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Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour (PSX) ReviewBackground Info
EA's golf outings since the days of the Genesis have centered around
their PGA Tour series. In the latest installment of the series, EA
has gone from the more general focal point of the PGA to the very
specific focus of its hottest young star, Tiger Woods.
This doesn't really change the overall product that much, it just
means that Tiger's all over the place (even on the soundtrack - more
on that later), though other golfers are available.
Presentation/Graphics : 60
Five real PGA courses are included in the game. The graphics of the
fairways and greens do a decent job of portraying the slopes and hills
of the landscape, but the surrounding trees and bushes are very
splotchy, and when the camera rotates terrain objects stutter badly
while moving.
I remember this sort of "tree flutter" from the first PGA game EA put
out on the PSX a few years ago. When the field of vision is rotated,
the trees and bushes seem to slowly slither into their new
perspective. Again, the PSX limits what developers can do, but I find
the course graphics in TW99 to be distracting and unacceptable.
The animation of the golfers is good enough, and more importantly, the
swing meter moves smoothly in its arc, and has a nice flow to it that
matches the feel of a golf swing. The only problem with the swing
meter is that it is somewhat transparent so that parts of its details
can get lost against the background at times. The camera angle can be
changed (zoomed in or pulled back from the golfer) to correct this,
but that sort of manual adjustment shouldn't be necessary to play a
game.
Presentation/Audio : 50
First, the ball makes the same sound no matter where it lands - green,
fairway, rough, sand, etc., all make a dull, quiet thud. This is
ridiculous, to say the least, and detracts from the feel of the game.
And then there are the "Tiger Comments." If you hit a bad shot, you
get an apathetic, low-energy "Oh, no" or the like from Tiger. The
comments add nothing to the game, become old very quickly, and, as
noted, come across with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
And then there's the music. Somewhat mellow hip-hop dance mixes are
the best way I can describe it. It's OK, but it doesn't really fit
the world of golf, and when they throw in random quotes from Tiger
(such as "It's in the hole") it just comes across as goofy. Not my
cup of tea.
Interface/Options : 80
Controls are pretty standard for a golf game. The swing meter is
controlled with a single button (the usual 3-tap method), and clubs
and distance can be adjusted easily, along with getting a quick view
of the ball's landing area with the press of a button. Within a few
holes, the controls become second-nature.
A point of note is that EA included an "analog" swing method which
consists of quickly pulling the left stick back, then pushing it
forward. The problem with this method is that it doesn't replicate
the feel of a golf swing in any way, and seems to lack any measure of
subtlety, which an analog method should have. I applaud EA for
including something different, and maybe in future editions this
feature can be fine-tuned to be more useable.
Gameplay : 65
The physics and flight of the ball don't seem natural. The accuracy
of a physics model is impossible to prove or disprove, but it becomes
apparent very quickly that the ball will sometimes go too far, or stop
too short, or stop rolling too quickly, etc...it just doesn't feel
right, and that's the only way I can describe it. If you've played or
watched golf, as I have for years, the oddities of the ball physics
not only become apparent, but ruin the feel of the entire game.
The model for the wind is also off, and highly unnatural. Pause to
gauge the wind before teeing off, and you will see the wind meter not
only change directions almost constantly, but the force will vary
greatly as well. How can you adjust your shot to the wind if the it
is a totally random, haphazard force?
TW99 is by no means a terrible game. The gameplay is pretty standard,
and easy to pick up and get into. Whether or not the poorly-modeled
natural elements of the game take away the fun will be up to the
individual gamer.
Difficulty : 70
Overall : 65
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