroduction of this swing meter interface.
I admit I am an older gamer, and have been a fan of video golf games for some 30 years. I started out playing
Computer Golf for the
Odyssey II at home and
Birdie King at the arcades. I was thrilled with the evolution of the golf game genre on all platforms including
Big Event Golf (arcade), the
PGA Tour series on the
Sega Genesis, and the
Links series for the PC. My virtual golf life ended with the release of
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2001. The new analog stick swing interface replaced my tried and trusted ways. This was devastating for me. I did not have the time (due to work), to master this new video swing technology. I became frustrated since my drives off the tee went only 167 yards and usually in the trees or the muck bordering the fairway (on a good day, it being my fairway). Sure, there was
Swing Away Golf for the
PS2 that was the one game that still employed the
3-Click swing meter for the next generation systems (at that time) . It was just not the same game as my beloved
PGA Tour series.
I first downloaded on the
Xbox 360 the demo of
Tiger Woods 2008 once I read that the
3-Click swing meter was brought back from the dead. Obviously I was very happy to be reacquainted with an old friend. I could once again compete off/on-line with a certain degree of competency right away. Naysayers will argue that the
3-Click swing meter makes things too easy and does not truly test the video golfers skill. I can not say that I completely disagree with this. However,
EA did reopen up a market to all of the people that grew up playing and loving the original
PGA Tour series.
Most of the complaints on this game have been addressed through two (2) game updates. Remaining issues mostly revolve around computer player AI and online play/server performance.
Overall, I am thoroughly enjoying
Tiger Woods 2008 (
Xbox 360 version). Though there are some problems with it, the reintroduction of the
3-Click swing meter has made me a born-again follower of the series.
Life on the links has been revived for us old-school video golf gamers!
All you have to do is click the right analog stick and it will be brought up.
