Gameplay: Tiger 09 features controls which have been standard throughout most of the recent series, so veterans of the series will be able to pick up the controller and get to work quickly. Thankfully, EA got rid of the super sensitive controls of 08 and brought back the more reasonable controls of previous years. There are no game ending glitches as in Tiger 08, but there is a slight pause in the gameplay sometimes when you make a putt. You can create your own character with the in-depth create-a-character system and then take that character straight to the Tiger Challenges. Completing these tasks raises your character's attributes (you can only buy small attribute adders this time around). Hank Haney dishes out the attributes which can rise or fall depending on how well you play. This works ok most of the time, but sometimes you will be punished on a certain attribute when it really doesn't make sense. Also, with the exception of the power attribute, the attributes don't seem to improve your player but are actually more of a marker of how good you are. I like this system, but it seems to punish the player too much for not pulling off tough risk v. reward shots. Because of this, it would have been nice to have the ability to practice the courses before you play them. As you might expect, your putting attribute will remain high due to the fact that putting is extremely easy in Tiger Woods. It would have been nice to see more courses and golfers this year. There are too many good courses for EA to limit them to 16. As in previous years, you will destroy the best golfers in the world as you march to victory through the Tiger Challenges and PGA Tour. That being said, your biggest enemies in the game are the harder golf courses. The PGA Tour is quickly played because you do not play against other CPU golfers in a group, but instead play alone as you decimate the competition. The real gem of this game is multiplayer play where you can play against tougher opponents.
Graphics/Sound: The water and players look really nice. The gallery looks surprisingly detailed as well and will sometimes react to your shots as you play. On the sound front, the sounds of the golf course are great. However, the new announcers are worse than McCord and Feherty who where usually fairly comical. The new announcers make horrible attempts at humor and seem very bland. In addition, they make comments that don't always fit the shot you just made and are sometimes late on commenting.
Multiplayer/Online: As stated before, this is the best part of the game. As far as online is concerned, you play against up to three others online. Their shots are represented by colored ball flight lines. It is a really quick way to play multiplayer golf and can be very challenging. As always, you can play against your buddies at home and will have to take turns making shots (depending on which game you play). This is definately the most enjoyable way to play Tiger Woods golf as you can pick from many different types of golf games such as stroke play, captain's choice, battle golf, or one ball just to name a few.
Overall: This game has a few problems, but most of them are problems consistent with the series and are easily overlooked. If you liked any of the other previous Tiger games then you will like this one as well. The replay value on this game is extremely high due to the endless gameplay possibilities.
I got Tiger Woods 09 the other day, and I have to say its the best golf game I have ever played, and also one of the best sports games ever. I dont golf very frequently, usually a couple times a year, and Im not horrible... Read Full Review
This is easily the best Tiger Woods game to date. Everything that was wrong, or not perfected from 2008 has been fixed or at least addressed. The graphics, as always, are great. Animations are smooth and realistic, bu... Read Full Review
