Does Tiger just par out, or has his short game been tweaked?

For the last couple years, Tiger has delivered a good round of golf for the fans, yet there were always hiccups that kept gamers from feeling like EA has brought out the best of the best. Whether it was too few options, courses, game play modes, or even the fact the game felt far too easy, Tiger's last couple of efforts felt par for the course.

This year things are different. Almost everything about Tiger 09 feels like the developers really wanted to make it a golfing experience that can be shared and appreciated by both veterans of the sport and the casual golfer.

Starting with the visual presentation you will notice that not only have 5 new courses been added, but the previous 11 have gotten a visual upgrade as well. Now you can appreciate Tiger from afar as the water effects such as oceans and streams have gotten a glossy, more watery texture that really pops this year. The skies over the courses look lush and detailed, the grass and textures have been bumped up, and even the spectators look to have gotten a polygon or two boost. The golfers themselves also look a bit better with new animations, more detailed equipment and gear, and better faces and facial expressions too. It does seem that EA took a painstaking time creating Tiger as he definitely stands out above the rest in comparison and looks very real indeed. Even the little things such as menus and scorecards have gotten a new look that really make this year's Tiger game feel brand new.

Audio has the same effect on you, but in a different way. Sure the sound effects and soundtrack have been beefed up for this year's game, but it's the voice acting coming from the new players in the series that knock the score back a bit and hurt the game's overall presentation. For starters, the addition of Tiger's coach Hank Haney is an interesting notion, and his tips help you greatly in game, but man does his voice acting suck big-time! His reactions and tips feel stiff and uninterested, making you wonder if he wanted to be there during the voice over sessions. The worst in the voice department comes in the new commentary team. Sadly, McCord and Faherty have been replaced, and by hacks. There I said it. The newcomers (Kelly Tilghman and Sam Torrance) have taken duties as the announcing team and they would fit better doing a local new broadcast then doing voice work in my golf game. Kelly sounds as if she's taking cues and reacts like she has no clue about the game of golf, spouting off puns and phrases that just sound ridiculous. Sam on the other hand, mumbles his way through his color work, and to put it mildly, if he's the color man, his work sounds black and white. This is the first year I've opted to listen to my custom soundtracks instead of the mess coming from the commentary team.

Thankfully the gaming experience hasn't been tainted. Finally Tiger has upped his game making things a bit more difficult for the gamer that has devoted themselves to the series. Game controls feel tighter and more precise allowing you to really feel as if you are replicating the game of golf. What's more, if you are new to Tiger, then you will notice first hand the swing feedback meter that shows how you shoot, giving you ample opportunity to tweak and tune your own personal game play. Even your opponents seem smarter as they will finally utilize the draw and fade aspects of the game to really keep you on your game. Lastly, thanks to Tiger's coach Hank, you can even improve your game during some drills that will be set according to your last round. If you had a rough outing on your short game, you will have some chipping drills to help you tweak your game and boost your attributes and so forth.

On top of the new courses, there have been oodles of new features added to Tiger Woods 09, from 4 player simultaneous online play, to the new EA Gamer Net instant challenges. If for any reason, these challenges will increase your replay ability ten fold. Now whenever you feel froggy, just jump online and attempt to bust on of the many challenges presented. Once completed, you are awarded points based off difficulty and added to a leader board that is broken down daily, weekly, and all time. You will see that there are challenges not only set by EA, but from gamers who are playing the game just like you. What's more, if you think you've hit a shot that can't be busted, toss it online to see if you are right. Not only can you set the challenge anywhere from distance shot, distance closest to the pin, but even where the ball must bounce in order to achieve this feet. What's more, even if you are just playing a round of golf, you will come across challenges made on particular holes you can attempt even during your career without jumping into the challenge screens. This will keep the game fun and fresh beyond the typical modes for a long time to come.

If it weren't for the commentary crew messing things up so badly, Tiger would have scored in the A range, but alas, there comes another sand trap EA really needs to fix before next year. Otherwise, if you can ignore the commentary crew, you will find a very deep and very fulfilling game of golf that newbies and veterans can enjoy equally.