Golf might not always grab you as the most exciting sport to play a game on, but companies such as Microsoft with Links, and Electronic Arts with its PGA series seem to continue to compete for the best golf title. For a long time Links won the appeal of many a keen golfer, and PGA seemed to lack behind.

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Recently Electronic Arts decided to rename the series after the most popular sports person in the game in a bid to attract game players to their game. Tiger Woods was chosen for the golf series, and now we see the 2002 version released which is as stated by EA, "the most realistic golf experience ever!"

As a big fan of golf and the Links series I was interested to see what Tiger Woods 2002 can offer the golfer, and the gamer alike.

Game Play

As a keen golfer I have been a big fan of golf games but found they were missing a number of elements which are important when looking at the game of golf. One of these was the difficulty. Golf is difficulty. There are so many factors that can affect your game, ranging from wind, trees, bunkers, to the swing and speed of the club. Tiger Woods 2002 seems to try very hard at bettering all these elements in the game.

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Firstly Tiger Woods 2002 offers you the chance of playing on a total of 6 different courses. This brand new course line-up includes such amazing layouts as Pebble Beach Golf Links®, TPC at Sawgrass, Royal Birkdale in England, Poppy Hills, Spyglass Hill, and Price Course Princeville.

The number of courses can be expanded via future add-ons, but the game offers a converter to convert your old courses from PGA2000. This is good if you owned the older version. No doubt they won't look as good as the 2002 versions, but it means you haven't wasted the ones you already own. If you don't own PGA2000, 6 courses are on par with Links, the 2001 version also offers 6 courses.

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The idea behind this game is that you can play as Tiger Woods or go up against him as you attack the pins of some of the most famous beautiful courses in the world. You can not only play Tiger Woods himself, but also 11 other PGA TOUR professionals including Jesper Parnevik, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, and Notah Begay.

Since it’s really aimed at the American market, it’s no surprise not to see many UK professionals, but you can create your own player. I expect after you have played as a PGA professional for a while, you will create your own golfer using the many skins available.

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The courses in Tiger Woods 2002 are so highly detailed in terms of layout, dirt, bunkers etc, you will be amazed. This game has to impress, the detail really stands out when you first load the game. After playing for a while you begin to notice a few flaws, especially on the Royal Birkdale course. These are minor and I will explain them in more detail in the graphics section of the review.

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For version 2002, the developers have opted to improve upon the true swing method of hitting the ball. The new True swing allows for total precision in your swing and lets you drive in true, slice it or add a draw, giving you more control over your shots. The illusion of actually swinging the club is particularly effective in areas that mouse-swing interfaces have always had trouble with before. The newer version of True Swing seems more realistic and feels superb, but it can still lack the difficulty of the real golf swing.

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The first time I picked up Tiger Woods 2002, I could not only swing the club well, I was actually having birdies on the first few holes. I think this may have been down to playing as one of the Pro players since I'm sure they wouldn't want to put there name to the game if they had bad shots (even if your controlling them). That said, its seem like it has replaced my current favourite of the Links style two click system as the best and most realistic method of swinging. It’s just a shame it’s still far too easy. Tips on playing the game can be found in the forum.

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A click of the mouse on the map allows you to pan all over the course at any time during play which means if you need to know where to hit towards you can. Camera angles are easy to alter both to take shots and to check out the results. From time to time you get the default computer driven chase shots where the camera automatically tracks the ball in motion so you can see how far you have hit the ball. This can look superb, but can occasionally pan a bit too much automatically and look like your ball isn't actually moving that far or fast. Overall though the cameras are well placed and shots of the ball in motion can look fantastic, if a little jerky on lower spec P2 machines. The additional game types of Tiger Woods 2002 seem to offer more of an arcade style of game play, which should help to attract the average game player to the game. Since the game is easy to pick up, and you can play against the computer or against your friends online, or on the same computer, I think this game offers so many possibilities to keep you amused for some time. Different game modes include new Skills Competition, along with tournaments, team matches, scrambles, and PGA TOUR seasons. As well as playing the game you can use Course Architect which allows you to create your own golf courses with relative ease, and swap them on the internet or with friends. I haven't tried playing one of my own courses on a friends computer, so I'm not sure how portable they are, but if its easy they I can see the internet becoming a good resource for new courses to play with the game.

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Graphics

Like so many games released by EA, the graphics are highly polished and the more you look the more detail you can see. This time around there is a brand new 3D game engine which brings a new look to the courses and golfers. The courses all look beautiful and have a variety of different hole types and lengths making the course selection one of the best available. As you swing your club, the golfer modelled in full 3D actually looks like they are moving as a golfer should do. The only problem with the golfers swing is that it always looks perfect, even if you top the ball. With every swing of the club you see dirt and grass fly into the air as it would if you were playing it for real. Not only do you see blades of grass, but grains of sand as you smack the ball out of the bunkers. You even see your player attempting to repair the divot he has just made.

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As you can tell by the screenshots the graphics are fantastic, but they are not without flaws. The detail of the sky when cloudy looks decidedly poor. The lighting of the course when it’s dull looks all wrong, and fake. Also if you land your ball on the top of a wall, or bank, the player model stands in totally the wrong spot. I have found on one of the courses there is a bit of a wall, I managed to hit my ball on to the edge, but the player model was drawn at the bottom of the wall, and when you took your shot the computer model looked like it was hitting the wall with the club, and was no where near the balls position. This may not happen often, but it looks pants all the same. Also some of the longer grass in the Royal Birkdale course in England looks pretty 2D and unrealistic.

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Fair play though, Tiger Woods 2002 does have better graphics that any other golf game I have seen, with excellent use of your 3D card. The holes with water features seem to look the best because with full detail on you get to see the reflections of the trees in the water, and it just looks so much more realistic. As well as reflections if its a windy day you can expect you see the trees swaying in the wind, which looks fantastic, but I would recommend a fast machine before turning all the detail on since you don't notice some of it after you have played the hole a few times.

Sound

The sound in Tiger Woods 2002 is pretty involving ranging from gallery cheers to comments from your partners. During rounds you get to hear comments and tips from two American golf commentators. This can become annoying, but can also be helpful, so it’s really up to you if you turn it off, personally I quite like it.

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The whoosh noises made by your swing, and the sound as you hit the ball sounds very real. The bird noises aren't as apparent as in Links, but you do get the crowd cheering you on in the matches. Since golf doesn't have many more noises its nice to see the game not being too noisy with too many sound effects.

Overall

Fantastic array of game types, the best graphics ever in a golf game, full 3D courses and player models all add up to THE best golf game for your computer I have played so far. The courses all look fantastic in the new 3D engine, with swaying trees, and dirt flying when you hit the ball. The new version of True Swing is better if still a little too easy, and there are many options for playing games against your mates who can either be in the same room, or over a network. The game plays, looks and sounds the business, with only a few flaws to let it down. The game may have been designed as a simulation, but I still think it lacks the depth of one, but on the plus side it makes the game easy to pick up, and your friends won't have to know how to play golf before having a bash.