E3 2008: Hands on with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 on PSP
A birdie in the works
Hot off his latest win, Tiger Woods is wasting no time in hitting the links again, this time in a welcome revamp of his game on PSP. Going hands-on with the portable version of Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 during E3 this week, we're glad to see a number of key improvements to last year's effort underway.
Although the fundamentals of the game remain unaltered – it's still the core golfing experience you've come to expect from the series – this new version offers a new slate of modes and expanded control options.
Joining the main single-player PGA Tour career mode is a new EA Sports Cup. The mini-games of last year are being replaced by this new tournament mode that has you competing against the computer in three-cup rounds. After winning your four-man group, you then move to elimination rounds.
Head-to-head matches make a reappearance in the 2009 game, although don't get too excited. Infrastructure play won't be supported, so all you competitive golfers are going to have to survive on ad-hoc battles alone.
Thankfully, eight new courses – including Nevada's infamous Wolf Creek – and nearly double the number of characters of last year's game ensure plenty of fresh content that balances out the lack of online play.
Easily the most exciting change to Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 comes in the form of a new shot interface. Instead of basing shots on power, the game has you judging your shots on distance. The percentage gauge that sat at the bottom of the screen has been retooled to show the distance of your shot. As you ready your shot, you can determine how far you want the ball to go by stopping the gauge at a specific distance.
Along with the new distance element, you can opt for either a two- or three-click swing. An advantage is given (to those able to exploit it) should you stick to the more challenging three-click swing controls, as you're not given the ability to draw or fade a shot when toggling the two-click swing option. The benefit of the latter obviously comes in the ease of pulling off two-click swings, which should make the game much more accessible.
Rounding out the list of changes for Tiger's 2009 appearance on PSP is a reorganized attributes system. As you progress through the career mode or even when playing one-off matches, you're free to distribute experience earn in play however you want. You're no longer tied down to 100-point increments, which naturally opens up greater possibilities in developing your golfer. Additionally, more character creation options are being included so you're able to literally mould a unique golfer using a full customization system.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 promises enough new content and changes to have us keen on its autumn worldwide release. Even without support for online play, it's looking like a significant improvement over last year's game, which is enough to have us ready to tee up.
